My wife and I have been separated several months. She filed for custody and we had an informal agreement between our attorneys that I would continue to pay all household expenses (she lives there with our two children) AND give her cash every other week for other expenses. This amounts to about 80% of my salary. I am living with a relative and can barely make ends meet.
We dismissed our custody claims a while back and attempted to reconcile, which failed; my wife then began dating a “friend” of mine who I discovered had secretly been paying all her legal costs. I have no more money for an attorney. I also suspect her “friend” is paying for other things for her as well.
Based on NC child support calculators, the maximum I would have to pay every month would not exceed $1700. Right now, including mortgage, health insurance, credit card bills, equity line, utilities, and extra cash for “food and gas” my wife gets more than $3,000 every month. And she is demanding more while she tells all of our friends and neighbors that my children don’t have enough to eat.
I know my marriage is over, I will have to file for custody, etc. My question is should I simply stop paying her cash (transferred to her bank account) every other week? I’m afraid I’m setting a precedent. Can she legally get this much money from me every month? She has threatened to block access to my children, get a restraining order against me, etc.