MC3

My husband has two children from a previous marriage who is now 18 and 20 years old (We live in NY). About ten years ago, they went to child support, and he was ordered to pay 25% of his gross amount of earnings. Since then, he has been paying faithfully to his ex-wife and has never missed a payment (he pays directly to her-not through the court). Since then, they never went back to court. We now have a young son, age 6 yrs old, and I attend school full time and do not work. My husband and I are having a hard time with bills, etc. He barely can take care of our six-year-old, because a big chunk goes to his ex-wife. He wants me to complete my degree and, at the same time, support his kids from his ex-wife and us. My question is: How long does he have to pay child support in New York. His ex-wife claims that she spoke to a lawyer, and he said as long as her kids are still in college, he has to pay, meaning that if his kids are 25…so on…he still has a responsibility. I don’t think this is fair. New York State Law claims that at the age of 18 you are an adult, and at 21, you are legally allowed to drink. I assume that at age 21,there is no longer a requirement to pay child support…it should be called “ADULT SUPPORT.” My question is, what is the Legal Age? Is it true what my ex claims?

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My husband has a child in Georgia. We currently live in NY. He has been paying child support for 4 yrs. now. He has just lost his job and could no longer afford to pay his child support. Do I have to pay his child support? Can I be held responsible???

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I have a question concerning child support. I am currently 19 years old, and I have been reviewing child support from my father (non-custodial parent). I live in New York State, and I attend college full time. I have recently moved out of my mother’s house and reside in an apartment. Because the child support is in my mother’s name, I have to drive over to her home to receive the check. I was wondering how I would go about, or if it was possible, to have the checks come to my home address and in my name. PS – if it helps, there is no dispute between my parents about child support.

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We were married and divorced in New York. I am the mother of 2 children whom I agreed would be better off due to financial reasons to stay with their father. Their father and I agreed that he would not have to pay child support in exchange for my waiving any right to his stock/pension/etc. that the court awarded me. Now, ten years later, my youngest is 21 years old. What is the time frame that my ex could say he never received child support and then come after me for back support??

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I am a stay at home mother of one three-year-old and expecting my second child in August. My husband wants a divorce (which I agree is for the best). However, since I left my career for our first child to become a stay at home mom, I do not have any income and can’t afford an attorney. I was just going to start back to work when my child started pre-school this fall, but my husband convinced me to have another. My husband has said he plans to sell the house (there is no equity), and I will have to live with my mother until I can get financially stable on my own. I am scared that he will get custody of our child and the unborn one since I cannot afford a home, etc. We reside in Florida. Will he have to pay alimony (he says he won’t- we don’t have much money, only his income). Is there anything I can do to get custody of my children? If we get divorced before the birth of our next, what rights does he have to it? I can’t afford to get legal advice and hope that you can help ease my mind and maybe direct me in the right way. I appreciate your help!

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Nov 2006, I was granted a divorce by Nassau County in NY. I have three children, and I am currently paying my ex-wife $2500 / month for maintenance and $2500.00/month in child support. In addition, I pay $5000.00/year towards extra-curricular activities for the children. My gross annual income before paying alimony and child support is $110,000. I have two questions that I would love to have answered. 1) Shortly after the divorce was finalized, my ex-wife informed me that she was starting a county job after the New Year. (she was unemployed throughout our 15-year marriage). I don’t know what her salary is at this new job, but I can estimate that she is making about $35,000 – $40,000/year. My question is, can I petition the courts to reduce the child support payment or the $5000 extra-curricular payment? How soon can I do this? Is there a waiting period with the courts since the divorce was finalized three months ago? 2)My children’s ages are 12(G), 9(B), and 6(B). My ex always complains that she doesn’t want to ‘waste’ money on a babysitter. Recently on my ex’s scheduled weekend, my daughter was participating in a dance competition in another state, which my ex was attending. This was for two nights. I offered to take the two boys for the weekend, but my ex told me no since she had it under control and taken care of already. When questioned, who would be watching the boys, she told me to “F” myself and that it was none of my business. I kept asking, and she eventually hung up on me – never returning my calls. The next day she went off to the dance competition in another state – I drove past the house no my way home from work, and no one was there. I called the house five times and left two voicemails, but no one answered, and no one returned my calls. I then called my ex on her cell phone and left her a voicemail telling her that I wanted to know where the boys were. I explained that I just wanted to make sure they were OK. Long story short, I had to threaten her, telling her that I would call the cops since she was out of town and I couldn’t find my two boys. She then called the boys and told the oldest (9 yrs) to call me. When I questioned her about the contact details that she gave to this person watching them, she told me that “Dan (9 yr old) knows how to contact you – your number is in the book”. I never heard from my kids that night. I called their house early the next morning, and my oldest son answered. My ex’s boyfriend of 3 months was watching them for the weekend. When I asked my son what number he had for me, he confirmed it was a cell that I haven’t owned in 4 years. I am truly upset that (1) she went out of town without telling me who was watching the kids (2) that she didn’t make sure that the person watching them had my contact details and vice versa (what would happen if something went wrong with the kids and my ex is out of state??? I am very active in their lives. I go to every (try to)sporting event. I have them every other weekend and every Tuesday. During the Christmas break, I took time off from work and had them for the entire week. I was generous to my ex financially because I wanted to make sure the kids would be taken care of, when in fact, my youngest comes with holes in his shoes. My concern is this summer. I am already paying a bunch to her, and I am fearful that she won’t get proper babysitters. What can I do? What are my rights?

