Child Support.

Originally posted by whobdamandog
I feel what you are saying..but as a single parent myself I do understand why many women get as much as they do. Child rearing is a stressful/thankless job.

Yea, but the joy of having the child, SHOULD be worth more than the feeling of having a fat check in ones hands.

I feel that the best thank you is to see your child have food on the table, you know?

My thing is that lets say, Michael Jordan, he was going to divorce and pay 200 million, thats absolutely absurd.

Love doesn't come in dollar amounts.

Originally posted by whobdamandog
I do however, believe that the courts need to put a cap on the amount of money that is administered to the child, particularly if the parent who has custody of the child is making a six figure income.

Also have a authority figure checking in to make sure the money is managed correctly.

Originally posted by whobdamandog
I've seen some situations where one custodial parent is making close to 100 grand..and the non-custodial is making only about 45..however they are still required to pay at least 1/4 of their income to the custodial. Real silly stuff.

In this country, child support is worked out as a percentage of disposable income.... but only if the custodial parent approaches the Child Support Agency, a massively understaffed governmental body... the income of everyone involved is takedn into account, as is the number of children in any union.... for instance, my ex wife was paying me £36 a week, when working, now she isn't that goes down to £11... now she has had another baby, that again gets cut to £9... that's based on her earnings, which were approx 13 grand, and mine which are about 12... I usually put the money aside, and use it to treat our son on holiday.... but lets be honest here, if I paid my electric bill with it, he'd still benefit, both from the power provided, and the fact that it gave me more disposable income, thus incresing his standard of living....

I don't think that C-Master meant something like payin g the electric bill actully......probably more like buying luxuries that really don't benefit the child but only the Mother/Father

How about this, the payer must pay the set amount, the payee must submit his/her receipts and expenses on a monthley basis. I the payer feels that his/her money is being used frivolously, he can take it up with a court appointed rep or a judge.

Sounds better than what is going on now...

Child Support isn't just about money. Is about providing an adequate life for the children. You also have take into consideration that a child also needs a future. So you can't just say food, clothes, home and thats it! No, it also involves education, health, and maybe recreation. However, Child support fraud should be penalized heavily. Specially if the kid doesn't belong to the father and is actually the son of another guy.

Many times, child support is awarded in higher amounts than are needed. Granted, it costs a lot to feed, house and clothe a child. But, take my step-father for example. He had twin boys from his first marriage. He paid 530 bucks a month, per kid! Do the math, that's 1060 bucks a month. It's odd isn't it? His ex wife never had a job. On top of the fact that she had remarried herself, and he had a full time job. In this case, there was a serious need for the situation to be re-examined...from a legal standpoint. But, he never did anything. After he married my mother, his ex made it more and more difficult to for him to see his kids. About a year after he and my mother got married, she took the boys and moved to Florida.

Now, there are some situations where child support is a legitimate need, by the child and the mother....or, perhaps the child and the father. But, there are sooo many cases in which it is simply used a means for the mother or father to be lazy...and rub the court order in the face of the other parent. But, in this country...the problems are part of the deal. We do everything half-assed, and a lot of people out there are paying money for no good reason. A lot of the solutions mentioned here would work towards solving the problems of abuse of the system. But, that would require the government to spend money on something...like jobs, benefits for those people... etc.

Originally posted by WindDancer
Child Support isn't just about money. Is about providing an adequate life for the children. You also have take into consideration that a child also needs a future. So you can't just say food, clothes, home and thats it! No, it also involves education, health, and maybe recreation. However, Child support fraud should be penalized heavily. Specially if the kid doesn't belong to the father and is actually the son of another guy.

However, I do agree that a child is more than cash, which is what I came to points with on whobdamandog.

I can hand a child money, but without time and affection, he might as be with someone less well off who can take care of him.