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QUESTION: My Child’s Father Is Trying to Use the Stimulus as an Excuse Not to Pay Child Support: Advice?
“My child’s father doesn’t want to pay me child support because of the stimulus. Hi, so my child’s father and I are not together. He is court-ordered to pay me $400 a month.
He randomly messaged me saying that he’s only sending me $100 because I should be getting the 600 for our child, and he ‘deserves’ half of it? So $300.
I have our child the most, and I’m not sure if I should just let him send $100 or just not say anything and if he ends up sending 100$ to let the courts know.”
RELATED: My Ex-Husband Should Still Be Paying Child Support Even Though I Receive SSI… Right?
Community Answers
The following top answers have been selected by a moderator from hundreds of responses to the original question.
“If it’s court ordered child support he has to pay it. Report him if he doesn’t. The courts will want to know. As for the stimulus, that’s your money and your child’s. Not his. He gets his own. Don’t let him con you into something that takes away from your child. Your child comes first. Not him.”
“He can send it all he wants but he will be behind on child support… hate to tell him it doesn’t work that way!”
“The stimulus check has no connection what so ever to child support owed. He still has to pay his monthly payment in full.”
“He doesn’t get to make that decision. End of story.”
“Keep that text and show it to the courts when you report that he didn’t pay you the full amount he is court ordered to pay. Let him know you will do this too, so maybe he will step up and pay the full amount. The stimulus has nothing to do with court ordered child support. It’s not connected.”
“Totally doesn’t work that way, dying laughing. Inform the courts or child support division. Good lord.”
“I guess it kind of bothers me that in these posts it’s only ever about the money. Typical agreements assign primary placement to keep things clean should they ever go to court. Is he a good dad? Does he hold up his end of the bargain most of the time? Would $300.00 make a big difference in his life? IMO, consider your child and your relationship with you child’s father as a whole. I gave my daughters father 1/2 my stimulus the first time and would do it again. It was something separate from child support given to me for our child.”
“You should make your child support payments be tracked through the DSS system. They will know when he pays and doesn’t and unless you have joint custody I don’t think you owe a single thing to him but that’s something you should be asking your family court lawyer. You should absolutely stop correspondence with him 100%.”
“Let the court know. The stimulus check does not let him off the hook. He still owes child support. He is just trying to get out of paying what he owes.”
“If it’s court ordered, then he doesn’t get to make choices like that and can/will get in trouble for not paying the ordered amount. This is also something you should bring to the courts attention so they are aware.”
“He should pay his child support. You don’t have a middle man? Child support here takes it out of the person who owes checks from work and then pays out the other party. There is no getting around it. If he wants half the stimulus tell him to take you to court over it.”
“It doesn’t work like that, the stimulus will go to whoever files taxes for the child and the child spends the most time with. The stimulus you get from the government has nothing to do with his child support obligation. I would make sure he understands that. Does he send payment directly to you, or does the payment go to child support then you? If it goes through child support he will be behind in child support, and if not report to the court.”
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