california child support law only takes into consideration the incomes of both parents and the % of time spent with each parent by the child. it does not take into consideration the situations of either parent (ie whether or not they are remarried) etc etc...


is this fair? would you change anything about how the child support laws are set forth?




just curious :thinking

i think it's fair. just because one remarries, it doesnt make the child any less the others. and technically, unless the new spouse adopts the child. that spouse has no "parental" responsibility, in the eyes of the law, unless they adopt him/her.

It's the same here in Virginia and in Massachusetts.

Remember this is coming from a woman who never got child support that was court ordered and owed to me.

I do not think it is fair. I also believe the percentage they are allowed to take is too high. My ex was court ordered to pay $675 a month for my son. He never had great jobs but that is what was ordered. I thought it was too high and had it lowered but the jackass never paid regardless and would quit jobs not to pay.

Tony has to pay more support then we can afford even if that means we can't afford food for the kids we have here. The court does not care.

Mass. child support laws doesn't take into consideration % of time spent with the children, which I wish they did. But they do take into consideration remarriage,etc-which I don't like. I don't know much else about the guidelines..but Mass. continually lets deadbeat parents go :rolleyes

i think it's fair. just because one remarries, it doesnt make the child any less the others.

in a LOT of cases, the child from the divorced parents gets more than the children living with the parents who payes support. The support Tony payes is more than we can afford to spend on our 3 childen together each month. And I am talking about food, clothes, thier use of utilities ect.

Mass. child support laws doesn't take into consideration % of time spent with the children, which I wish they did. But they do take into consideration remarriage,etc-which I don't like. I don't know much else about the guidelines..but Mass. continually lets deadbeat parents go :rolleyes

They do. The parent who is with the child less payes 53% of the childs determined "worth". They also DO NOT take into consideration if you are married. Me being married to Tony made no difference in what my ex owed.

They do. The parent who is with the child less payes 53% of the childs determined "worth". They also DO NOT take into consideration if you are married. Me being married to Tony made no difference in what my ex owed.

Oh I see. I didn't know they did that, good to know.

Personally I feel child supprt should a percent of the paying parents total income. I have told my dh if we were to divorce I would want a percentage of his pay and every time he gets a raise in or out of the military I will expect the child support to be raised accordingly.

I also do not feel that child support should be so high that one parent can barely afford an apt while the other only needs to work if they want to.

I also feel that child support is to help with everyday needs not all needs. For example if your child needs track shoes than both parents should talk about how to come up with the extra money for these shoes.

And while I am on this I wish that the paying parents would realize that child support does not replace them as parents. (This is from my own childhood. Not that the child support was paid either)

i dont know.... a childs needs dont change whether a parent remarries or has other children. so why should a parent have to pay less support because "his/her" life changes? that's not fair to the child. i admit there are flaws in the system. my sis rarely get her daughters child support. but the state of IL will only stop the father from re-newing his drivers license. thankfully she has a fiance who sees my niece has his own and has no problems helping pay for her needs.

You are right a childs needs do not change. But if the two people were still married who is to say that the parent paying would not have taken a cut in income somwhere down the line. It happens married or not.

I do not feel that new marriage or other kids should be taken into account though. I see it as you have to provide for what you have before you can take on more responsibilty.

You are right a childs needs do not change. But if the two people were still married who is to say that the parent paying would not have taken a cut in income somwhere down the line. It happens married or not.

I do not feel that new marriage or other kids should be taken into account though. I see it as you have to provide for what you have before you can take on more responsibilty.

i agree... if there is a pay cut or raise, that should be accounted for. my dad jokes that that is why he didnt remarry. he couldnt afford the child support for my sis and another family LOL

But with this I also feel that if the paying parent was making 50000 a year and suddenly starts making 10000 there needs to be an investigation why. And the paying oarent needs to be looking for a real job that pays more than that.

But with this I also feel that if the paying parent was making 50000 a year and suddenly starts making 10000 there needs to be an investigation why. And the paying oarent needs to be looking for a real job that pays more than that.

that is what happened to my sister. right before they went to court for child support, the sperm donor quit his $65K a year job and got a job at wal mart. nothing was ever said about anything. not like it mattered, he has paid maybe $500 in Kayeza's 7 yrs of life

I really hate when that happens. I wish that all parents would take responsibility for their children instead of trying to hurt the ex spouse.

In Florida it is not the amount of income that either parent makes, but the ability to pay. For example, in Family Law class my instructor (also a magistrate) told us of many stories concerning child support. He has actually had guys and gals come before him and claim they cannot pay support due to no job, low-income, etc. Then he has the pleasure of enlightening them that they do have the ability to pay and so on and so forth.

