Child Support Myths (Part 2)
Disclaimer: This article or humorous commentary is in no way intended to offend anyone and further is ONLY provided as entertainment, a general overview or background information. This article is NOT legal advice or a legal opinion. You should not rely on any information gathered in this article as a basis for any particular course of action or a substitute for legal advice. Because every case is different, you should always seek formal professional legal counsel specific to your case. No warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, is given and in no way does this article constitute any attorney-client relationship. (Sorry. *wink* I’m an attorney…what’d you expect. You know we have legalese and disclaimers for everything.)
CHILD SUPPORT MYTHS
(Continued from Last Week)
MYTH: If I have my children half the time, I should not have to pay child support. There are many factors considered when setting child support. These include the incomes of both parents, the ages of the children, which party provides insurance, prior-born children and their child support, the disabilities of the children and more. So while in some situations it may be true, it is not true in all cases that just because you have your children half of the time, you will not be made to pay child support.
MYTH: The oldest child gets the most child support. Because child support is based on many things including the income of both parents, the amount of child support may be less for an older child than a younger child. I believe this myth comes from the fact that a support order/obligation for prior-born children only is recognized, considered and subtracted from the income of the parent when calculating child support.
MYTH: The first parent to seek child support gets the most money. The race to the court house or better yet the child support office does not make you the winner of the largest child support order of the baby mamas. Again, many factors are taken into consideration when calculating child support.
MYTH: Your child support obligation stops when you are locked up. Child support orders do not automatically seize to exist when a person is incarcerated. After all, as one savvy prosecutor (a friend of mine) said towards one of my clients, “The kids gotta eat too Boo Boo.” (I can’t help but to crack a smile every time I replay her saying this in my mind.) Now, child support obligations may be able to be altered or lowered to the statutory. If you know someone in this situation, I would advise seeking legal counsel to figure what your options are sooner than later.
MYTH: I am only obligated to pay what they take out of my check. This incorrect assumption gets good people in trouble regularly. Whatever you are ordered to pay in child support is how much you must pay. Whether you see a wage assignment as a curse or a blessing, paying the correct amount is still up to you. While it is true that only a certain percentage of your paycheck can be deducted for child support, you are still obligated to pay the full amount of the order. Don’t assume that because they took an amount, it was the full amount and you do not need to send in the difference. This assumption, like I said results in criminal charges and warrants for many.
MYTH: Women do not have to pay child support, only men. The court system is supposed to be fair. This means that men and women should be treated alike. Traditionally, men have been the ones who pay child support and women receive it. The money is actually due to take care of the child and should be received on behalf of the child to whomever the child is residing with. If that is the father, as we see more increasingly, than the mother should and can be made to pay. I find that many fathers who have custody of their children somehow think they are not entitled to even ask. Just remember what I said two paragraphs up. It is for the kids.
Side note (since no Word of the Day): I have had many clients come in with calculations for child support they did on the internet. There are websites out there which profess to have child support calculators. Many of these, I have found are inaccurate. So beware!
Last thought: This is more of a common sense last thought and the best free advice I can give (but I add it because I care- and hey after all, I am not charging my hourly rate for this one). BEWARE! When you chose who you sleep or creep with, beware! Everyone you sleep with is a possible baby daddy or baby mama and it is proven that people’s true colors come out and the spark that lit hell ignites with two little words –“child support.” Those two words can be the eighteen year (or more if your child is disabled or has other circumstances that require) weapon on the battlefield of your life and finances.
Thank you for reading! If you like this article or found it helpful, be sure to read my others posted and stay tuned for future ones. Also, please leave comments here and be sure to tell a friend. If there is a topic you want to see or you have a general question, you can leave it here or reach me at nichole@kentuckianalaw.com.
