Question:
My soon-to-be-ex-wife found a new job and said the kids must go to an expensive daycare that she wants me to pay a substantial amount per month, in addition to my child support.
Can she really put the kids in the most expensive daycare she can find, which costs more than her reported gross monthly income, just to get me to pay more money?
Someone told me the kids aren’t even going every day, which upsets me even more that I would be paying a lot of money to a child care provider that the kids don’t go to every day.
Answer:
I am unable to give you legal advice on divorce. I can give general divorce help for men, though, my knowledge is based on Michigan child support laws where I am licensed to practice.
Child support laws vary from state to state but are typically based on several factors, including the parenting time schedule and parties’ incomes.
Generally, child support does not include the additional expense of child care. Where I practice, child care expenses are an additional expense, above and beyond the payor’s monthly child support, that must be shared between the parties.
The key phrase is that the parties share in this expense. You may be able to request to make the payments directly to the child care provider’s location to ensure that the children are actually attending day care on a regular basis as stated by mom.
Cordell & Cordell understands the concerns men face during divorce.
If the payments are made directly to the daycare provider, you may be able to pay on a percentage basis between the parties according to the amount of time the children are actually in daycare.
Finally, you may want to do some research to see if there are any comparable day care providers in the area that are less expensive and request that this daycare provider be utilized instead of the one that mom chose.
The fact that mom has obtained employment and/or is reporting income may be a good factor for you as it may reduce your child support based on mom’s new income.
Remember, I am unable to provide you with anything more than divorce tips for men, so please consult with a divorce lawyer in your jurisdiction.
To arrange an initial consultation to discuss divorce rights for men with a Cordell & Cordell attorney, including Ann Arbor Divorce Lawyer Laura D. Langenburg, contact Cordell & Cordell.
I live in illinois and the mother of my child is doing the exact same thing. She wants 20% of my income and wants to put the child in the most expensive day care and keeps saying why wouldnt you want your child to have the best as the excuse. When in reality she knows its too expensive. She actually is military and makes almost 15K more than i do annually. I also have been with my current girlfriend of 6 years who is now pregnant. My current child is 8 months old which was conceived during a fling or one time affair and the mother was pissed that i didnt want to be with her after one night so she had the child. we have been doing mediation but have no agreement and we are pending court for child support and custody now. I dont want this one time fling affect the children and family that i am having with my girlfriend of 6 years.
I need help