Child Support

Child support is another thing about family court that again awards the person who has custody, and sometimes punishes the person who doesn't get custody of the child. Let me explain this further. I recieve child support for my daughter from her father. This is because he chooses to have her live with me and only see her every other weekend. He can see her whenever he wants, but this is the agreement we have for now due to his work schedule and the distance between our homes. We live in the same town, but it is about a 20 minute drive out of his way to work for school. My husband would be more than happy to be able to drive his daughter to school 30 minutes away each day, however he isn't given the opportunity. This post isn't to bash my ex, because I think he is a great man. I am just stating that I am someone who recieves child support and I don't feel it is fair to the person who pays. Here is why:

1- To the parent who is only allowed standard visitation. Child support is based on the number of overnights the parent has with their child. The court decides that a parent cannot have their child although that is not what the parent wants. Then the court says not only can you not have your child, you need to pay more money to the other parent. Many people are happy to support their child, so they should have them in their home more so they can offer them more than just the financial support.

2- Child support is based on Gross income. How many people get to take home their gross income? Taxes come out first. Also, the person paying the child support cannot claim the child on their taxes. So there is no tax deduction, and you are paying on your gross income. Doesn't make sense to me. If nothing else the person paying should be able to claim the child support on their taxes.

3-Let's say you are the person who is paying child support and you lose your job. You have no choice but to pay that child support. If you do not you go to jail. While you are in jail your child support is piling up, and you obviously cannot work in jail. You cannot get out of jail until you pay the child support. It's a no win situation. This isn't only for total non-payment. Let's say your payment is $100 a week and you pay $60 because that's all you can afford. You still go to jail. The court will tell you sell your house, your car, be homeless if you have to. You still have to pay this child support.

4- The person who has custody can just choose not to work or work a job with little pay so they can collect child support. In my husband's situation his ex-wife works 10 hours a week as a waitress. She has two college degrees. She didn't even work for more than a year. Even better, this woman lives with her parents. She has no rent or mortgage. The normal cost of living. Yet he has to pay her child support.

Do not get me wrong when I discuss this. I know that child support is neccessary. I know there are many people who don't pay their child support leaving all of the burden on one person. I have seen many people suffer because they get no help. I don't think that is right. I again am talking about situations where you have a parent that wants to have their child in their home. A parent that takes their child on vacations, keeps a room in their house for them, buys them clothing, school supplies, and birthday parties.