The Battle Over Child Support
Posted on September 6th, 2008 – 9:35 PMBy May Chen
A situation I hope never to be in - trying to figure out who pays who for child support in a divorce. Jean Hopfensberger writes in the Sunday paper about new child support rules introduced last year that takes into account the incomes of both former spouses, not just the non-custodial one.
Mothers rights groups say it punishes the custodial parent - 90 percent of whom are women - and creates a perverse dis-incentive to work since mothers who work harder and make more money will see child support go down. Dads’ groups say even with the new formula, their portion of child support is still too high.
Lots of Mad Dads commenting. At least, I think they’re dads from the nature of the comments…
6 Responses to "The Battle Over Child Support"
[…] Originally published by Cribsheet […]
I feel everyone loses with child support. It shouldn’t be based on how much the parents make. Diapers, formula, clothing and medical expenses,child care and education should be added up then split down the middle with parents. It should be filed at tax time. Each parents keeps track of what they spend on the child. Everyone has a right to prosper but when its going to be taken from them they get creative or lazy and the child always suffers. Child support should be a decided contract at conception. Like that would ever happen!
Fortunately, my husband and his ex have joint custody over his daughter, and he doesn’t have to pay child support anymore. Before that, though, he nearly bankrupted himself trying to keep up with not only the support payment but also his daughter’s health insurance, while his ex bought two houses and works a part-time job. I would never, ever suggest that my husband should do less than his share for his daughter — both in money and in time and parenting. But, it really didn’t seem fair that his ex was making over $60k a year and living pretty well and he was making less than $30k and sinking deeper and deeper into debt trying to keep up. But I agree with Roz — everyone loses under a “formula” system. Add it up, split it.
Clearly, one size fits all does not work in child support and both sides can feel “cheated”. I have looked at the calculator (but not had to use it in my case) and as a custodial mother, feel it is a fair and accurate financial division. It seems to cover many of the different areas of child rearing.
Wow, I just tried out the calculator, and the expected child support using that is almost 4 times the amount that I’m getting for my son now. The order we have now is for $128/month. Totally ridiculous, I know. That barely covers a trip to the grocery store.
I think there would be problems no matter how the child support system was set up. Unfortunately, there has to be a system since parents are often unable to agree upon and facilitate child support issues on their own.
P.S. We’re not all “former spouses”…some of us have never been married. 
Good point, Erika! Should have said “incomes of both parents…” sted former spouses.
