Child Support Question - Battle Creek,MI

If the parent went to court to get child support then that new judgement replaces the old one, child support is often revisited from time to time due to changing life circumstances, or someone realizing they were being too nice by letting the other parent off the hook for taking care of their own children.

I'm not familiar with MI law in particular, but it's unlikely that an agreement not to pursue child support... even if that agreement was written into the divorce decree... can be held has binding in perpetuity.

Each parent has a financial RESPONSIBILITY to his/her children. The parent with physical custody meets that financial responsibility on a day to day basis by meeting the daily needs of the child (including things like keeping the lights and heat on in a bigger house than would be required if the children didn't live there etc.). The non-custodial parent, then, has to pay more directly to help meet some of those responsibilities for his/her children.

The divorce decree listed no child support (the weekly amount wasn't child support but something else?), but you later went BACK to court and the custodial parent applied for child support. So that was a NEW order, AFTER the divorce decree. Issues of child custody and support are never permanent. With the exception of relinquishing parental rights (which is permanent), it is impossible to decide at the moment of divorce how children will be cared for until adulthood.

I live in MI and I also got divorced in MI. I know that you can always ask the court for more money. You may or may not always get it, but you have the right to file a motion to ask for more money. The BEST person to ask this question to is your attorney. From my experience with the family court, every judge is different. Make sure that the attorney you have is well versed in the family court you are filing in.

Does your decree specify what this weekly money is for? My ex had a weekly child support amount to pay and also a childcare amount which was put toward our daughter's daycare costs.

Rarely does a court require that you, a mother, pay back child support money to the father. Both parents are financially responsible for the welfare of their child.

However, if I were you, I still would ask an attorney just to be sure.

This is a confusing question. What does the divorce paper say - "no child support" or "an agreed upon amount weekly". Why would the divorce papers allow for no child support?? Are you asking if the court would make you pay back child support that you already received?? Did you originally agree to "no child support", but then made a side agreement with the father to get an agreed upon amount each week?? And now you want to go back to court and modify the divorce papers to require the father to pay child support so you can go back to school??? Please clarify.

Gamma G is not correct. I had a judge rule for back child support that was not paid or ordered at the time. You can file whatever you want, you just have to PROVE that something changed in circumstances to justify it. I think a lot of women, including myself, say, F you, I will take care of my child myself you jerk. Then when the reality of that hits, they realize that the father really should be paying a fair amount to support his kid(s). So yes, you can file to ask for more, you may or may not get it. And you don't need an attorney to do it. Go to the courthouse and there will be a form that says, "modify child support" and it will spell it out for you exactly what you need to do. It should cost about $12 for the forms and maybe a little more to file it. Good luck.

Um...no. The second court decree where the father was ordered to pay support while the custodial parent went to school modified the original decree and that's now the rule that both parties must follow. If there has been another substantial change in circumstance, either party can always go back to court and ask for another modification that will either raise, lower or eliminate future support. Past support owed or paid is never modified.

IF the papers did not specify any particular amount was to be paid but that the party had agreed between themselves for any amount on a weekly basis then the court does not have the authority to say "We decided you have to go back and pay at least minimum wage child support for the last 10 years. A judge decreed no child support was ordered and the 2 parties agreed. She can't go back and change her mind now.

Minimum wage child support in Oklahoma is about $168 per month. If he did pay anything to her and it wasn't even that much she still can't make him pay any back child support because he was never ordered to pay it. Therefore he did not owe it. There is no bill because he wasn't ordered to pay. All he needs to do is have a copy of his order and any proof he has he paid anything and he is clear.

Also, going back to school for free has nothing to do with going after child support. More income would mean she'd have less chance of getting financial aid. If she has LESS income she'll have a lot more aid given.

IF she filed for food stamps, medical assistance, or child care then the state filed in her stead or she would not be able to receive that assistance. As sad as it is the state will require she file so she will increase her own income and use less of the states assistance. So they require her to file.

I would also say that if he has been paying her anything over the years he might need to find some sort of way to sit down and think back to what he paid her so he can have a list that shows he paid her something. Even if he didn't pay anything.

If the state filed the paperwork for child support she may not even be in court. She may not even be aware of the court date. The state has the father's income tax returns now and they know what he's claiming he has earned. They will base his new child support on his current income. If he had a huge income and it's recently gone down drastically they may ask what happened and order a lower payment but that's not likely if he just quit a high paying job to take it easy or semi retire.

To me, this makes no sense. First, unless the non-custodial parent has no ability to pay, child support is always ordered. Then you say "only an agreed upon amount weekly" well, how is that "agreed upon" weekly amount categoriozed? Is it family support?

If the father goes to court, how can the court order the custodial parent to pay back all of the child support received when no support was ordered? Again, the question of how the weekly payments are categorized.

The custodial parent has the right to go back to court. The judge's decision will be based, in large part, on what, if anything, has changed since the original order.