When do u stop paying child daycare?

[shosho71]

As of right now Iam paying child support (400.00 a month) and Child day care (400.00 a month).  I found out from my son who is 11 that he hasn't been going to day care since last yr.  He turns 12 in Sept. and someone told me that when your child turns 12 that you no longer have to pay Child daycare costs....is this true?  My son and ex-wife live in Connecticut.
How do I contest the daycare costs and can I make her pay me back for not even using it last yr. and making me still pay it? Oh one other thing...can she claim that summer camps are considered daycare costs?
thanks for your help

[mistoffolees]

Please start by giving us the exact wording on child care in your divorce decree. Without knowing the exact wording, it's impossible to give a good response.

[ocean]

You have to go back to court and ask for it to be removed as your child is not attending daycare. Here, after-school care ends at 12.
Summer camp is different but if BM is working you can be asked to pay half. (in order for her to work).
You probably will not get back the money but you can ask for a credit.
Good luck!

[mistoffolees]

>You have to go back to court and ask for it to be removed as
>your child is not attending daycare.

Not necessarily true - which is why I requested the exact wording. For example, if the agreement says that he has to reimburse for for money spent for child care, then he doesn't owe her anything if she hasn't spent anything - no matter what the age.

It's just impossible to comment without details.

[shosho71]

"In said agreement the two components of child support are stated in Article IV, paragraph 4.1  The current support component (i.e. basic child support obligation) of the child support award is stated as 101. as determined by Sec. 46b-215a-2a(c) of the Connecticut Child Support Guidlines.  The guidelines schedule is set forth in Sec. 46b-215a-2a(f) of the C.C.S.P.
 A second component of the fathers child support oder is found in Sec. 46b-215a-2a(h) which provides:  "the non-custodial parent shall be ordered to pay the custodial parent a child care contribution as part of each child support award entered under this section."
In this matter the child care component is 100.00.
The total child support award is 201. weekly.  A copy of the child support guidelines worksheet, filed x day is attached to this memo."

THat is all it says about the child day care and child support issue.
thanks again for taking the time to respond

[mistoffolees]

I would look up those statutes to see when it ends and whether it ends automatically or whether you have to ask the court to end it.

But based on my reading (as a layman since I'm not an attorney), it looks like you owe the money even if she doesn't have any child care expenditures until you can get the court to stop it- unless the statute says something different.

[ocean]

You have to go back to court and get that removed. Is the money garnished from your check? If not, file on your own to have it removed and stop payment. Send her a certified letter stating that since child in no longer going to daycare, you are sending the child support only. (but still go back and get it removed or you may be liable later...). Be careful...Will child support go up with your current salary? She can ask for a review at the same time and they may re figure the numbers....

[stepmom23]

> Send her a certified letter
>stating that since child in no longer going to daycare, you
>are sending the child support only. (but still go back and get
>it removed or you may be liable later...).

We were advised NOT to do it this way by DH's attorney after finding out that he had been paying $229/month towards daycare for 2 years, when the children hadn't been in daycare at all (ages 12 and 11 at the time).   She said that he would have been in contempt since the daycare portion was paid as part of the total child support award. (State is Florida)  

Also, the only back portion he rec'd was from the date of filing.  EW faked a letter to DH, back dating it 2 years, saying that the children were no longer in daycare.  Later in mediation the EW agreed that she owed DH 2 years of daycare (and obviously admitting her guilt that she had produced a fake letter), but refused to pay the money.  Only way to get it would've been to take her to court.  Spending another $6,000 to "possibly" gain $5,500 was not a win-win situation for us or the children.      

[ocean]

In our state it is separate...child support and then child care gets added on. Once child reaches 12 they no longer qualify to go to daycare around here so you can have that removed.
Child support is fairly straight forward and you can do it yourself. BM would need to bring in receipts and you bring in counter evidence. You could do it yourself if you were comfortable for free (we do not have a filing fee). OR you could just pay a lawyer for that day in court and do the paperwork yourself.

You were able to win the daycare part but you had trouble getting her to pay you back the two years she did not tell you they were not in daycare. Not what the poster asked....