Child Support Questions

Hi L.,
I actually am on the other side of that coin whereas my husbands ex-wife has tried to nail him for more money than required by law because she feels it is his obligation to pay for 100% of the kids expenses in both homes. (Which she cannot do)So I am fairly familiar in the child support arena.
Basically, since the Law is "a women has the right to choose" & is the sole "caregiver" for the baby until it is born the father (if he is not your husband & he doesn't carry you under his insurance) is not required to pay for any of your medical or doctor bills. But I am sure there are ways around that if he knew you were pregnant, & he was the father etc...
Also, The child can receive up to approx. 20% of his NET (not gross)income. If he has an hourly job & works overtime, the overtime is not included. If he has 1, 2, or more jobs it doesn't matter as he will have to provide work verification, & tax documentation for all his jobs as well as be registered through the child support office which you can have garnish his wages. After your child support is settled, and should he get a raise or a second job you cannot revisit the issue for 3 years or if there is a significant change in your situtation. For example, sever or major health issues concerning your child, marriage, etc... He also has the right to revisit the situation should there be significant changes in his life, that being a job loss, decrease in pay, marriage, more children,etc...
If he has more children by another women then your child's percentage goes down by a percent or two. As far as garnishing his wages, it may sound ugly but it actually saves a bunch of headache as you will never have to worry about checks in the mail, or seeing the babies dad other than visitation. It sounds as though he doesn't want to be a part of your childs life & you may just be witnessing a sign from GOD that you are better of without him. You might prepare yourself to just have him sign papers to remove his rights as the babies father & wash your hands of him. If he is not fatherly material than your child is better off. As this should be about the wellfare of the CHILD ONLY. Not any hidden agenda on the parents part.
The checks will always go through the child support office, which delays you receiveing them until they have been processed, which takes about a week. Also, they cannot send you a check if the babies father hasn't mailed it to them so then you are still waiting on him to pay. We actually have my husbands work take the money out of his checks so we never have to waist a stamp or have to physically mail her a check. It actually reduces much of the potential animosity which can arise in these situations.
Hope this helps you. Good Luck & God Bless.

My only experience with child support issues stem from my husband's dealings with his ex before and after he got custody of his son back in the 90s. My guess is you can't get him to pay for your medical expenses while you were pregnant. But any expenses directly related to the baby after he was born should be split between the two of you. You can always take proof of those expenses with you and ask. Maybe there is some rule about sharing the expenses of the pregnancy as well. Also, in regards to your ex getting a part-time job AFTER child support payments are established, I don't believe you can go after him for future earning potential, but it's my understanding you can revisit the courts once a year to change child-support arrangements, so if he still has the extra job in a year, or he's gotten a raise or a better job that pays more money, you can ask the court to reconsider the amount he pays at that point. I believe the standard is 20% of his gross income. The court costs would probably fall on you should you choose to pursue additional child support so it would only be feasible if his income was significantly higher. Going back to change the arrangement for just a few dollars a week wouldn't be worth it in my opinion. I'm sure whoever you meet with will be better able to clarify all these issues during your meeting. Make sure you write down all your questions so you don't forget anything you want to ask. Good luck to you!

Is this child support meeting with the attorney generals office? If so , that is how i deal with my child support, all you have to do is make sure the attorney general office knows where the father works. You also have to have him tell his employer to cooperate with child support, the attorney general office will provide you with all the info you need. And all you should have to bring is your appointment letter, or court date letter, what all did they tell you to bring?

Firstly I'm not sure if you can recover medical bills. I would just take them and ask. I didn't do that so I wouldn't know how to go about that. I guess there's a way seeing that he's half responsible but it might turn out to be a small claims issue because the child support is just that...Child Support. It's not a hearing to reclaim money already lost. Just try to keep in mind they are determining money due to the child not money due to you...just mentioning that so you don't get your hopes up.
Secondly, as far as the other job there's nothing you can do until he actually seeks employment. Then all you can do is file for an amendment and go through the whole process all over again. Usually there has to be significant changes in income or 3 years have to have passed.
As far as what to bring we always recommend any medical bills FOR THE CHILD that have accrued. Of course if you are seeking past due medical bills for yourself you should bring those also. Good luck, it's a long drawn out process that takes time but in the end will benefit your child greatly.

I had an attorney general attorney but you have to request it,,,and he fought for the father to pay 1/2 of the medical esxpenses while I was prego...

and if the father has two jobs, attorney general will definitely go after that to, for what I know is 20% of what he earns...what you'll do is contact attorney general and let them know where his other job is at,,,but YOU will have to be the one to come up w/the information,,,and provide it to them,,and then the'll contact their 2nd employer,,

my attorney even fought for back pay....as back as from the day you filed for child support,,,and the father will be requested to pay for medical insurance for your baby,,,
watch out for visitations rights,,,those are tough unless you will be ok how often the baby will be w/the baby's father