It has now been 10 years since the divorce of my ex wife and I. Eight of those years, we have gotten along beautifully. Ever since the divorce, we never went back to court because we agreed on everything. Until 2 years ago, when I decided to get married. Since then, my ex has restricted and reduced my visitation w/ my daughter. I put up w/ her jealousy for almost 2 years till all of us couldn't handle it anymore (my, my wife, and my 14 year old daughter as well). Needless to say, after 13 years of separation, I decided to take her back to court to modify visitation and won. But not without being wrongfully accused of being an absent father, and being dipicted like a dead beat dad. Needless to say, my daughter proved her mother wrong and was granted 50/50 visitation. Sigh. But one month after I filed for visitation modification, my ex filed for 26 THOUSAND dollars in back child support. And the judge is buying it. Ever since we divorced, we agreed on everythig: Verbally. We never legally modified anything. 10 years ago, she had asked me to pay child care AND private school tuition.
The original divorce papers read "Respondent (me) shall pay DIRECTLY to the babysitter in the amount of 85.00 per week for child care, on behalf of the mother and as for child support..." "...However, in the event that the babysitting charge is less than 85.00 per week, Respondent (me) shall recieve credit for said amount".
Ever since our divorce it was clear that I was to pay child care, which I did. But a year after the divorce papers were written, child care reduced because my daugter started private school. Well rather than paying the difference of the babysitting charge to my ex, SHE asked me to just pay for her tuition so she didn't have to pay it and because it balanced everything out. I agreed and did so for the next 8 years. Now she is suing. But what's upsetting is that in her first OSC (order to show cause papers) she is including the tuition payments i made as child support but yet still saying that i owed her 18 grand in arrearages. Her figures were WAY off. But now that I've been able to prove that I paid a lot more than she is giving me credit for, she is now saying that I should have paid her rather than paying the school. And the judge is agreeing! Please give me some advice to save me and my family from losing this battle. I was such a good person to her and a good father for all these years to be screwed like this. It just doesn't seem fair. We're going to lose our home and my wife will have to go back to work and our baby will have to go to a child care facility. We don't have to money to do this. The judge had also asked us to find a case where Private school tuition was considered as child support. Do you know of such a case or do you know how i'd find out?
Terry
The original divorce papers read "Respondent (me) shall pay DIRECTLY to the babysitter in the amount of 85.00 per week for child care, on behalf of the mother and as for child support..." "...However, in the event that the babysitting charge is less than 85.00 per week, Respondent (me) shall recieve credit for said amount".
Ever since our divorce it was clear that I was to pay child care, which I did. But a year after the divorce papers were written, child care reduced because my daugter started private school. Well rather than paying the difference of the babysitting charge to my ex, SHE asked me to just pay for her tuition so she didn't have to pay it and because it balanced everything out. I agreed and did so for the next 8 years. Now she is suing. But what's upsetting is that in her first OSC (order to show cause papers) she is including the tuition payments i made as child support but yet still saying that i owed her 18 grand in arrearages. Her figures were WAY off. But now that I've been able to prove that I paid a lot more than she is giving me credit for, she is now saying that I should have paid her rather than paying the school. And the judge is agreeing! Please give me some advice to save me and my family from losing this battle. I was such a good person to her and a good father for all these years to be screwed like this. It just doesn't seem fair. We're going to lose our home and my wife will have to go back to work and our baby will have to go to a child care facility. We don't have to money to do this. The judge had also asked us to find a case where Private school tuition was considered as child support. Do you know of such a case or do you know how i'd find out?
Terry
