Child Support Unfairness
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Child Support
I believe that any parent that has a child has an obligation to support there children. I know there's a lot of dead beat parents out there that will work off the books and avoid paying child support in every which way. On the other hand you have the parent that's willing to support there child in every which way possible even if it's flipping burgers to see that there child is taking care of. I find there's a lot of unfairness though to the parent that's obligated to pay child support and I'll explain why.
Where The Unfairness Is
When child support is established it goes by the income of both parents so if the parent that has to pay child support makes more money then the other, then the obligator has to pay more in child support. What this means is the parent receiving child support that makes say twelve dollars an hour can go and quit there job or get fired and collect unemployment and put in a modification of child support. When the modification happens child support then takes the parents twelve dollar an hour income and adjusts the child support to minimum wage which is seven something an hour and this makes the child support amount go up more so the parent paying has to pay more. If the parent paying child support gets a raise then there again child support payments go up even more. Which I believe it's unfair but we do have the parents out there that like to get even with the other do to there divorce. Come on parents get over your anger it's about the children and not you.
Taxes
On your taxes you can't claim child support which I feel is very unfair, I feel a parent that is paying child support should be able to claim child support on there taxes do to the fact that taxes come out of your income first before child support gets taking so therefore it's taxed. If you pay Alimony you get to claim it on your taxes so why not child support. I think it's better to just pay alimony at least you get to claim it.
Proof
I feel as a parent paying child support you should be able to have proof of where your money is going. I think the parent that is getting child support should have to show statements that the money paid for support is going on the living expenses of the child. I see a lot of children where there parents are receiving support and the child is wearing rags as clothes and holes in there shoes but the mom has nice clothes on and her nails and her hair are nicely done. I don't feel child support money should go towards the other parents needs such as alcohol, cigs or any other use but for the child.
Society
I feel that all child support divisions and The government of each State should change there ways about how child support should work. It's not right that the parent paying child support should be punished in these ways especially the one's that accept and know what there obligation is. Maybe if we all speak out and voice our opinions these ways can be changed and child support can be one set amount for each State across the board with no lowering it or raising it.
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Voted up and useful! My husband's ex refused to work while we had full custody of his kids and joint custody of mine. She didn't even see them for almost four years, but we had to fight her to get full custody. That cost probably more than what paying child support would have cost. It really doesn't make any sense.
hello cindizzj thank you for your comment, but i don't think you understand the point im trying to make. Yes resposability should be taken for your children. What im trying to say is no matter if you make 100,000 or 1000 the ammount to take care of a child should be the same. And you should be able to deduct it after all it was taxable income on your paycheck. Please read the article agin to better understand the issue at hand.
Excellent points. Many custodial parents simply spung of the child support as their living as well.
Having had two different fathers for my two children, one who paid like clockwork, and one who waited until my daughter was almost 18 to start paying, I see both sides of this situation. My daughter is now 31 and he still has a balance of 7000.00, of which I receive about 200 a month, which covers a little more than the interest from 1983 til now. If he can afford to pay so much over these years, when she has been grown, he could have paid when she wasn't. I don't feel bad at all for him, he was stupid to handle his responsiblity in such a way and made all of our lives harder.
Its sad that we live in a society where conscience and duty to family needs to be dictated by the government. This is a thought provoking hub.
Mobias: Thanks for your comment and you are so right. The money does sit in a bank for a few days to a week collecting interest. It's so unfair that members of people's families have to go without because we have to pay an arm and a leg in child support. I think you should right an article as well maybe it will open more people's eye's on how unfair it really is. Thanks again for your comment.
