Wife and I recently divorced and now she’s suing me for child support. I’ve been out of work for more than 18 months and feel like I’m just taking whatever she wants to throw at me, but now I’m thinking that maybe I should be the one suing her for child support. Not being vendictive, but am I now the dependent spouse? How do I counter her suit with my own, as the kids are with me more than her? The hearing she scheduled is next week. Thanks
Whoever initiates the claim for child support is irrelevant. You do not need to counter. Child support in NC is pretty standard and determined by a calculation. You can find the child support calculator on the rosen.com main site. They will only impute income for you if you have been found to be depressing income in bad faith.
So during the same hearing I’ll have an opportunity to make the case that I’m the one who should be receiving support from her? Doesn’t matter either way to me. Been paying support since the first one arrived. My reason for arguing it is because that will be a weapon used against me everytime somebody doesn’t get their way. I know the courts would take care of that, but I’d rather prevail in court and then NOT ever ask for a dime. Kids gotta see something decent in our behavior.
At the hearing, the judge will receive evidence from each party about income, who the kids are with overnight, and expenses, run calculations, and come up with a figure for child support and determine which party should pay whom. If you believe that you are going to be the one receiving money, you should file a counterclaim. If not, she can file a dismissal of the action to avoid paying you.
Ah I see, so SHE can dismiss her claim and no claim would be brought forth. That makes sense.
Okay. That’s an important bit of information there. The hair follicle drug testing, custody and child support hearing is January 22. How, when and where do I file my counterclaim? Thanks in advance.
How to draft a counterclaim is outside of the scope of this forum. If you want assistance with drafting documents, you should consider using Rosen Online where we can assist you with forms and answering more detailed questions.
You file your counterclaim with the clerk in the county the action is pending. A counterclaim should be filed with your answer to the complaint.
Thanks for answering that question and pointing me in the right direction. Now, the hearing is scheduled for 22Jan13, so how big of a hurry should I be in to file the counterclaim? Thanks again.
You should make sure to file before the hearing so that she doesn’t dismiss after the hearing.
So my understanding is that the counterclaim and response to her complaint both need to be filed together before the January 22 hearing (Tuesday), correct? Theoretically I could do that Monday afternoon, which obviously wouldn’t allow time for the other side to prepare any response. I don’t plan on doing so and if I did it would be out of necessity alone. Like everyone else, I want to be finished with this stuff yesterday, but how would that affect the hearing the following day or the court’s evaluation of myself? Am I also able to request whatever information the other side will present in court, and if so, what’s the protocol? Any “casual” requests I’ve made have been pretty much ignored. And last, please provide the link to Rosen’s paid assistance, and specific to what you know I need. No matter how obvious and accessable I’m sure it is, me finding it and being where I need to ASAP would be an accident at best right now. Thanks in advance.
How the court filings will effect you really depends on what is contained in them and how much weight the court gives them. Since I know nothing about your case other than that you have a pending court date and need to answer the complaint, I really couldn’t say, but the court won’t delay the hearing simply because you have filed.
Our website for monthly assistance is Do It Yourself North Carolina Divorce.