Hello Dawn,
I wrote all this on Friday then my computer bugged out and lost it all. So I'm trying again and I'm sure this will be shorter! <p>I'll tell you straight up that every state is different so you always want to check with an attorney or at least check the statutes (state law) online. Many states are very very similar though, and it seems that your state laws are very similar to the ones I'm dealing with. I should also tell you that an attorney has lots of experience and knowledge and it may be a good idea for you to have one, but they are not necessary. Either way, research as much as you can about your own state and do as much work (providing info) as you can on your own. Court employees can be very helpful. Make friends with them! Sometimes there are designated people at the court who will help people without an attorney too.<p>A website with good information for your state is:
http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/bcs/<p>This shows a link to clerks of court and a link to cs statutes towards the bottom. Both of these will help you. <p>Your first step is to decide whether or not you want to pursue this (or wait and see if/when the ow pursues your husband). That is a big decision because once you start, there's no turning back. Pursuing might give you some peace of mind because you will know to expect it, but it might also get you more involved into an oc situation when ow had no intentions of pursuing. Definitely something to pray and talk about with h. <p>Second step- establish paternity. Now you insinuate that this child is your husband's, but the only way to show that legally is to get paternity testing or for the mother (ow) and father (your h) to sign a paper. <p>Unless ow and your h willingly sign the voluntary acknowledgement paper, then you must file through court to establish paternity. To file a petition for paternity/custody/visitation contact your local clerk of court office. The address and numbers are listed on that link. They can tell you everything that you need to do to get it started. It cost us about $200 for filing fees and serving the ow with papers, etc. <p>WARNINGWARNING- If your ow is married, then voluntary acknowledgment is not enough. That man is the legal father regardless of who likes it and the only way to get your husband named legal father is to fight through court for paterniy. <p>The courts will probably require a paternity test regardless. If he does paternity testing and is shown not to be the father, he will not have to pay. If he is, then about $600 for test fee will be added to any child support amount. <p>A quick way to do this and sometimes cheaper is to go through the local Department of Human Services Office (Child Support Office), especially if the ow has received any welfare. They are not in this for father's rights though. They only want their money back. They have to prove that he is the father and then they will ask the court for child support payments. They don't care whether or not the father ever sees the child, so if you go this route keep in mind that custody/visitation is another issue. They can establish paternity faster and sometimes cheaper than you can, but you could be paying child support for two years without ever seeing the child while you fight for visitation. So there is good and bad.<p>
Third- There are ways to ask for adjustments to the child support amount. For example if the child spends more than 100 nights per year with you. Or if you ask for joint custody for the oc. Also if your children have special circumstances (like medical). BUT the rotten truth is that ordinarily the courts do not look at how many other people are being supported. In other words, your children don't matter to the court. <p>A big exception is when a child support order has already been stipulated by the court for other children. Usually that would be like if he had a previous marriage and had to pay child support to a previous wife. But a few here have legally separated or divorced from their spouse so that they could get that child support order for their children and restrict how much went to ow. (I totally understand that they are just correcting our flawed legal system and that their separation/divorce is purely a legal one, but that goes against my personal belief.) Anyway, no matter how unfair, that's the way it is. So your husband would not be looing at 31% for four children, but 17% for one. That's a lot, huh! Boy do I know how angry that can make ya. Oh and notice that your state has recently changed from percentages to actual dollar amounts. Info on how to determine the amount is included on this website:
http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/bcs/Pubs/812_3.htm#To help you understand <p>The court adds together the income of the mother (ow) and the father (your h) and figures this is the amount of income the child is accustomed to. The combined income is what the support order is based on. Read the instructions carefully and you should be able to get an idea of about how much your family will lose. And oh btw, it is possoble for you to have the child a majority of the time and still pay child support. <p>I don't mean to be rude by saying your children don't matter, it's just our crazy court that thinks that, not me. And just one more way that the innocent have to pay after an a. I hope that I have helped some. Good luck to ya.
aimee<p>PS- I am not an attorney, and I do not play one on tv, the internet, or anywhere else. Please verify all I've said!
