What to expect...

[brian35]

Hi everyone, so glad I found this site. .. My situation is this- I have 2 children with my exwife who moved out of state shortly after we divorced. She currently has custody and resides in TN. She remarried and is not working. I live in Ohio where our divorce was granted and am also remarried and expecting another child. My ex's husband has decided they can no longer handle my 15 year old son who he does not get along with and a month ago sent him to live with me. This has been a blessing, as I have always wanted both my children to be with me. I am currently still paying child support on both children. My ex  has suggested we just reduce the amount that I pay in half and I hastily agreed because I was so happy to have my son finally with me. She would still have our daughter, who I would still pay support on. I need to file for change of custody and have the support order modified and would like to do so without paying a lawyer since we are in agreement  and I have a pregnant wife and really need the money for other expenses. My questions are first, was agreeing to simply cut the support amount in half realistic? My reasoning was that it would possibly save me a headache of going back to court again when my son is 18 and since my ex isn't working anyway I didn't expect it to be much lower. Secondly, is filing for these changes without a lawyer going to be realistic? Thanks for the help.

[amymarie]

You don't need a lawyer since the two of you agree, but you may want to hire a paralegal to fill out the paperwork for you so you know it is correct.

You will need to fill out a child support modification form and a child custody modification form.  You can usually find them online or at the law library.  Then you would both need to sign it and have it notorized and file it at the clerk's office, who would then give it to the judge to sign.

As far as child support, it's hard to say whether splitting it in half was the right thing to do without actually having the numbers.  Because since the son is with you, technically she would have to pay you child support on him which would reduce the amount you pay her.

Since she isn't working, most judges will use minimum wage as her salary.  So let's estimate her income at $1040/month and yours at $2500.  Her CS obligation would be $165/month and yours would be $396/month, which totals out to you paying her $231/month (this does not take into account medical insurance or daycare, etc.).  You can go to alllaw.com if you want to plug in your own numbers.  That should give you an idea as to what a judge would decide. 

GL! It's nice to see parents getting along.

[brian35]

Thank you for the reply! We have had rough spots but the last few years things have been pretty civil. It is so much better for everyone involved.