Post by Jim on Jan 7, 2010 12:18:22 GMT -5
This is happening all over the place all the time, and to thousands and thousands of families!!!!!
Second Wife Tells How Child Support Separated Her Husband from his Kids
Wednesday, January 6, 2010By Robert Franklin, Esq.
The following was written by one of our readers. It follows up on a piece I did several weeks ago about her husband. Two or three comments questioned the facts stated in the article that formed the basis of my post. This corroborates and adds to that article.
How long would you work a full-time job for $58 a week or just $1.45/hour? This happened to my husband, John Nelson, due to a child support order exceeding his take-home pay and it ultimately tore our family apart.
After being terminated from a contract position, John aggressively searched for a new job. With only savings to rely on, and knowing his salary may not be as high, he filed for a temporary reduction in child support and continued to pay his $2,200 per month in full from savings for six months.
While searching for work, John made the decision to pursue a financial planning career. He worked for potential commissions and no salary, a difficult career choice in the downward economy. In the meantime, John was awaiting trial; mediation was unproductive, motions were filed, discovery was requested, and finally a year later, his case went to trial. Much focus was on John's assets and his previous income; assets which were sold, diminished or in foreclosure, income he no longer was earning. Although he never missed a child support payment, John was expected to continue paying his support in full, an impossible task.
Earning little to no income, our circumstances were looking dire. John continued to look for work, ultimately applying for a teaching position. The pay wasn't equivalent to a software executive's, but it was more than he was earning as a broker and we were grateful for the opportunity. Although the time was demanding, John loved teaching and his students thrived in his classroom.
The judge's ruling came back eight weeks after trial; it was devastating as she increased his support by $300 to $2,500/month. Apparently the motions he filed stating he was now a teacher earning a steady $37k were misinterpreted as a second job.
John continued to pay support consistent with a teacher's salary, but if he couldn't work out an agreement with his ex, he would be held in contempt for not meeting the judge's order. He offered his ex-wife full payment for arrearages, about $14k from what was left in his retirement fund and $900/month in support consistent with a teacher's salary. She flat out refused, with no discussion, stating, "Go file your appeal." She preferred to pay for an appeal than to be made whole. I'm sure she thought there was more money where the other came from; sadly, this wasn't the case.
Soon after the appeal was filed, a motion for garnishment was filed by his ex-wife. John's attorney didn't think this could successfully be done. The case was under appeal and garnishment orders are a last resort, to be used if the father is not making payments or if the children's welfare is in jeopardy. The paperwork was railroaded through; his attorney was not allowed to object and no one cared that the garnishment order was far more than he was currently earning. Correctly calculating 50% of his net earnings and then deducting for health insurance left our family with $58 a week. Although my husband's entire pay was being taken, he was still in contempt for not meeting the $2,500 a month order and our properties under the threat of foreclosure were now having liens placed on them.
This entire time, we fed, clothed and provided a home for all the children. The schedule allowed John to have his children one overnight shy of 50/50 custody. As active a role as we played in the children's lives, our financial hardships were of no one else's concern, not his ex-sife or the court system. While my husband earned $58 a week, my non-steady income helped pay for groceries and expenses.
I tried to reason with my husband's ex-wife, but her only focus was on money my husband earned before he lost his job. In a heated discussion, she barked, "I know all that money is just gone." I tried to help her understand in an email that all the money was spent carefully; divided between debt, our home and savings. Those savings she benefited from every month she received as child support while John wasn't earning income. The rest of the money was no longer accessible.
The entire time, John also tried to negotiate settlements with his ex-wife. In the final offer, he begged that she remove the garnishment order; otherwise, he would be forced to move away from his children. She always refused, making no offers of her own. John quit teaching and we moved away. His students cried, his children cried and we were all devastated, our hearts broken.
We are now living in a 900-square-foot cabin, a home we managed to hold on to due to the low mortgage of $463 a month. It's nice and quiet here, but we miss our kids. We want our family back.
mensnewsdaily.com/glennsacks/2010/01/06/second-wife-tells-how-child-support-separated-her-husband-from-his-kids/
Second Wife Tells How Child Support Separated Her Husband from his Kids
Wednesday, January 6, 2010By Robert Franklin, Esq.
