Child Support Restructuring
by Child support should be to aid the children and not be a tool to discriminate against one parent.
If he remarries and his wife works and makes some decent money his child support can increase. Not because his new wife’s money is counted for support but because she will be able to pay his bills freeing his money to pay more child support. This in effect increases the custodial parent’s income from her children.
What does the money go for? Well, most people think it goes for the children. Does it? Maybe it goes for the house payment and utilities and the car payment. While it is true these are all essentials to the children as well as the mother. I think these are not something this money should be spent on. Is it not true that the mother would have to pay these expenses regardless of whether she had children or not? Everyone I know has to pay these expenses whether they be single, married, childless or with children.
To make the child support system fair for all would only require minor changes in the way things are currently done. We could start by giving custody of the child to the parent who is mentally, physically, and financially capable of providing for the child. This is not to say that one parent or the other could not receive custody at a later date but that would be something the courts could decide. Any money paid for child support, regardless of the paying parent, should be placed in an account for the child. This money should not be used for incidental expenses that are common to all households. This money should only be used for medical bills, clothing, education and other things which are item specific for the child.
The child support money should not be at an expense large enough to require the non-custodial parent to have to live a life where they have to work two or more jobs to make ends meet. And if the custodial parent needs to receive a helping hand from the state then if one of the parents are not working they should be required to volunteer their time to the state to reimburse for said aid.
Child support was designed to help the children of divorced or unwed mothers. These children have been dropped out of this equation except to determine the number of children and their age. We need to put a system into place that provides for the children without discriminating against either of the parents.
Politicians need to get it in gear and rather than worry about votes or more free aid programs fix the systems that are in place. Repair of the child support system should be a topic in every branch of government from the local to federal government.
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Post CommentKriss
On October 2, 2008 at 5:50 pm
I fully agree with you 100 percent. It may seem odd, but I am a custodial parent of 3 children 2 over the age of 19 now; I have not been successful in receiving child support for the last 6-7 years due to non custodial parent lack of willingness to help provide for his children. I am seeing both sides of this issue as I date a single father of 4 young children. He is raked through the mudd when it comes to having any control over fatherhood and child support for his kids. they have 60/40 legal rights to the childrens wellbeing, but she holds all the cards. he struggles with finances due to the fact that he has his kids 40 percent of the time. they are at his house every weekend and every weekday during the summer. so he has to pay for day care during the 3 months of summer in order to have them along with still paying child support to the mother. Most weekends during the summer he has them as well because the mother usually decides that she has things she has to do or take care of so seh will not pick them up until maybe Sunday or not at all.