Louisiana Child Support Laws (1 Viewer)

[rich70116]

I seriously doubt there's any sort of civil rights violation. It's hard to really apply any of the child support laws without knowing the full facts of each and every case, and judges are given pretty wide latitude in child support cases. Judges themselves are probably biased towards women (more than likely?) for the reasons already given here.

What it sounds like, honestly, is that your baby mama's just have better attorneys than yall do.

Hahaha, had to laugh at that last line. May be something to it...

But, there are new guidelines for computing child support rates, that are very restrictive. It is no longer soley the judges descretion.

My question is still out there, if the State forces one party with total W-2 income to be computed on gross income and the other party's income is from a business and they are allowed deductions, is that legal?

 

[brophy]

Y'all are waaaay overthinking this and are using too much tin foil.

No its not better lawyers (they are all the same)

No its not judge bias (they are merely arbiters and nearly every case is handled the same)

No it is not 'sexism' (beat down men)




Its simply emotional rhetoric at work, pushing the path of least resistance. What judge is going to put in serious time/effort and put their neck on the line and "abuse a poor single-mom" by stealing her kids, and leave her destitute? That's exactly how it would be framed/portrayed in the community (media) leading to a voting revolt of district judges. There would be no sympathy for a man - they really aren't going to waste time on this.

There is a formula at work. Attorneys know this and aren't really going to do anything special in custody hearings (this isn't Matlock or The Practice), they are going to soak up the billing rate and dangle the carrot of 'justice' knowing full well you are going to get screwed (you'll just have a suit holding your hand at court appearances).

 

[brophy]

if the State forces one party with total W-2 income to be computed on gross income and the other party's income is from a business and they are allowed deductions, is that legal?

Yes - what deductions should a business NOT be taking? The point of tax deductions is to incentivize. Try to see this from both perspectives other than 'I'm getting screwed'

 

[rich70116]

Yes - what deductions should a business NOT be taking? The point of tax deductions is to incentivize. Try to see this from both perspectives other than 'I'm getting screwed'

brophy, I understand accounting principles. I also understand that many people who are on W-2 income, also have tax deductions.

If one party is allowed the other should be also. But, the State's treatment of that issue is cut and dried. I say its inequitable and probably has not been tested.

Like you pointed out, a lot of family court is simply what is best tolerated. And I agree. You are on target with your observation.

 

[bozoka45]

It has not changed in twenty years. I was told by a judge in 1989 that I was morally obligated to pay for Catholic School. I was going to pay it anyway but since when is heir a mixture of church and State ?

This really isn't a mixture of church and state. The thing about private school is that if it's "in the best interest of the child," then the court may order one or both of the parents to pay for private school. "Best interest" is broad, and could mean continuity of education (ie, if the kid was in school before the divorce), or if the child has "special needs" (again, very broad).

 

[Danleco]

Dont get me started in Louisiana Child Support laws... they are incredibly biased to the women. Case in point, I had a divorce while in college. Instead of taking my actual income to calculate child support they said "you should be working this much, so we are calculating that."

Fine, I am ok with that. Basically they said that even though I wasnt working 40 hours because of college then they would calculate my income as if I was, trying to force me to either drop out of school or get a 2nd job. Again, whatever, I made it.

But now fastforward a couple of years, it's time to revisit the case. they calculate my income and my ex's income... she was going back to school but guess what they didnt say? They never calculated her income based on what she could be making, so again I am hit with 95% of my sons care...

oh and I cannot even use him as ANY kind of tax break even though I pay for everything, she uses him. She gets enough money from me each month to sit on her @ss.. and it's all tax free on her part.

One day, hopefully, someone with money will challenge this ******** sexism.

Dude, I jump on this soapbox all the time.

I pay $1700 a month in child support, in Texas, for 3 kids. My ex does not work. When she moved to where she is now, her little boyfriend didn't work either. She's going to school to pursue, by my count, her fifth major. Odds on her graduating this time.... who knows.

It p***es me off that I have to work like I do, traveling the globe & being away from my kids, just to pay this child support. If I took a lower paying job to be home all the time, the court could still tell me that I would have to pay the higher amount, because I have the "ability" to pay it.

Not to mention that my ex has no ability to keep a job. Since we split, she went through 5 employers. So even if I stayed home & made less money, and the state of Texas wasn't continually raping me, I couldn't trust her to be able to handle that. She wouldn't be able to afford her place, and she'd have to move back with her parents - 100+ miles away.

Don't get me wrong - I make good money, and I happily support my children. I just wish it wasn't so easy for my ex to abuse the system. I'd much rather put some of that money towards their college education.