The following was written by one of our readers. It follows up on a piece I did several weeks ago about her husband. Two or three comments questioned the facts stated in the article that formed the basis of my post. This corroborates and adds to that article.
How long would you work a full-time job for $58 a week or just $1.45/hour? This happened to my husband, John Nelson, due to a child support order exceeding his take-home pay and it ultimately tore our family apart.
After being terminated from a contract position, John aggressively searched for a new job. With only savings to rely on, and knowing his salary may not be as high, he filed for a temporary reduction in child support and continued to pay his $2,200 per month in full from savings for six months.
While searching for work, John made the decision to pursue a financial planning career. He worked for potential commissions and no salary, a difficult career choice in the downward economy. In the meantime, John was awaiting trial; mediation was unproductive, motions were filed, discovery was requested, and finally a year later, his case went to trial. Much focus was on John's assets and his previous income; assets which were sold, diminished or in foreclosure, income he no longer was earning. Although he never missed a child support payment, John was expected to continue paying his support in full, an impossible task.
Earning little to no income, our circumstances were looking dire. John continued to look for work, ultimately applying for a teaching position. The pay wasn't equivalent to a software executive's, but it was more than he was earning as a broker and we were grateful for the opportunity. Although the time was demanding, John loved teaching and his students thrived in his classroom.
The judge's ruling came back eight weeks after trial; it was devastating as she increased his support by $300 to $2,500/month. Apparently the motions he filed stating he was now a teacher earning a steady $37k were misinterpreted as a second job.
John continued to pay support consistent with a teacher's salary, but if he couldn't work out an agreement with his ex, he would be held in contempt for not meeting the judge's order. He offered his ex-wife full payment for arrearages, about $14k from what was left in his retirement fund and $900/month in support consistent with a teacher's salary. She flat out refused, with no discussion, stating, "Go file your appeal." She preferred to pay for an appeal than to be made whole. I'm sure she thought there was more money where the other came from; sadly, this wasn't the case.
Soon after the appeal was filed, a motion for garnishment was filed by his ex-wife. John's attorney didn't think this could successfully be done. The case was under appeal and garnishment orders are a last resort, to be used if the father is not making payments or if the children's welfare is in jeopardy. The paperwork was railroaded through; his attorney was not allowed to object and no one cared that the garnishment order was far more than he was currently earning. Correctly calculating 50% of his net earnings and then deducting for health insurance left our family with $58 a week. Although my husband's entire pay was being taken, he was still in contempt for not meeting the $2,500 a month order and our properties under the threat of foreclosure were now having liens placed on them.
This entire time, we fed, clothed and provided a home for all the children. The schedule allowed John to have his children one overnight shy of 50/50 custody. As active a role as we played in the children's lives, our financial hardships were of no one else's concern, not his ex-sife or the court system. While my husband earned $58 a week, my non-steady income helped pay for groceries and expenses.
I tried to reason with my husband's ex-wife, but her only focus was on money my husband earned before he lost his job. In a heated discussion, she barked, "I know all that money is just gone." I tried to help her understand in an email that all the money was spent carefully; divided between debt, our home and savings. Those savings she benefited from every month she received as child support while John wasn't earning income. The rest of the money was no longer accessible.
The entire time, John also tried to negotiate settlements with his ex-wife. In the final offer, he begged that she remove the garnishment order; otherwise, he would be forced to move away from his children. She always refused, making no offers of her own. John quit teaching and we moved away. His students cried, his children cried and we were all devastated, our hearts broken.
We are now living in a 900-square-foot cabin, a home we managed to hold on to due to the low mortgage of $463 a month. It's nice and quiet here, but we miss our kids. We want our family back.
mensnewsdaily.com/glennsacks/2010/01/06/second-wife-tells-how-child-support-separated-her-husband-from-his-kids/