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I have been divorced for almost a year now. My ex-husband is an airline pilot whose schedule varies each month. Our initial agreement that he signed was for $2300 in child support for our three children, with the understanding that he can see the children any day that he is home, but not less than the 90 days per year, as long as I work with his flexible schedule each month. This amount was not to change for any additional days. I purchased a home based on a budget with this child support payment each month. He then altered the agreement before the final divorce to allow 103 days per year shared custody (lowering the support by $550 per month), with no mention of the schedule that I had to work with. He now wants to have additional days/nights with the children, over the 103 days per year, based on the days that he is not flying. I have asked (and feel the children and I NEED) a set weekly/bi-weekly schedule for custody. I cannot continue to wait two weeks before each month to get the next month’s custody schedule. He can bid his schedule around specific days, but cannot guarantee that he will get those days each month. Is there any way I can ask the court to set a schedule that we all must follow so that I can make plans and have a normal life?

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This is my question. I discuss edit with my daughter. She had two children and has married someone who is not the biological father. He has not adopted her children. My argument is, If she gets divorced, does her husband have to support her children even though they are not his. I would appreciate an answer just to settle our disagreement. I say he doe’s not.

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If someone is paying child support from a previous relationship, and they re-marry, what are the risks associated with the new spouse? In other words, if the person responsible for paying the child support loses their job, will the new spouse have to pay it since they are legally re-married? Even though the kid is not theirs? If so, is this the same in every state? We live in NY.

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I am hoping you can help me figure out what my best course of action should be. My husband and I are married for one year, and it is his second marriage. The courts granted his divorce in 2006 by the Nassau County Courts. We currently reside in Queens, NY, and his ex and children in Nassau County. My husband earns 110K/year and I 100K/year. We don’t have a mortgage, and we live in a house (by ourselves), which his father owns. Currently, my husband pays his ex-wife $2,500 /month in maintenance and $2,500 /month in Child Support. In addition, he also pays 75% of children’s medical, $3,000 towards daughter’s dance, and $3,000 towards extra-curricular activities. (three children, each receives $1,000/yr towards extra-curricular activities). My husband’s ex currently works and makes anywhere between $35K – 40K per year. Her maintenance is set to expire in 2010. My concerns are: I have heard that NYS law dictates that should the ex-wife look to increase her cs payments, the courts COULD look at the 2nd wife’s income as a means for deciding whether or not an increase is possible. The courts could look at my salary, feel that my pay enhances my husband’s life and therefore, he can afford to contribute more money towards child support. How can I keep my money separate so that the courts won’t look at it for means of consideration? We spend a lot of time and additional money on the kids. I have no problem spending the money on them; however, I feel anything above and beyond should be at our discretion. Also, while I love my husband and his kids, I need to make sure we have our savings for our future. Currently, we have no children together, and I have no children of my own, but this may change, and I need to know that financially we can afford it and not have to worry about fighting in the courts. Please let me know what my options are. Is keeping a checking account in my name sufficient? Do my tax returns come into play? Should we be filing separately?

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