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This week Ann and Dan fight it out over child support! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Dan's stance: Child support shouldn't be based on a man's income but instead the actual cost of supporting that child, and each parent should contribute 50% of the actual cost. He also thinks that men who adequately provide for their children without a court order should be exempt from legal child support. Child support should only be reserved for deadbeats who have no interest or desire to provide for their children. Dan also believes the dollar amounts are typically unfair and that most child support orders are filed by spiteful women.

Ann's Stance: All men who do not have physical custody should pay child support regardless of any other circumstances. If they aren't already court ordered they should go down to the courthouse and place themselves on child support. Ann believes that most men, especially black men have no interest in providing for or taking care of their children, and bail at the first opportunity.

Afro Becky doesn't really take a stance other than agreeing that the system is broken and should be overhauled.

What we learned about child support:

• The court typically determines the amount of support an absent parent pays based on their income.
• The court can deem that a man is underemployed and base his child support payment on how much the court thinks he SHOULD be making.
• Generally, the only way to change a court-ordered dollar amount is by a material change in circumstances.
• Another way the dollar amount can change is if the support isn't court-ordered but the parents have a consent decree. The parents can agree to adjust, or drop the support in this case.
• If you are a father who provides financially for your child, ALWAYS DOCUMENT EVERY PENNY by using money orders and keeping receipts. If you have paid for 5 years and it's undocumented, as far as the court is concerned you haven't paid a dime. We discuss how to document these things.
• Fathers can request accounting from the mother to verify that the money is being spent on the child and what it's being spent on.
• If a mother is a breadwinner, that will in most cases lower the child support payment that the father has to pay. If the father is the breadwinner, he'll likely pay more than if that weren't the case.
• Always get a DNA test, ALWAYS. If not you can end up stuck paying support for another man's child.

We all agree that children shouldn't have to suffer because the parents cannot get along and that both parents should be equally responsible in raising and providing for their children, which is unfortunately not always the case.

Ask an Attorney:

Mark in Ohio - Are lawyers who advertise that they specialize in DUIs any different than any other lawyer? Are they familiar with laws that allow them to get DUIs reduced that other attorneys aren't familiar with?

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