Child Support Question

You can put your income and your ex’s into the child support calculator located on the rosen website and see what the guidelines call for. If there is a 15% difference in what you pay and what the child support guidelines say you should pay you can file to have your child support modified.

But it really depends on what your income and your wife’s income is, child care costs, and insurance costs for your child.

quote:
[i]Originally posted by plsadvise[/i] [br]You can put your income and your ex's into the child support calculator located on the rosen website and see what the guidelines call for. If there is a 15% difference in what you pay and what the child support guidelines say you should pay you can file to have your child support modified.

But it really depends on what your income and your wife’s income is, child care costs, and insurance costs for your child.


I have actually been playing around with the calculator. I know everything but me ex’s income, and if I ask her I know she will not tell me or she will tell me a lie. I can guess what she is making based off the last known yearly salary she told me when we went through the seperation. What it is boiling down to is the fact that I don’t have my daughter enough during the year. The ex will let me have her when I want and we are flexible, but as soon as I mention modification of the agreement she says NO. I really got screwed in this whole ordeal; my attorney really screwed up. I can’t claim my daughter at all on my taxes (no rotation every other year etc), can’t use dependent care. The other thing that really bothers me about this is that I have to pay taxes on this money and can’t claim a dime on my taxes, and she just gets a free check every month.

Also my agreement is not registered with the courts nor do I pay through DSS. I pay directly to my ex. Looks like I am just screwed, and I make way more money than her (I think) and what I did at the time of the separation, so I am quite certain if I went to court and the court did not increase my visitation during the year and the visitation stayed the same as it is now I would probably be paying more money than I am.

You are in a spot. Without the agreement of your ex, modifying the agreement will be impossible unless you have the court intervene.

As far as your lawyer goes, I’m assume he didn’t try to ‘talk you out’ of what you were signing? Was there a preliminary figure run at the time of separation using the calculator, or did you come up with the figure on your own? If you told your lawyer you wanted to pay this amount, then the lawyer assumes you to be comfortable with that amount. The tax credits, by NC law, go to the person who has the child primarily. You can always have something else written into an agreement, but without it, that’s how it is.

You could try to modify custody, but you’ll have to go to court if she is unwilling to agree.

quote:
[i]Originally posted by comingclean2[/i] [br]You are in a spot. Without the agreement of your ex, modifying the agreement will be impossible unless you have the court intervene.

As far as your lawyer goes, I’m assume he didn’t try to ‘talk you out’ of what you were signing? Was there a preliminary figure run at the time of separation using the calculator, or did you come up with the figure on your own? If you told your lawyer you wanted to pay this amount, then the lawyer assumes you to be comfortable with that amount. The tax credits, by NC law, go to the person who has the child primarily. You can always have something else written into an agreement, but without it, that’s how it is.

You could try to modify custody, but you’ll have to go to court if she is unwilling to agree.


The lawyer used the calculator, so it was determined that way. What happened is the agreement was drawn up by her lawyer, and my lawyer and I failed to review the agreement properly thus the mess I am in. I just want to know what options if any do I have, and if it is even worth pursuing going to court over.

It depends on the income of each party. Since your child support is included in a contract rather then a court order, you can file suit for an initial determination of child support, without having to prove there has been a substantial change in circumstances. The same goes for the custodial schedule; you can include a claim for custody and have a judge decide on an appropriate schedule. The schedule outlined in the agreement will be given some weight in the judges determination, however if you can demonstrate that your daughter

I know I can’t get out of the agreement I need to modify it. The biggest problem is; I have no idea what her salary is now. So, I am hesitant on taking her to court for reduction of CS b/c my salary has increased so much in the past few years. I know she will not alter the agreement out of court, so the only way I can get the agreement changed is take her to court and run the risk of having to actually pay more than I already am even if visitation is increased. I know what daycare costs are and they are significantly cheaper than they were when we got separated. I also know I am paying more in health insurance for my daughter now as well. Not really sure what to do…

I would use the salary you knew she made back then, imput YOUR salary now as well as Daycare costs today and Health Insurance and see where you stand. If ANYTHING the number you come up with will be on the higher end of what it would be if you knew her salary today, because you can assume she has at least gotten a standard of living raise since separation.

THEN you can decide if it’s worth the time, money and drama to persue.

It may be worth the risk considering the child care costs have decreased significantly as those are a big factor in the calculation. The only way you will know her income for sure is to file the action and request the records through the appropriate channels.

Erin E. Clarey
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm

Raleigh Office
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.787.6361 main fax

Charlotte Office
301 McCullough Drive
Suite 510
Charlotte, NC 28262
Main Phone: (704)307.4600
Main Fax: (704) 943.0044

Sutton Station
5826 Fayetteville Rd. Suite 205
Durham, NC 27713
Phone: (919) 321-0780

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My ex wife and I were separated in 2006, and our divorce was final in 2007. The child support was drawn up in our separation agreement and was notarized by a notary public back in 2006. We never went to court and had an uncontested divorce. I pay $1000 a month plus my daughters health insurance (yes one kid). Is this to much to be paying? Every time I mention this to people their jaw drops when I tell them the amount and how it is only for one kid. My ex wife has a good job makes good money, but she is very stubborn when I bring this topic up. My daughter is in daycare (4 years old), and I have her every other weekend, one day during the week when I don’t have her that weekend, and I have her one week for vacation out of the year.

What are my options if any to get this readjusted without causing a ton of issues between us?