Can anyone explain the math involved in child support payments? How is it that a father can be told by the state to pay $225 a month for two kids when the mother makes less than he does and has the children 5 nights/week, and also pays for 90% of their food, 75% of their clothing, all of their incidentals (e.g., toothpaste, birthday gifts, violin rental, laundry detergent) and does 95% of the work involved in keeping them going, e.g., appearing civilized and moderately groomed, getting their homework done, arriving in the right place at somewhat the right time. It seems to me that the courts ASSUME that somehow the mother will come up with the rest of the money that the $225 does not cover in monthly expenses — whether it means borrowing or working crap jobs that take her away from her kids or renting out more and more of her house. How this adds up to make any kind of sense whatsoever is beyond me.
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4 comments
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October 28, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Lara
That is TERRIBLE! I get twice that for one child in Illinois! I’m not sure of the calculations that add into that…I’m pretty sure the courts don’t consider maintenance and upkeep of the children – in a quantifiable manner over the $225 anyway. Did you go online and do the calculator? That is how I agreed w/my ex on the amount. $225 just doesn’t seem right at all!
October 28, 2009 at 8:43 pm
shell
Unfortunately, its probably right. But, I would check on it either way (and you can always request more than the calculations). I got twice that from an ex with part time work basically, so the numbers do seem mighty low. That said, the system is surely not set up for accountability. And, the CBPP – center for budget and public policy have done research showing that the figures are severely dated and thus hurting women disproportionately…all this is to say, it sucks big time.
October 29, 2009 at 12:08 am
Elizabeth Van Jacob
You need a better lawyer!
October 29, 2009 at 12:53 am
Michele
Yes, something does indeed seem pretty screwy there. Here in Michigan there’s a calculator and you can download it yourself and run the numbers. Is he covering health insurance, out of pocket medical, or day care expenses or anything like that? That would factor in as well. Certainly sounds to me like it would be worth a call to the court or a lawyer.
I pay the child support even though we have 50-50 custody because I make more money. It burns my ass to see that money come out of my paycheck every month, but it could have been worse. I was able to get his wages imputed to a higher amount so the child support calculation was based on an assigned wage for him and it doesn’t matter what he actually makes. It’s his choice to work very little. He makes damn good money when he works, but he finds it very stressful. My point is when you have kids you have to be a grown up and sometimes do things you find stressful.