This is probably the one hub on the whole site that touches on the situation I myself am involved in. A lot of these issues you raise are actually different in each state. There are problems with that, of course, as the care of children should be a universal, fixed amount. Some of the other gross examples of unfairness, is my state of Oregon calculates my base 'minimum poverty' level of support based on the federal poverty index...for ONE person. [NOT the family poverty level index] Therefore, they have taken upon themselves to block out the glaring need for me to support my new family, my other children and wife. In essence, my 3 non-joint children amount to approx. $160 total saved from child support, and me a pittance amount I can’t even pay my mortgage payment with, per our 'online calculator', yet my two joint (8 & 14yo) children take $1450 out of my check-a repercussion for my hard work getting a decent job, yes, as she stays unemployed and supported by my hard work, and even some other fathers she’s entrapped over the years.
The dirty little secret the Attorney General lies to us about, is that they make money hand over fist, by keeping us ‘legit’ fathers paying as much as possible, so that they can claim this to the feds, and receive higher annual kickbacks. They profit off of this, then they profit with the money I pay as it sits in the banks collecting interest for them for a week or so…There are COUNTLESS other seething injustices I’ve discovered stacked up against me, I could write my own hub just on this subject. A warning for honest fathers…get a lawyer, some how, some way, and as soon as possible!
JayKatt: Your situation is exactly what I'm talking about and then they wonder why people don't want to pay child support because it doesn't go to the children. I'm glad you asked your dad and he was able to show he paid and the reason why he stopped. Thankyou for sharing it's definetly an eye opener to what my article is about.
JpCusick: Thankyou for your comment and I agree it should be reformed into a realistic equation.
Husky1970: Thankyou and I agree as well. Sorry it took me so long to respond but I fractured my elbow so typing has been taking me awhile. I've been checking out more of your articles and hoping to comment on some here this week and hopefully it doesn't take me an hour typing like it is now with using one hand and of course it's the one I don't use.
annieanne104: I honestly feel that parents do have an obligation to support there children. I also feel that if a parent can't support a child then they don't belong having children. I also believe if child support sets an amount to be $ 140.00 then that's what cash you get from the other parent but me being a parent if I was paying $140.00 a month I'd still buy what my child needs so this way I know the extra money is going toward clothes,shoes,education,school lunches,etc so this way the other parent can't go and spend it on themselves and not the child. I think that's fair and I'm glad you mentioned it so I can comment on what your saying.
kittythedreamer: thankyou and I'm with you 100%.
It's unfair for one parent only getting 140 dollar's mouth, and the other parent does not want to pay more?
There is no realistic way of making the Child Support as fair or decent because the Child Support idea is fundamental wrong and misguided.
The custodial is the one that stole the child(ren) and then it is like kidnapping so if the other parent does not pay the unjustifiable ransom money as extortion then they will never see their child(ren) again.
If the one parent does not want to provide the custody in full, or they can not afford the cost of custody then they have no business being given the custody, or demanding the Child Support loot as ransom.
I say the evil Child Support system needs to be completely done away with, or else severely reformed into a realistic equation.
Completely agree with kittythedreamer. There needs to be better ways of tracking how the child support is used. Some of the other inequities you cite are interesting as well. You seem passionate about this topic, GstlngRosePetals. Hope all is well. Voted up and useful.
Hate to say it...because I really love my mom, but after her divorce from my dad when I was a toddler, all I heard from her was that my father didn't pay child support. Love him dearly too, by the way, and he wasn't a total deadbeat, he would bring me and my sister cash and gifts periodically. But Moms chief complaint was, he didn't pay his child support and couldn't be made to by garnishment because he was a barber, a cash business. Anyway, i got older, and asked him about it. And he went and dug up a cancelled check that he had been holding against the day I would finally ask. He showed me the check, which showed he had paid a support payment. The check, however, had been stamped as endorsed to the Ford Motor Company. See, in 1965 we got a new mustang. The only problem my dad had with that was that the only person who drove the mustang was my moms new husband...
I must say that I definitely agree with the "proof" of showing where the child support is going. I've seen it in my life, parent takes child support $$$ and spends it on something purely personal...not on something that helps support the child. Voted up and awesome.
GlstngRosePetals Hub Author 3 months ago
Virtual Treasures Thank you for seeing the unfairness and voicing your thoughts...