Parents should be responsible for their children. Period. Parents that CHOOSE NOT to pay child support are wrong. They are only hurting their children. Grudges between parents ONLY hurt the children.

As far as a fair way to determine how much to be paid, I think Missouri is pretty fair.
They take the income of both parents (minus any previous child support orders for other children) and determine the percentage of the total for each parent.
Then, the total income is charted to determine the 'cost of raising a child' on total income. Then the percentage of income of the non-custodial parent is the same percentage of the 'cost of raising a child'.

Parents should be responsible for their children. Period. Parents that CHOOSE NOT to pay child support are wrong. They are only hurting their children. Grudges between parents ONLY hurt the children.

As far as a fair way to determine how much to be paid, I think Missouri is pretty fair.
They take the income of both parents (minus any previous child support orders for other children) and determine the percentage of the total for each parent.
Then, the total income is charted to determine the 'cost of raising a child' on total income. Then the percentage of income of the non-custodial parent is the same percentage of the 'cost of raising a child'.

I never knew a state did this:thumbsup to MO

i only ask because we are a family who both should receive and pay child support. however, z's sperm donor hasn't paid a DIME in her nearly 3.5 years of life. Jas, however, instead of paying the minimum required of him, pays MORE because he promised his ex wife that he would make sure Jenna was taken care of. (I guess Jenna's mom's husband is somewhat of a deadbeat)

I don't really have much of a well defined opinion in this, as I've raised my daughter on my own up until January 2006.

but in any case, I guess sometimes i feel frustrated that he pays more than he's supposed to, as OUR family could use the extra $$ but on the other side of the coin, I put myself in Jenna's mom's shoes and realize how important and admirable it is that jason does what he does.

You have a great guy who you should and must be very proud of. Very few parents will do such a thing.

You have a great guy who you should and must be very proud of. Very few parents will do such a thing.
completely agree. :thumbsup

i only ask because we are a family who both should receive and pay child support. however, z's sperm donor hasn't paid a DIME in her nearly 3.5 years of life. Jas, however, instead of paying the minimum required of him, pays MORE because he promised his ex wife that he would make sure Jenna was taken care of. (I guess Jenna's mom's husband is somewhat of a deadbeat)

I don't really have much of a well defined opinion in this, as I've raised my daughter on my own up until January 2006.

but in any case, I guess sometimes i feel frustrated that he pays more than he's supposed to, as OUR family could use the extra $$ but on the other side of the coin, I put myself in Jenna's mom's shoes and realize how important and admirable it is that jason does what he does.

Jason is doing the right think by his daughter. You can't fault him for that. Maybe your approach should be to put the pressure on YOUR ex, and get the state involved. They will take care of it free of charge. States do NOT like DeadBeat Parents. I'm sure your state has a program in place to garnish his wages so that you can get the child support your daughter deserves. It isn't about you or him, it's about the kids. Alot of adults for get that.

oh i'm not mad at him at all in the least. i do, at times, have frustrations... especially when she calls us 3 days early to remind us to send her or bring her a check, or whines when jenna leaves ONE hairclip at the house after a weekend... i definitely admire him for what he does. don't get me wrong.


as for asshat/shitbag -- he's a fugitive from the law and i know he's in washington... BUT the washington PD doesn't care... and he doesn't work, they live in the woods, etc etc... so it's not like i can DO anything about it.

HOWEVER, it's ALL good because as soon as jason and i are married, we are terminating nate's rights and jas is adopting her.

shitbag hasn't seen her since december 04 and hasn't made contact with her, on the phone, since early 05.

i don't need his dirty $$....

Z, fortunately, has a daddy :cloud9

oh i'm not mad at him at all in the least. i do, at times, have frustrations... especially when she calls us 3 days early to remind us to send her or bring her a check, or whines when jenna leaves ONE hairclip at the house after a weekend... i definitely admire him for what he does. don't get me wrong.


as for asshat/shitbag -- he's a fugitive from the law and i know he's in washington... BUT the washington PD doesn't care... and he doesn't work, they live in the woods, etc etc... so it's not like i can DO anything about it.

HOWEVER, it's ALL good because as soon as jason and i are married, we are terminating nate's rights and jas is adopting her.

shitbag hasn't seen her since december 04 and hasn't made contact with her, on the phone, since early 05.

i don't need his dirty $$....

Z, fortunately, has a daddy :cloud9

You know that our situations are very similar. With Alex I really feel that doing what is right for him and making Tony is LEGAL father is far more important then the child support anyway. I'm sure you agree.


All I can say is guidelines do not always fit each familes personal circumstances.