This is about fathers’ rights law, and protecting the best interests of your children. It provides information, news and comments on laws, cases and strategies for life as a single father and winning your custody, access or child support case.
The law firm of Cordell and Cordell has published a free app for iPhone and iPad called Men’s Divorce Source Lite.
The screen shot shows Goals and articles on Advice, Child Custody, Finances, Parental Alienation, Child Support and Alimony.
GizMagazine.Com has a description and screen shots of other handy divorce apps that, for a nominal cost, can help with your divorce.
Want to know when child support terminates and whether or not you’ll have to pay college costs? Here’s a state by state chart.
Arnold Schwarzenegger does not agree that he should have to pay alimony or attorney fees for Maria Shriver according to divorce pleadings filed by his attorney in response to her complaint for divorce.
The pleadings may not make much difference if the couple settles out of court.
Both parties are asking the court for joint custody of their sons, age 17 and 13. Child support will also have to be addressed in the settlement.
Source: Bakersfieldnow.com
Fatemeh and Thomas entered into a marital settlement agreement in 2006, which required Thomas to pay $1200 per month in child support for three years and then $750 an month into a college educational account for the children.
Shortly before the three years was up, Fatemeh filed a petition to modify child support claiming the provision converting the $1200 monthly child support payment to a $750 payment into a college educational account was void as against public policy.
The court said the provision would have violated public policy if it relieved Thomas entirely or permanently from his duty to support his minor child. A parent may not waive or otherwise contract away their child’s right to support. But that does not prevent parents from making contracts or agreements concerning their child’s support so long as the best interests of the children are served. Since the payment was directed into an account for the benefit of the child, there was no public policy violation in the provision of the settlement agreement requiring the child support payment of $750 to be deposited into a college educational account.
Laussermair v. Laussermair, No. 4D09-4823, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D448
(Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District, March 2, 2011)
Last year Maryland raised its child support guidelines. Just before that, it extended the age that child support terminates from 18 to the earlier of 19 or graduation from high school if a child is living at home and enrolled full time in high school.
This year, Maryland delegates have introduced House Bill 1272 that would extend child support if the child is enrolled in an institution of postsecondary education (college or vocational school) until the earlier of graduation or age 21.
If enacted, this would allow college tuition and room and board to be added to costs in above guidelines cases just in time for tuition bills this fall.
In Maryland, where I practice, this percentage is important because it determines whether child support is calculated on the shared custody worksheet or the sole custody worksheet.
Child support on the sole custody worksheet is higher. Multiply a few hundred dollars a month times twelve months in a year times the number of years until the children reach 18 or 19 and you will see that it is a lot of money we are talking about here.
Maryland counts only overnights in determining the percentage. So a weekend from Friday to Monday is three overnights. A weekend from Saturday to Sunday is one overnight. Three overnights every other week times 26 alternating weekends in a year is 78 overnights a year. Then you have to add and subtract for holidays, school breaks and summer vacations. The dividing line in Maryland that puts dads on the lower shared custody guidelines is 128 overnights a year or 35%.
Jon Gosselin has filed a Complaint in Custody and for Child Support against Kate Gosselin. Jon has said that Kate is spending too much time on Dancing with the Stars and that she is neglecting the kids. The Complaint doesn’t mention that but says she is abusing the discretion she was given by the arbitrator to set the times when Jon can be with the children. Jon is asking that custody of the children be changed to him and that the court review the child support awarded by the arbitrator.
Hector and Maxine Joy Sallaberry of Florida had been married for 17 years and had one son. Hector owned a copy machine repair business. Maxine had almost no income and Hector supported the family. Family expenses were about $5,000 a month.
In their divorce, Maxine hired a forensic accountant who reviewed Hector’s business records and testified that he made $6,752 a month. Hector countered that he could only bill about one hour a day on the average at $95 an hour, and that his income was $3,400 a month.
The trial judge found that Hector was voluntarily underemployed. He imputed income to Hector for child support and alimony on the following basis. He said Hector could bill 20 hours a week which would result in about $95,000 a year in revenues. Then he subtracted $15,000 for expenses leaving about $80,000 in profits which matched what the accountant said Hector earned.
On appeal, the Florida appeals court reversed, saying that (1) the judge’s finding that Hector could bill 20 hours a week was speculation, not evidence; (2) the accountant failed to subtract business expenses from his number; and (3) the judge could not impute income solely on past ability to pay because that might not reflect current earning power.
In 2004, Travis Deon Henry had reason to be happy, having just signed a 25 million dollar contract with the NFL’s Denver Broncos. He would soon need the money because Jameshia L. Beacham of Georgia filed a paternity suit against him.
And that’s not all. Henry had eight other children in multiple states and child support orders for almost all of them. Although Henry made almost $50,000 a month, he was behind on his temporary child support payments to Beacham when the matter came on for trial. So the Judge ordered him to place $250,000 in trust to secure the payments. The trust would be returned to Henry after his child support obligation was satisfied.
Henry appealed the legality of the trust fund requirement but the appeals court found that the trial court had the authority to fashion such a remedy in these circumstances. Henry v. Beacham, A09A1129 (2009).
Vickie Duckworth and Darren Kamp got married in 1983, and had three children together. Then Darren decided to have a vasectomy in 1987. Vickie became pregnant again in 1992. Although Darren knew about her affair, he decided to treat the child as his own.
The couple stayed together until 1998 and filed for divorce in 1999. In their separation agreement and divorce, Darren stated that he was the father of all four children.
In 2005, Vickie filed a motion to modify child support because Darren was making more money. Darren had had enough. In his response he said that he was not the biological father of the fourth child, and asked for a DNA test. The court granted his request, and the DNA test came back negative, Since Darren was not the biological father, the Court said he was not required to pay child support.
The Maryland Court of Appeals reversed, and sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings, saying the judge must first consider whether or not a DNA test was in the best interests of the child. And those considerations should take into account the length of time that Darren had maintained a father-child relationship.
Kamp v. Dep’t of Human Services, Maryland Court of Appeals, September 21, 2009
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