Child Support Payments

Child support is calulated using a worksheet. The total of the two parents income are added together. The proof of income are latest income tax filed and the last three current paystubs from both parents. From another standard sheet, amounts are posted of what it should cost to raise one child or more based on the parents combine income. Other factors on the worksheet are who pays the insurance on the child, daycare expenses, special needs of the child and how much time the child spends at each home. The worksheet also has a place for the expense of children living with the person paying the child support. If the court date was recent, there is a period of time you may file to appeal the decision. You can do all this without a lawyer, but you will need to contact the court system in your county and get the proper forms and filed them with the court. The clerk of courts would be a good place to start. Your husband should have been given the infomation that the amount of the child support was based on. If not, ask for it. There could be incorrect figures on the orginial worksheet used to calulate the amount. If his EX has a lawyer, the lawyer has a copy of the worksheet presented to the judge. You must correctly present your income and expenses to the judge to show what you can afford to support these children on your current income.

can't help you out there much with ideas as my oldest her dad owes me over 15,000 in back support..and my MIL ain't getting support from her ex either. they do have ways of figuring out the right amount per child sorry if it seems too much for you

I don't know about TN laws, but having dealt with Child support issues in Wisconsin, Illinois, and North Carolina I can tell you that as far as the court is concerned, your husbands children with you are irrelevant. The court doesn't care that he has two other children, car payment, mortgage, etc. In most states, your husband is responsible for half of that child's costs. Generally, states use a formula, awarding roughly 17-22% of the non-custodial parent's net income as child support payable to the custodial parent.

Do a Google or Yahoo search for Tennessee Child Support laws and see if you can find something that applies to your situation. The TN Child Support Enforcement office (every state has one) may be able to answer some questions - but remember that they are in the business of collecting support, not helping non-custodial parents get their payment lowered. TN might have a legal aid dept that can offer advice or maybe even legal counsel, but you'll have to look into that. Most lawyers will offer a free initial consult, it wouldn't hurt to go to a couple and see what your options are (as well as find out how much a lawyer would cost if you had to go that route).

There is a worksheet for TN child support that is available on the internet. My lawyer told me it is the same worksheet that is used by the courts to determine child support. Also, if you go on the internet, there is a child support guide that tells you how to use the child support office in your favor. You could also call them because I believe that they can help you with the child support. In Tennessee they use the number of days with each parent, incomes of both parents, health insurance and daycare. When you find the worksheet it will explain it to you a little bit.

Try to contact the NC State Bar for a free attorney. In legal terms the attorneys call it "pro bono" work. The website is: ncbar.gov. You can also try the North Carolina State Bar Association. That website is: www.ncbar.org. As you can see, these are two different entities, but VERY similar. Good luck.

You definitely need a lawyer and as far as free, you can call around and get one that might do pro bono. They have to do a certain amount for free every year so maybe since it is close to the end of the year you might get lucky. I am not sure the percentage but there is a guideline that the law follows of a percentage of their income. I have heard that they also get a percentage of the new wife's income, not sure if that is true or not. I would fight it! A lawyer is cheaper in the long run.

the state will only take a % of his pay check. his ex cant just go in and say i want this much and she gets it... i know times are tight for everyone but his children are entitled to that money (my daughter is being adopted by my husband and my ex still owes over 7000 even tho the adoption is almost done.) If you cant afford it like most people cant right now i would go to your local court house and talk to them about getting a public defender for family court they will point you in the right direction. good luck!

If I am not mistaken, the amount of one child in TN is 21% of gross income. His other children with you will not have any bearing on the amount of child support he had to pay, just as if the roles were reversed and it was the mother paying child support and she had additional children. I am happy to hear that you all want to pay child support. Also the mother's salary however good it is does not erase his obligations to his child, he is still required to pay the percentage of his salary based on what was entered into the worksheet. Just because she could probably provide for the child on her income does not mean she should. I am not beating up on you and I do understand your dilema; however, I can also see the other side as I have a 15 year old daughrer whose father has somehow not paid by $988 her entire life and seems to just be in arrears with no intentions of paying. I wish he was half the man your husband seems to be. I wish you luck.

J.

You probably should get an attorney on this one. You can call Legal Aid to see if they can help and if not maybe they know of some attorneys that. How long has it been since the child support was originally ordered? Has she changed jobs or anything? Does your husband carry health insurance on the kids? Those are just some questions that you will need to know the answers to.

I am a paralegal for a law firm here in Louisville and this is the type of law we do among others. If you have any further questions you can give me a call ###-###-####.

B.

I'm a divore mom of two great kids a son 23 and a daughter 17.

Go to www.childsupport-aces.org, this website has everything you need to know about child support. There are also phone # you can call to get advise. I used to be the Chapter Coordinator of ACES in Jefferson County and this organization helped thousands of people nationwide. My advise, do not get an attorney, they will just get your money. ACES will be the best people to help you and it's free. Good luck.

I think you are getting some good advice here. I worked for a lawyer for 5 years in SC. It was the same in SC. The courts used a worksheet which is basically a formula to determine child support. The only way to have a different output (payment) is to have different input. Did he get copies of bills for daycare or healthcare expenses and last years tax statement from the ex? I would demand copies of them if you don't have copies. If all of her numbers check out then I'm not sure what an attorney will be able to do for you.

Child support is very expensive. It doesn't surprise me to hear someone say that they can't make ends meet. Divorce ruins people financially everyday, however, I'm not aware of any court system that would grant your husband a break based on financial difficulty.

There is legal aid in almost every community. It is free and they are MOST helpful. It is suppose to be based on his income, alone, not yours, too. Unfortunately, they dont care what his present situation is... it is 30% off income, last I heard, for child support.

Hi J., I know how you all must feel right now. You can always appeal. I would try that before having to pay an attorney. Get all of your bills/expenses and present them to the court and take it from there. You can also go to the this Web site to find out the calculations of how the amount was determined, as well as what's owed and what has already been paid. It's really helpful. Good Luck and best wishes! http://www.dhhs.state.nc.us/dss/cse/index.htm

A little about me:

I'm 36 yrs old with 4 children(1 daughter(19) 3 sons ( 13,14 & 18)I am married to a wonderful man. We don't have kids together but his treats them as his own and we have a wonderful life together.

Every state is different on how they calculate child support payments. Check out this website:

http://www.alllaw.com/calculators/Childsupport/

Click on your state and follow the prompts. That will show you the minimum child support payment your husband must pay for his children, based on his income. If the amount he is ordered to pay is well over that, I would definately get a lawyer. If he is paying that minimum amount, a judge will most likely not lower it, unless your husband can prove he has extreme financial difficulties beyond his control, such as the loss of a job. And even then, it is the judge's choice to lower it. For that, I would get a lawyer.

While the court system can be cold and seem unreasonable in some matters, they will NOT take food from your children in order to feed your husband's children with his ex-wife. The welfare of all children he has fathered and must support will be taken into account. Checking the filed worksheet is excellent advice, but be prepared. What the court system thinks is reasonable to support children may not be what you and your husband think is reasonable.

Hi J..
I worked for attorneys for 14 years unfortunately. There is supposed to be a worksheet that they enter information like how much each Petitioner/Respondent makes, how many children they have together, etc. Then the worksheet calculates what the child support should be. Now there are some quirky things that can be discussed in court that can affect the child support but they would have to be pretty substantial to sway the court. Disabilities, daycare, stuff like that may have an effect on it in certain states.
I am so sorry I can't be more clear. I haven't done law in about 2 years and I don't miss it let me tell ya.
Bless you.
W.