How would you fix child support payment issues?

truthjusticeca · 2012-09-24T04:13:29+00:00

Stop putting people in jail for debt. Stop forcing them to make payments that they obviously don't have the income to afford.

Base child support on the needs of the child and not as hidden alimony.

glibbart · 2012-09-24T15:29:19+00:00

How the fuck has this not been mentioned yet? Eliminate the cut of child support that the state takes.

We will literally never make any progress until we remove the incentives for the state to always shoot for more child support.

Not to mention it's a moral outrage. "Oh, this money is for the children. But you don't mind if we take some, do you?"

Peter_Principle_ · 2012-09-24T13:21:51+00:00

Eliminate the system entirely. Having mandatory child support encourages irresponsible reproduction, divorce and, if divorce happens, it encourages parental alienation. Having the system in place also encourages government abuse ("OYG, look at all that money," says the politician, "how can I get my finger in that pie?")

Not having it in place discourages irresponsible reproduction, discourages divorce and greatly discourages alienation.

HettGutt_MRMarxist · 2012-09-24T09:20:32+00:00

Collective82's debit account idea gets around the problem with receipts/returned items. Limit it to items actually for the child, too, like food, clothing, bedding, a small percentage of housing costs, a few toys, school supplies, etc.
No more debtor's prisons. Straightforward enough.
Holding annual child support reviews would also help keep the award to a minimum.
If, at any point, the parent receiving child support can be shown to be cohabiting with or in a serious romantic relationship with any person for (not necessarily the same person, and not necessarily continuously), the child support should be ended or drastically cut.

Broader picture:

For 50/50 custody, no support. You can always give up (a part of) your custody if you believe your children will be better off living with the other parent.
If one parent has full custody, the award should be based on 3 factors: 1) 50% of the true cost of raising the children. 2) whether the custodial parent could reasonably raise the children on his/her own income & welfare, with no/less child support 3) how much the non-custodial parent can pay, based on his/her own take-home pay, disability, benefits, and living expenses

(The idea behind 1 is to not impose a price on access to the children. Point 2 helps avoid giving child support to parents who would merely use it to offset the children's expenses & subsidize luxury expenses for themselves. Point 3 helps keep things fair for the non-custodial parent. I've also explicitly omitted any language about maintaining anyone's standard of living. Such conditions are easily exploitable by custodial parents who don't want to work.)

Even broader picture:

We ought to have a broader, higher-paying welfare system, a higher minimum wage, and universal government-guaranteed employment. This is a bitter pill for many MRAs to swallow, many being radical libertarians or traditionalists, married to the cruel and unusual notion that one somehow "deserves" whatever life outcomes the market spits out for them, some for reasons of self-gratification, and some for more nefarious reasons. Suck it up; the 90% of men at the bottom, and their children, will be far better off.
We'd also need to reform custody arrangements, family court, and paternity determination to eliminate the indirect bias those systems cause in CS awards, but that's a whole other can of worms.

Bobsutan · 2012-09-24T12:48:57+00:00

Make it needs-based. We already know what the baseline fiscal levels are to meet this requirement, which varies by state and metropolitan area. Chop it in half and that's what each parent is responsible for. Now modify that based on the custody percentage.
Default presumption of equal custody. This ties into #1 above so that the percentage each parent is responsible for is equal.
Extra costs would be paid back on a % reimbursable basis. Mom needs to bus new close for Jr for school, fine, tell dad how much it was and he'll give you 50% or whatever percentage is relevant based on the custody percentage.
If none of the above is workable, then create a debit card system similar to an Health Savings Account. Mom and dad pay their relevant CS obligation to this account every month and the kid's expenses come out of this. To prevent misuse the state will moderate what the funds can be used for and if either parent thinks it's being misused they can request a review.

Collective82 · 2012-09-24T03:42:29+00:00

I would suggest a refillable debit or credit type card, with receipts available for the court, cps, both parents to review at their discretion. This way you can at least see where your money is going.

Though how to stop the reciepient from just blowing their money on useless stuff instead of yours I don't know.

pauldustllah · 2012-09-24T05:36:49+00:00

My fix. Both parents pay a portion of income into an account that if for child support. the primary custodian of the child would use the money (and have to provide receipts) to support the child. When visitation occurs the ATM card. (or the check book) moves to the parent that has custody for that day. I do believe the receipts must be used to provide proof that the money being spent is for the child. Also I believe both parents should have to pay money into it.

AnnArchist · 2012-09-24T15:16:38+00:00

require accounting for how the money is spent each month

mandate proof of paternity

require both parents to work. no work = no custody and no child support

SaltyBoner · 2012-09-24T16:03:26+00:00

Default 50/50 custody
Realistically calculate the cost to raise the kids
Divide that cost proportionately by income % and parenting time.
Support = (Kid expense * % of income * % of time kid is with other parent) - (the same calculation for the other parent.)

It is really that simple.

The hard part is calculating the costs and income accurately. Situations should be evaluated without using a chart to establish costs.

jack_el_destapador · 2012-09-24T15:01:19+00:00

Zero child support. The parent that wants the children should be able to pay for them. If you want to own a car you pay the gasoline.

rightsbot · 2012-09-24T03:40:17+00:00

Post text automatically copied here. (Why?) (Report a problem.)

Collective82 · 2012-09-24T04:28:17+00:00

[permanently deleted]

mslifka · 2012-09-24T20:35:07+00:00

We have our position on this posted here:

http://loveandiron.wordpress.com/community-project-mission-and-statement-of-position/

hubbyofhoarder · 2012-09-24T14:57:43+00:00

Make my wife actually pay me something, I literally get nothing from her, and I have my son full time, she has only supervised weekend visits.

Title	How would you fix child support payment issues?
Author	Collective82
Upvotes	11
Comments	37
Date	September 24, 2012 3:39 AM UTC (13 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/10djos/how_would_you_fix_child_support_payment_issues/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/how-would-you-fix-child-support-payment-issues.1012894 https://theredarchive.com/post/1012894

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