My spouse is having emotional issues over our separation and is having a hard time keeping their employment. Currently my spouse is employed at a very high level with a substantial income but that is in jeopardy once again. This is being used to keep me from leaving. By dividing our liquid assets I can purchase a home but do not have a job as I have stayed home with the kids. Is my spouse required to pay child support and alimony with their share of the assets?
His child support will be based off of both of your income figures. Alimony is a little different because it’s goal is to put the dependent spouse in as close to the accustomed standard of living that they enjoyed while married as possible. You should file for an equitable distribution to divide the assets, but in the meantime you should consider filing a claim for post separation support, and temporary child support. You can do this once you move out of the home (or he does). These claims will ensure your husband pays you a monthly amount that will allow you to support yourself and the children. You may want to consider meeting with a family law attorney as well to create an appropriate plan of action for your case.
I want to purhcase a home that I can currently do with our liquid assets. Do I need my spouse’s approval to purchase the home with 50% of the liquid assets. The difficult part is, if my spouse has no job then how do I live in the home with my children bc how can my spouse pay child support? My spouse will be receiving an inheritance which I know I am not entitled to but it can be used to pay child suppport and alimony. I cant really move out unless I have a place to go and I have found the place that will work great in my budget. IF my spouse has no income but a large amt of money in the bank can I still expect to at least get child support? My spouse’s earning potential and earning history is 10x what I could make and i have been out of the work force for 12+ years - thank you
You should be able to purchase the home. I understand your concern about living expenses if you move out. The CS Order will be based off of several factors, but mostly the number of children and your two current incomes. Now, if your ex loses his job, and it wasn’t done in bad faith, then you can expect that he might fall behind. Whether or not he chooses to liquidate some of his inheritance or other assets to make up for it, will be up to him. If he falls behind in his child support payments, he could go to jail or lose his license.
As far as child support amount and guidelines are concerned, you may want to check out the online calculator on our site. It is certainly the best tool to estimate child support, courts rarely deviate from the guidelines which are the basis for the calculator. If your ex is unemployed before the time the child support amount gets determined (since his income would be almost nothing), then you may ask the court to deviate from the guidelines given his considerable assets. While deviation is extremely rare, it can happen.
The court upon its own motion or upon motion of a party may deviate from the guidelines if, after hearing evidence and making findings regarding the reasonable needs of the child for support and the relative ability of each parent to provide support, it finds by the greater weight of the evidence that application of the guidelines would not meet, or would exceed, the reasonable needs of the child considering the relative ability of each parent to provide support, or would otherwise be unjust or inappropriate. If the court deviates from the guidelines, the court must make written findings (1) stating the amount of the supporting parent’s presumptive child support obligation determined pursuant to these guidelines; (2) determining the reasonable needs of the child and the relative ability of each parent to provide support; (3) supporting the court’s conclusion that the presumptive amount of child support determined under the guidelines is inadequate or excessive or that application of the guidelines is otherwise unjust or inappropriate; and (4) stating the basis on which the court determined the amount of child support ordered. (One example of a reason to deviate may be when one parent pays 100% of the child support obligation and 100% of the insurance premium.)
The guidelines are intended to provide adequate awards of child support that are equitable to the child and both of the child’s parents. When the court does not deviate from the guidelines, an order for child support in an amount determined pursuant to the guidelines is conclusively presumed to meet the reasonable needs of a child considering the relative ability of each parent to provide support, and specific findings regarding a child’s reasonable needs or the relative ability of each parent to provide support are therefore not required. Regardless of whether the court deviates from the guidelines or enters a child support order pursuant to the guidelines, the court should consider incorporating in, or attaching to, its order, or including in the case file, the child support worksheet it uses to determine the supporting parent’s presumptive child support obligation under the guidelines.