Child Support - Portland,OR

Hi T.,
I am also in the difficult process of divorcing. Do you live in Mult Co? I know here we have free mediation to get couples to reach a parenting time agreement. The counselors are great (my ex is angry and cheap, but we were still able to come up with a plan! They really put the emphasis on what is best for the child(ren), not what is best for the parent's ego.) I think they would meet with you to talk about the current arrangements and maybe be of some help. Everything is confidential - it doesn't leave the office. The service is through the Family Court Division. Good Luck!

If the child support your paying is being handled through the Division of Child Support you can call them to discuss a review/modification of your child support. If your divorce decree says that you pay him directly you can always have the DCS office take over payments, which would mean you pay DCS and then they would send your ex a check and it would be handled through them. You can call to get an application at your local office and fill it out and send it in! Support is ordered depending on if the child is in daycare and the income of each parent, etc. Pretty easy. Here is a link to the DCS calculator that will determine how much you should be paying and when joint custody is ordered in a divorce case time spent is usually considered 50/50. When you use the calculator it will ask you if there's a parenting time ordered and if there is you can put that you have the child 182.5 and your ex has 182.5. Usually when its a joint custody they don't nit pick at who has the child most nights because custody is shared and joint. When it comes to you buying your son things and so forth that's does not count towards your support obligation.

http://dcs.state.or.us/calculator/

Good luck!

R.

T.,
In Oregon Child Support is basically determined by how much each parent earns, what household expenses are, and how much time each parent has with the child. If you are spending an equal amount of time with your child then your Support amount should be reduced accordingly.

Check out the Child support website at: www.dcs.state.or.us
or call Support Enforcement and ask for a "Support Adjustment"
so that they can re-evaluate your support amount.
Their numbers are:
###-###-#### for District Attorney's Office Support Enforcement
or ###-###-#### for Department of Justice Support Enforcement

Hope this helps!

Julia

HI T.,
Well, this is how I see it. If yu and your ex cannot come to an agreement about these things to wehre both of you feel comfortable maybe you need a mediator, it could mean going to court and having it decided and written out for you. First off, make sure he is supporting his own kid well enough. Though I would pay anything to make sure my kid was taken care of, if I were in teh situation, your ex should assume a great amount of responsibility as well. It should be fare, just remember, make sure your resolution is calm, so as not to upset your child as they do kow what is going on, I don't care what people say. Children are underestimated greatly. Maybe shild and Family services could help guide you.
Good Luck.