Child Support and Marriage Questions

[chipmunk226]

I live in MD but my support order is in PA. The order was put into effect in 2001 and has never been modified. I currently receive $158.00 bi-weekly. Since then, I have married and moved to Maryland in 2003.

I have primary legal and physical custody of my 6 year old son with his dad getting approx. 100 overnights a year, give or take a few. I was never married to my son's father.

Per our Custody Order, I am to do all of the transportation back and forth. I have had another child with my husband and we have another on the way. I am currently a stay-at-home mom because I wouldn't make enough to cover the costs of childcare.

 I believe that my son's father has a considerably higher paying job since 2001, but I seriously doubt that it pays more than my husbands.

Questions:

1) Does my husband's income have to be disclosed since I currently have none of my own? We do file jointly. (I would be surprised if this answer is 'no' but wishful thinking can't hurt ;c) )

2) If not, will they determine the amount of support based on only my earning capacity?

3) If I do need to disclose it, would that mean that my husband's income is 'our'  income and his expenses are 'our' expenses?

4) In my case, I take my son's to his fathers twice a month 360 miles round-trip for a total of 720 per month. Would I be able to list this as an extraordinary expense? (In our 'agreement', I did agree to do 100% of transportation, but that was before gas became ridiculous. But that's neither one of our faults.)

5) I have heard that if you have an infant at home, mothers are exempt from working for a year after their birth. Is this a myth?

I have a CS date on 1/24 and due to budget issues, can't afford to have a lawyer present so I am flying solo. Thanks for all your help and suggestions in advance. Feel free to ask any questions if something is unclear.

~Eva

[socrateaser]

>Questions:
>
>1) Does my husband's income have to be disclosed since I
>currently have none of my own? We do file jointly. (I would be
>surprised if this answer is 'no' but wishful thinking can't
>hurt ;c) )

Since you're not working, and since PA considers your income as part of the calculation of the support guideline, your husband's income is relevant to the issue of whether or not you are intentionally under employing yourself in order to maximize the support owed by the other parent. However, if the other parent doesn't raise the issue and ask the court to impute income to you, then your husband's income is not relevant or even "reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence," and then it would not need to be disclosed.

So it depends on whether your not working has been raised as an issue by the other party or the State in the modification proceedings. If it has, you must disclose. If it hasn't, then you can write on any disclosure form, and on any other pleading, "I object to the discovery of this information as not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence."

You could also not discover the info, if you didn't know it. But, as you file jointly, you have the ability to discover the info from the tax return, therefore you cannot say that you don't know your husband's income.

Then, if the other parent moves to compel discovery, you would have to explain your reasoning, as I have above.

>2) If not, will they determine the amount of support based on
>only my earning capacity?

The court will use your actual income, unless the other parent raises earning capacity as an issue. As soon as earning capacity is raised, that raises the issue of your husband's income as evidence for your willful under employment. You cannot live off of your husband's income in order to avoid seeking work, unless you are willing to give up child support that you would otherwise not receive from the other parent.

>
>3) If I do need to disclose it, would that mean that my
>husband's income is 'our'  income and his expenses are 'our'
>expenses?

No. Your portion of the support obligation is based upon your "earning capacity," which is your ability to earn $X in the current job market. If it is demonstrated that you are not working, then your husband's income becomes relevant to proving that you are willfully under employed and that your husband is enabling that willful under employment. But, the amount of your husband's income is irrelevant in actually determining support -- that amount is still calculated by your personal earning capacity, which is not based upon your husband's earning capacity.

>4) In my case, I take my son's to his fathers twice a month
>360 miles round-trip for a total of 720 per month. Would I be
>able to list this as an extraordinary expense? (In our
>'agreement', I did agree to do 100% of transportation, but
>that was before gas became ridiculous. But that's neither one
>of our faults.)

You agreed to pay, probably because you were the person who moved, and created the expense, and the court would have forced you to pay had you not agreed. So, unless there has been a change of circumstances, for example because the other parent has moved and increased the expense, then you would still be responsible for paying, either directly, or by reducing the other parent's support obligation.

>5) I have heard that if you have an infant at home, mothers
>are exempt from working for a year after their birth. Is this
>a myth?

The question is whether the infant is the product of the relationship where support is at issue. If it were, then the child's best interests might weigh greater than your obligation for support. But, if the infant is the product of a different relationship, the other parent should not fairly have to pay you support because you chose to have another child with another partner.

Apparently you're arguing over about $4K per year in child support, which is less than what you could net after taxes working half time at minimum wage. Your daycare costs are only relevant to the child of the relationship in which the support obligation is being assessed, not for the other children, so if daycare would cause your net to fall below the support amount paid, assuming that you worked full time at minimum wage, then you could probably successfully argue that the other parent's costs for support might actually increase were you to obtain a job.

Otherwise, you don't really have a very strong case, based on your posted facts, assuming that the other parent has a competent attorney and knows how to raise the earning capacity issue.

You may be better off trying to negotiate a settlement, then letting the judge decide. Most men are happy if their support obligation goes down by $5 or more, because they feel like they beat the system, so you may have more leverage settling than you will in the courtroom.

food 4 thought.