Child Support

[Nebulous]

In some cases they take as much as half of the other parent's paycheck, leaving him/her not being able to survive and giving the custodial parent more than enough money to take care of the child's basic needs..
If someone does not pay child support, should they still be able to see their child?

What are your thoughts on child support?

 

[PurpleCrow]

(I can only say what its like in the UK)

I've yet to meet someone who paid so much child support they cant survive, its just not how it works here.

My dad lied and said he didnt have a job so he didnt pay anything. If my mum made a complaint about him he would just lie again. He never payed a penny. My mum didnt stop him seeing me because of it.

I think both parents should support their children, whether its through literally raising them or by paying money to help with the cost of things. But I dont think this should have anything to do with visitation.

 

[shortay91]

My mom had (and still has to) pay my dad for child support for me. She had to pay over $200, I believe or it was close to that. I am currently still in the middle of this because she lives in Michigan and I lived with my father in Missouri. State of Michigan never found out from my dad or the state of Missouri that I moved out, so my mom has been paying as if I still lived with my father.
There is, in my opinion, no point to child support. When I lived with my dad, I never got any of the money my mom sent. My clothes had holes and my shoes were pretty much talking to people. My dad said that the entire check that he got was for food. I don't eat that much, besides when I'm depressed.
My dad gambled a lot; went to the Boat a lot (That's a boat on the Mississippi River like Ameristar.).

I think that they should still be able to see their kid, well because it's their kid. Unless, there is proof that that parent wouldn't take care of their child.

 

[Nebulous]

Not to mention that the state keeps a big chunk of the money that should be put toward the child's care instead.
If I had full custody of my child and my ex had no way of paying any money or refused to pay any money, I wouldn't deprive my child of seeing her mother. That is just wrong. Whoever would do that is a sick person.

 

[Gimgak]

Child support really isn't that big, at least from what I see. My dad has to pay less than $400 a month, and this is Massachusetts we're talking about, most states have lower child support.

 

[Nebulous]

My co-worker is required to give 45% of his pay check PLUS pay for his children's health insurance. He cannot support himself on whats left of his paycheck and if it wasn't for his brother taking him in, he would be homeless. Some people can get seriously screwed and nobody gives a damn. The system is all screwed up.

 

[shortay91]

Yes it is. My mom is paying twice the amount since I moved out. It shouldn't have doubled, but I guess to get it all paid with it's going that way. So she's paying that, and she's paying for me to live with my boyfriend. I don't know how she does it, but Child support isn't helping the situation. It never did.

 

[Leo Ghost]

I guess the first thing to realize is, of course the system is corrupt, can you name a government funded system that isn't? It's all good to talk about the "what if's" and think of ideas to make things better, but they all have flaws. There is no master plan that will apply perfectly in all cases, because we're people and all different. I'm sure the system we have now sounded like the best idea at the time, but it's flaws have been reveled.

Personally speaking I think that in full custody cases, the one without the child should pay nothing. In partial cases, there should be a rough estimate made for each child by the court for how much the child costs per year. The main examples would be schooling fees, cell phone service (if it applies) ect. Then this "cost" should be divided as custody was, 50/50, 30/70, ect.

However, that idea has its flaws as well. It could be argued that a "cell phone" is an unneeded expense by a parent, and this could turn sour quickly. My goal is to never have to face this problem myself, but who knows what fate has in store.

 

[Justin]

This is my thought:
My mom was a Child Support Officer, she called on people who didn't pay child support.

What I say is keep it. No argue. It is required. That is my view, short and sweet. I hate people disagreeing with this stuff :shrug:

 

[Bossanova]

My thought on this is; if you do not pay your child support, you should not get to see your kid.

 

[Watch Me Sink]

My thought on this is; if you do not pay your child support, you should not get to see your kid.

You have no idea how many parents would seize the oppurtunity to pay nothing and never see their kid(s). There are deadbeat parents out there that would love to have no responsibility whatsoever, and not have to pay child support.

 

[Bossanova]

My thought on this is; if you do not pay your child support, you should not get to see your kid.

You have no idea how many parents would seize the oppurtunity to pay nothing and never see their kid(s). There are deadbeat parents out there that would love to have no responsibility whatsoever, and not have to pay child support.

That isn't something we can change, though. The only thing we can do is try to make them pay.

 

[Leo Ghost]

The only thing we can do is try to make them pay.

And as Theezy pointed out, it's not always possible to pay, no matter how "willing" the person is to. That's a life issue really, due to money and things you can be a truly "good" person and still owe thousands in debt and be hunted down for missing payments. It's not because you're holding out on them, it's because your job isn't making enough to cover everything, and you need to pick and choose. Sometimes you have to miss the child services payment to keep your house for another month. Take in all factors when you think of these things, it's still a wonder to me how debt collectors can manage to sleep at night knowing that *some* of the people they're suing for money are in the process of losing their homes, their jobs, ect.

 

[Nebulous]

My thought on this is; if you do not pay your child support, you should not get to see your kid.

If I had full custody of my child and my ex had no way of paying any money or refused to pay any money, I wouldn't deprive my child of seeing her mother. That is just wrong. Whoever would do that is a sick person.

If Parent-A does not provide for the child, then Parent-B has to step up to the plate.

Is that fair to Parent-B? No, it isn't.

Does that give Parent-B the right to be unfair to the child and deprive them of a relationship with Parent-A? No, it doesn't.