Child Support

[poohbear]

Feb. 2006 mom filed for child support increase. April 2006, dad filed for custody. Shared parenting was ordered in July 2006, with Dad ordered to pay mom $100 a month in child support. (CSEA's child support calculation had dad paying roughly $550 per month, it was deviated based on 50/50 time share)

Mom chooses not to work, and imputed her income at $7.70 per hour @ 20 hours per week...even though she has 2 associate degrees and CSEA recognized verbally that she could make $10+ per hour.

Since July, the parenting time share has been 60% dad, and 40% mom.  Neither parent is listed in the  parenting plan as the Primary Residential Parent. Mother is listed as primary for school districting purposes only (so the child wouldn't have to change schools for the 6th time in 5 years). Dad is listed as primary for all medical needs, such as physicals, dental and eye care.

Dad has paid roughly $400 out of pocket for medical since July. Mother has paid $0....even though CO'd to share costs. Mother has insurance on the child, which would eliminate out of pocket costs, but refuses to use it--even when attending appointments, will not hand receptionist the card. The child also desperately needs professional tutoring, as he is 2-3 years behind his peers in all subject areas (dad paid for professional assessment). Dad cannot afford to pay 100% for the tutoring, mom refuses to pay anything toward tutoring. (But could buy herself a new truck 3 days after the refusal) The full cost of tutoring would be $800 for 5 months through Sylvan.

Which would be the wiser decision?

1) Dad file contempt against mom for refusal to share medical costs & refusal to use the insurance.

2) Dad petition CSEA to end his child support to the mother, and request that mother become the obligor.

3) Leave it as it is and be thankful he has his child as much as he does.

4) Take some other action.

Dad desperately wants sole custody, but with pending deployment to Iraq in June, he's not likely to get it.

[socrateaser]

>Which would be the wiser decision?
>
>1) Dad file contempt against mom for refusal to share medical
>costs & refusal to use the insurance.

Yes.

>
>2) Dad petition CSEA to end his child support to the mother,
>and request that mother become the obligor.

Asking CSEA to do anything when you're the obligor parent is a waste of time. The gov's biz is to maximize money collected, and that won't happen with the mom, because she's a loaf.

>3) Leave it as it is and be thankful he has his child as much
>as he does.

Maybe. Hard to get blood from a stone.

>
>4) Take some other action.

File for contempt on the insurance stuff. and file a separate motion to clarify parenting time and modify support on grounds that the current orders are too vague to operate in the child's best interests, and because the status quo exercise of parenting is not reflected in the amount of support being paid.

Then, you'll need to prove earning capacity or otherwise show that the other parent is capable of earning more income, but that she is willfully refusing to do so.  

>
>Dad desperately wants sole custody, but with pending
>deployment to Iraq in June, he's not likely to get it.

Oh. I should have read things from the bottom up. This really is THE issue. Question is what is the relationship between step parent and child, because Dad's entire case is predicated on the child's best interests being served by his being able to delegate his custody rights to a third party.

Now you're gonna need a custody eval, and it will be difficult and expensive to prove that stepparent should be preferred to natural parent as custodian while father is in Nam (I mean Iraq -- faux pas).

You definitely need to clarify the current orders to deal with the upcoming deployment, on grounds that the present orders did not contemplate this circumstance.

You may want to try to get a stipluated settlement with the other parent in advance, because the judge could rule against you and then you'd be screwed. If you're gonna try this route, filing for contempt may make the other parent unwilling to negotiate, so I'd hold off until you believe you have no other choice.

Do NOT use the threat of contempt as leverage -- that's extortion, until you've already obtained a judgment of contempt -- then you can offer to forgive payment because you already have a definite and certain right to the money. At the moment, you have an order for reimbursement, but the amount owed is unliquidated. Can't use this lawfully against the other party until the court finds contempt and liquidates the amount due and payable.