And, in no state that I know of is it reflected that the non-custodial parent is given no credit for the fact that he still has to provide everything the custodial parent does. Same clothes - housing & care as the primary. The only difference is food & other frequently consumed items.

It just sucks.

 

[diat150]

one of my buddies just split with his ex, with 2 kids involved. guy makes like 60k a year. going by the numbers he told me by the time the government took their share, she took her share, his cost to go to work and eat everyday, he was left with like 500 dollars for the month. dude had to move back in with his mom. that doesnt make any sense.

 

[rich70116]

What Danleco and Diat said can be verified by almost anyone in today's atmosphere.

I did not realize Texas had gotten that bad, I thought it was Louisiana, mostly. Sorry to hear that.

Stories like these are so common, it is the same thing, grossly unfair to the non-domiciliary parent.

I will say that I pay almost 3 out of 4 monthly paychecks, to childsupport.

My point remains, these States are getting into Civil Rights Violations when abuses become this rampant.

 

[brophy]

But its not packaged as 'abuse' - its "stealing money from the kids"

That's just how it would be presented, in the most disingenuous light.

The more $ that goes to child support, the more money that changes hands, whether it is with attorneys, clerks, state govt, and private distributos (like Visa debit cards issued)

 

[rich70116]

Anyone have any ideas regarding the spreading of information.

Reading this thread made me wonder if a website dedicated to the child support laws and abuses, state by state, might help young people avoid getting into this inescapable hell.

And, I wonder if the public spread of this info might cause States to act more responsibly if young people began to find their State a bad place to live and moved elsewhere.

 

[Zero]

Its simply emotional rhetoric at work, pushing the path of least resistance. What judge is going to put in serious time/effort and put their neck on the line and "abuse a poor single-mom" by stealing her kids, and leave her destitute? That's exactly how it would be framed/portrayed in the community (media) leading to a voting revolt of district judges. There would be no sympathy for a man - they really aren't going to waste time on this.

How is this not sexism? It's court wide. I just wish someone would do something about it. It's going to take someone with money... because you are right about the lawyer thing. We can pay and pay and pay a lawyer but in the end they know the judge is just going to quickly decide by their little paper and not listen to the actual case.

It will take a lawyer with some reputation to challenge this because I do believe it is some violation of civil rights. Someone needs to speak up and change the laws, not just case-by-case.

 

[rich70116]

How is this not sexism? It's court wide. I just wish someone would do something about it. It's going to take someone with money... because you are right about the lawyer thing. We can pay and pay and pay a lawyer but in the end they know the judge is just going to quickly decide by their little paper and not listen to the actual case.

It will take a lawyer with some reputation to challenge this because I do believe it is some violation of civil rights. Someone needs to speak up and change the laws, not just case-by-case.

Its the ACLU who should be stepping in here. That's why I started this thread.

States such as Louisiana and apparently Texas, are running all over people's rights to equal treatment under the law.

 

[Broknbusted]

Pennsylvania is JUST as bad. My ex wife and I JUST had a hearin this week because, after having the kids living with me and NOT taking her for child support, guess who took me for it when they moved in with her this year?

NOW, get this...She grosses and nets more then me. Her boyfriend gross and net ALMOST as much as my wife and I. The kids in question are 15 and 18 (graduates high school in June) and both work. How much do you think I got hit for support? 48% of my gross is what. In Pa, they can take up to 50%.

What KILLS me is the fact she doesn't need it! She pays NO rent or mortage, no utilities, drives a brand new car, and they remodeled they entire house right before the kids moved in. My wife and I commute over an hour to work each way, have a mortage, 2 car payments AND have to pick up and drop off the kids (mom lives an hour and 15 minutes from us) on the weekends we DO get them if they aren't working or hanging with friends (I am by law required to pay child support, but due to their age, the kids are free to say they are busy and not visit for weeks on end). And the judge is aware of all of this, but says his hands are tied.

I love my kids dearly and have NO ISSUE paying for things they need. I do have an issue paying so much support to someone who makes more money then I do!

 

[JimEverett]

brophy, I understand accounting principles. I also understand that many people who are on W-2 income, also have tax deductions.

If one party is allowed the other should be also. But, the State's treatment of that issue is cut and dried. I say its inequitable and probably has not been tested.

Like you pointed out, a lot of family court is simply what is best tolerated. And I agree. You are on target with your observation.

If you have business deductions then I am sure you can deduct them the same as anyone else. I don't understand the problem you see.

 

[rich70116]

If you have business deductions then I am sure you can deduct them the same as anyone else. I don't understand the problem you see.

They told me no. They use gross income from W-2's. Period. I do have legitimate deducts for travel related solely to work, it reduced my taxable income by almost ten thousand dollars, but I was told no. W-2 income is gross.