Guidelines--Child Support

Question: Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA) form and Guideline Child Support question? Can you please let me know where I can get a blank Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA) form? This is for dissolution of a Domestic Partnership in California. Additionally, how can I know what the guideline child support amount will be? I believe this information needs to be included in the MSA but I am not sure how to get it. Or can I simply state that I will pay the guideline child support amount and let the courts tell me how much that will be? Thanks for your time! We have a child custody and visitation order in effect but there is no child support order in effect. I am trying to finalize our DP dissolution. The reason that I would like to pay the guideline support amount is to prevent my ex from using the courts as a revolving door.

Answer: Forms and free legal advice are on the site below. As for child support ? There are numerous factors that come into play: How much time the child spends with each parent. What is the income / expense of each parent ? Other issues Only a court would determine the amount. However, if you are thinking of volunteering to do whatever the court tells you to without a fight (re: without an attorney) you are CRAZY. If you do that (all of this without an attorney) you will come out on the loosing end. You will hardly get any visitation, you will pay so much money you might end up homeless, and nothing will ever be settled. Your child will suffer. I speak from experience. Peace.

Question: Settle or try for full custody? HELP. Wife is not being reasonable.? My stbx has given the "ok" to a visitation arrangement where she is offering me 40% of the time with the children (all weekends - Fri, Sat, and Sun nights except the first one of the month) and 8 weeks during the summer and shared holidays. However, she will only offer this schedule if I will pay the full amount of child support (no deduction for amount of time they spend with me). Its either that, she says, or go to court and risk paying full amount of child support and only having kids regular visitation schedule equivalent to 20%). In essence, I am being blackmailed. I will be out a good deal of extra expenses for child care during summer, and her expenses will be somewhat reduced. I have suggested that a 15% reduction from the guideline child support amount would be reasonable - but she won't go for it. She's basically after as much money as she can get. So, at this point I am not sure what to do and emotions are clouding my judgment. What should I do? I'm by far the better parent and was the one who provided most childcare during the marriage. However, I'm a dad and the children are 6 and 4 - so I face an uphill battle getting custody. Also, she is a teacher - has same schedule as the kids - and her extended family lives here - and mine is far away. Lawyers are already involved. In fact, they presented this ultimatum to me in conference with my lawyer. In Mississippi they will not grant shared physical custody unless both parents agree to it. Also, if I go to court and lose, then I will get court-ordered regular visitation rather than the 40% she is dangling in front of me now. Basically, with this schedule, I would have children almost all the time they are out of school - yet she wants me to pay 100% of child support. I will end up paying quite a bit more as I will incur a lot of expenses myself.

Answer: The best thing for both of the children is that you and your spouse share custody of the children. Do not be fooled by what is now called Joint Custody. 99% of the time this is a reference to joint legal custody. This is not shared custody where both parents have equal established time with the children and the children are available to either parent at any time. You may be personally inconvenienced by your spouse being allowed to drop by when she wants, and she may feel or be the same. Tough Crap. The children come first. Her expenses will not be somewhat reduced, her expenses will be directly reduced the exact amount of the time that you have the children. Don't let them run a numbers game on you. If you have the children 40% of the time, that is an 80% reduction in her expenses. Tell your attorney that your wife has made an offer. Tell your attorney that you want them to put it in writing and tender it to your attorney for review. Then get an emergency hearing in front of the court. Have this agreement tendered to the courts as evidence that your wife wants to 'be reasonable' and share custody with you. Again, Shared being that they spend equal time with both parents. Then file a motion that you agree with this reasonable offer, if the child support is reduced proportionally. Don't let her play that feminist crap with you. Tell the judge, she obviously has no issues with your parenting skills, so equal custody is best. If there is equal custody, you both take care of your own financial situations. Don't let the judge give you any crap either. Child Support is Alimony. I have included a few links below that I am sure will help both you and your ex find a way to put aside your petty differences and help you work together for the sake of your child. Studies show that equal time with both parents will make a child more likely to grow up emotionally well adjusted and healthy, and more likely to perform better in school and life. I will gladly do anything I can to help. If you need anything at all, please feel free to contact me. My profile is public and I have nothing to hide. God Bless Frank Pytel [email protected] Side Note: Various Google searches including the quotes. “Child Custody” : 1,800,000 hits “Child Custody” -Lawyer : 1,680,000 hits “Child Custody” -Lawyer -Attorney : 1,460,000 hits “Child Custody” -Lawyer -Attorney -Judge : 1,260,000 hits “Child Custody” -Lawyer -Attorney -Judge -Litem : 1,250,000 hits “Child Custody” -Lawyer -Attorney -Judge -Litem -Law : 587,000 hits “Shared Child Custody” : 1,270 hits “Joint Child Custody” : 790 hits http://www.true-equality.org/ http://www.deltabravo.net/ http://www.fapt.org/index.php?option=com… http://www.f4j.com/ http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=sha… http://360.yahoo.com/my_profile-O8EcRbkh…

Question: What is BAQ fraud? Can ex husband still collect? I have a question regarding BAQ(BAS/BAH). When is a service member not eligible to continue receiving BAQ with spouse? We have been separated for 10 years. We became divorced in 2005 and he is still collecting BAQ with spouse. He is an E-9. We have 2 children together he has no visitation. He is stationed in Tennessee and I live in California. He is attempting to avoid resolution of his retirement by stating that we were married for 9 yrs, 7 months. He was not paying guideline child support (CA) for many years until October 2005. I have many unpaid medical bills for our children and he will not contact tricare to help with billing issues. He tricked me into allowing him to claim me and our kids on previous tax returns, stating that I had to or he'd lose the extra money from VHA/BAQ (I have copies of his tax records from 2000). Is this proper for an E-9? Your help would be greatly appreciated

Answer: I am an ex military spouse and veteran. Yes it is fraudulant when you were separated longer than six months. So it is improper. I think you should call the Jag office on base and his commander directly and tell them. Believe me they won't be too surprised. Tell the about all the child support your missing. My question to you is why did you wait so long. I would take this opportunity to get your money out of this to pay your medical bills. He knows he's wrong and since he's about to retire he feels like he can't be touched, but his butt is still owned by the US military. Again, call JAG ask them what to do. If you get a jerk who won't help and they give you the run around call another base's JAG. Get your bills paid so you can give more to your kids and maybe their future education. Hope this helps, good luck, and don't be afraid to fight back and don't listen to his crap. I just have a feeling he has been giving you false info. for years now.

Question: Need a Legal Eagle for Divorce Situation? 1. When my first marriage ended, I had an attorney but accepted under guideline child support, no alimony, and I also didn't take the boat, house or new car. I moved into a rental and drove a used compact. 2. I am disabled now and feel drowned and hopeless. I can't go into all of it but he's extremely verbally abusive and his daugher has put me thru the unthinkable. I am at his mercy, I feel. He is to receive an inheritance soon. Am I entitled to hallf under California's community property laws? PS. I had a doc appt. yesterday and he called me an "effing B" in front of the staffers and patients. That's nothing, really. Correction. I am married a second time. He is abusive to me and I am disabled. I am on Social security and can't afford a move! He owes me 20,000! Do you think the law will that into consideration?

Answer: Many states have special laws for inheritances that take them out of community property. Call Legal Aid in your phone book for help. EDIT: No. You are married. What's his is yours and what's yours is his. The "loan" isn't seen as one by the court. You can get half of all marital assets, like bank accounts, retirement, proceeds from the sale of the house. If he's abusing you, use the services of a shelter to get out. They can soetimes help you with interim housing. Call 800.799.SAFE for a local referral