Child Support

In cases where there is an intact family, with parents married and residing together, there is no statute for how much these parents must spend per month on their children. A non-custodial parent is forced to pay a certain percentage of his or her income to the custodial parent each month. This is a case of one class of citizens being burdened with circumstances that are not imposed on another.

I am not for a moment suggesting that there should be no financial obligation to one's children, but there needs to be equality. BOTH parents need to be equally responsible for the well-being of their children. Also, Child Support should not be used to subsidize the Custodial Parent's standard of living for their own gain. Child support is just that, support of a child, not a child and his/her parent. And, it must be noted that Child Support is NOT merely financial support. All too often, the burden of the support obligation prevents the Non-Custodial Parent from having contact with their children. The laws do a great injustice to the children by forcing the Non-Custodial Parent to be no more than a wallet. Is it really in their best interests to pad the Custodial Parent's checkbook while denying them the love, support and teaching of the Non-Custodial Parent? Is it not in the best interest of the children to define support as "Financial AND Emotional"

The current laws also create a privilege for one class of citizen - the children of divorced parents - that is not granted to another - the children of intact families. No child of intact families has the entire government looking out for his financial welfare by stating guidelines of how much money a parent must pay for their support. Our constitution presumes all of us innocent until proven guilty, but the Child Support laws presume Non-Custodial Parents to be guilty with no chance to prove their innocence. Is this not presumption contrary to our constitution? The theory supporting child support is that the Non-Custodial Parent is not supporting the child and therefore the Custodial Parent must do so, justifying transfer of the Non-Custodial Parent's funds to the Custodial Parent, for that purpose. Because of this theory, child support guidelines assume "Zero" direct support from the Non-Custodial Parent. No matter how much time the children spend with the Non-Custodial Parent. Shouldn't child support be on a Parenting Time Split? If the children spend 40% of their time with the Non-Custodial Parent, shouldn't the Child Support be adjusted to reflect this with a 60/40 split?

Child Support awards are automatically garnisheed, rather than giving the parent the opportunity to fulfill his or her obligation with responsibility and dignity. Instead, their wages are immediately attached and they are threatened with losses of driver's licenses, professional licenses and tax returns for non-compliance, regardless of the reason for the non-compliance. Involuntary unemployment and disability are NOT considered valid reasons for an adjustment in Child Support. If a Custodial Parent loses his or her job or is on disability, Child Support awards can be raised or the Custodial Parent can apply for public assistance to help with the children's expenses. Why is this same benefit not extended to Non-Custodial Parents?

The current laws again creates a privilege for one class of citizen - the Custodial Parent - who can deny visitation for any reason and little or nothing will be done by the courts, until the Custodial Parent decides that they are not getting their "Fair Share" in child support. Then the entire government becomes involved to make sure the Custodial Parent is receiving what IT thinks is enough money. Based on flawed theories and out dated economic information, namely the Consumer Expenditure Survey. It does not provide a statistical view of what is spent on children, and NO amount of witchcraft will glean from this "Economic Study" what is actually spent on children.

Again, this is a case of a legal benefit (or burden) that applies to one class of citizen, yet not to another. Without taking into consideration the ability to pay, the travel expenses involved in seeing the children or the court costs to enforce the court ordered visitation schedule. One just cannot reach a "Fair" child support award. Because without visitation there will be no "Fair" award. The State has a governmentally funded arm to enforce Child support awards. Why is there not one to enforce visitation awards? Where is MY equal protection? A parent's right to the preservation of his relationship with his child derives from the fact that the parent's achievement of a rich and rewarding life is likely to depend significantly on his ability to participate in the rearing of his children. A child's corresponding right to protection from interference in the relationship deprives from the psychic importance to them of being raised by a loving, responsible, reliable adult. As stated in these and other cases that have been upheld in the US Supreme Court:

"The right of a parent not to be deprived of parental rights without a showing of fitness, abandonment or substantial neglect is so fundamental and basic as to rank among the rights contained in this Amendment (Ninth) and Utah's Constitution, Article 1, section 1." In re J.P., 648 P 2d 1364; Utah, (1982).

Parent's interest in custody of her children is a liberty interest which has received considerable constitutional protection; a parent who is deprived of custody of his or her child, even though temporarily, suffers thereby grievous loss and such loss deserves extensive due process protection. In the Interest of Cooper, 621 P 2d 437; 5 Kansas App Div 2d 584, (1980).

Again, this is a case of a legal benefit (or burden) that applies to one class of citizen, yet not to another. And, why is the Custodial Parent's wage not attached and an amount deposited into an account solely for the welfare of the children? Why are they not made to share in the financial burden of their children? It is in the best interests of the children to protect the constitutional rights of their parents. BOTH their parents. Equality is in the best interests of the children, not gender bias, not making the Non-Custodial Parent a blank check and nothing more. The current child support laws are in direct conflict with our constitution's equal protection clauses and this MUST be rectified. We cannot go on allowing the constitutional rights of any citizen, much less millions of them, to be violated by our own government!

Here are some ways to level the playing field:

1. Presumptive joint-custody in all Paternity/Divorce Cases.
2. View each case on an individual basis (Look at the big picture, no more "Cookie Cutter" child support awards).
3. Child Support amounts need to be based on real numbers (I have asked ORS on several occasions what the Child Support Tables are based on, they refuse to answer).
4. Travel costs should be considered when awarding child support.
5. Ability to Pay should be considered when awarding child support.
6. Child support should cover one half of the basic necessities for raising a child (any child support award which exceeds this figure is actually tax-free income or back-door alimony for the Custodial Parent).
7. If a Non-Custodial parent has gone to court in that last 12 months for an Order to Show Cause for denial of visitation, there should be no review of child support amounts.
8. Link Child Support and Visitation (For the women who were receiving child support, it was demonstrated that where there was a joint custody arrangement, child support compliance was at 90.2%! Where the father had at least some timeshare and access to his children, compliance was at 79.1%. Where the father had no access at all, compliance was down around 44.5%. This information comes from a study that was conducted jointly by the Bureau of Census, and the Department of Health and Human Services).
9. You should get the credit for new children immediately, not have to do a full Child Support Review to get it (where are these children's equal protection).

These are the things we are fighting for and could use all the support we can get.

If you need help or just have questions, please feel free to email me and ask them, my email address is: Eric_the_red_2k5@Yahoo.com.

And in the end if I have helped you, or you just feel that what we are doing is worth supporting, then please donate something to help keep the website going.

Good Luck.