Archive for the ‘Child Support’ Category
Monday, January 9th, 2012
by Chris Palmer
One can only imagine how difficult it is to explain to your children why their parents are divorcing. The questions, the pleading, the tears, the apologies and the shattered desire of sheltering your children from life’s pain. For a parent that puts their children first, this pain has to be right at the top of the list of unpleasant experiences. However, others use that moment not to delicately guide their children into their new existence, but to destroy the other parent in the eyes of the children. Too often children are intentionally sucked into divorce litigation and they become the victims of their parent’s need to win at all costs.
A recent article provides a thoughtful analysis of the process of explaining to your children that you are divorcing. There are right ways to tell the children and there are certainly wrong ways to tell the children. The article recommends the following steps as the correct way to ease your children into a divorce:
- Tell your kids together, despite your differences. They need to see that both of you will still be their parents.
- Don’t blame or criticize your spouse. Accept responsibility for the split and use this as a first step in developing a new relationship with your children as divorced parents.
- Explain what post-divorce life will look like for the children.
- Rehearse the conversation with your spouse. Anticipate the questions and be prepared with responses.
- Remind the children that they did nothing to cause the divorce.
- Be patient and give your children time to adjust.
Anyone divorcing, with children, would do well to take the points mentioned in the article and use them in discussing divorce with their children.
Tags: Brandon Divorce Attorney, Brandon Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Custody, discussing divorce with children, Irreconcilable Differences, Jackson Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Mississippi Divorce Attorney
Posted in About Divorce, Collection, General | No Comments »
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
by Chris Palmer
A recent survey has indicated that marriage rates are at an all time low. In the 1960’s the median age for marriage was around 20 but now, the median age has risen to 26 for women and 29 for men. Rising divorce rates have contributed to the statistics as well as economic concerns. What is most troubling though is that the survey reflects a sense of apathy towards marriage in general as evidenced by this quote: “A Pew survey last year determined that more than four in 10 Americans younger than 30 consider marriage passe. ”They see it as an obselete social environment,” said D’Vera Cohn, a Pew researcher who co-wrote the analysis.” Unfortunately, out-of-wedlock births have not followed the same path.
A study from the United Stated Department of Health and Human Resources shows that non-marital births are at greater risk of low birth weight, preterm birth and infant mortality than children born to married women. The study also shows that children born to single mothers have more limited social and economic resources than those born to marriage. Yet the 2007 data used in the study shows that 4 in 10 children were born out of wedlock, reflecting a 5% increase in unmarried birth since 2006, a 21% increase since 2002 and an 80% increase since 1980.
When you look at the declining marriage statistics, the changing view of marriage by young Americans and skyrocketing out-of-wedlock births, you begin to see a grim portrait of America’s future. It appears that Americans have slowly moved toward a more narcissistic existence, one in which self-satisfaction comes first and commitment to family comes second. Why else would the statistics show declining marriage rates yet rising birth rates among unmarried people? One only has to hang around your local family court to see the problems that result from out-of-wedlock births. Court are jammed with single mothers begging for financial assistance from absent fathers while vehemently opposing the father’s efforts to have a relationship with his child. If this trend continues, marriage will soon be a minority as will children born to marriage. One has to wonder what the long term effects of this trend will have on the country if it continues since the trend sheds light on a much larger issue not addressed by the statistics – the decline of traditional views of morality.
Tags: Births, Brandon MS Divorce Attorney, Divorce, Jackson Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Marriage, Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Visitation
Posted in Child Support, General | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011
by Chris Palmer
The laws and procedures concerning the enforcement of child support orders greatly favor the person receiving the money. But there are defenses.
Normally, the person receiving child support simply alleges that child support was not properly paid and then it becomes the obligation of the payor to prove that payment was made or to prove a valid defense. If payments were properly made, then the contempt action is dismissed. If payments were not made, the person paying must prove a recognized and valid defense to the allegation of nonpayment in order to avoid being held in contempt of court.
One of the main defenses to a charge of contempt (other than proving payment) is that the nonpayment is based on an inability to pay the child support. There has to be a genuine inability to pay and not a situation where the paying party overextended themselves through frivolous spending. This means that the party must spend money on only basic needs and then apply everything else to the child support payment. A defendant that claims inability to pay but on cross examination reveals the amount of money spent of non-necessities (beer, cigarettes, etc.) often leaves the courtroom in handcuffs.
Ambiguity in a child support award can also be a valid defense. For example, a court order that requires a person to pay “14% of their monthly income” would be unenforceable and too ambiguous since it would be subject to multiple interpretations. Support awards should contain a specific dollar amount in order to avoid ambiguity in interpretation.
While there are other valid and acceptable defenses, the best defense is to avoid getting behind in the payment of child support in the first place. Finding yourself on the wrong side of a contempt complaint can result in incarceration, wage garnishment and having to pay the other party’s legal fees. If finances create the necessity of a “financial juggling act” when monthly bills come due, it is far better to not pay a credit card bill than it is to not pay child support.
Tags: Brandon Divorce Attorney, Brandon Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Child Support Guidelines, Contempt of Court, Jackson Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Jackson MS Divorce Lawyer, Mississippi Child Support, Mississippi Child Support Collection, Mississippi Divorce Attorney, Mississippi Divorce Law, Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Rankin County Divorce Lawyer
Posted in Child Support, Collection | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011
In divorce settings where minor children are involved, it is not unusual for the court to order one or both parents to maintain a life insurance policy providing for the needs of the children through the age of majority (and, in some cases, beyond) in case a parent meets an untimely death. And most people understand this requirement and don’t have a problem complying; however, most people in this situation question whether the life insurance proceeds will be available for use by the other parent and want to avoid that possibility. As a result, they are tempted to name their minor children as direct beneficiaries of the life insurance proceeds. This is not sound practice and should be avoided.
Under Mississippi law, a minor child is not capable of exercising possession or control of life insurance proceeds. Where minor children are listed as direct beneficiaries of life insurance proceeds, and following the death of the insured parent, the life insurance carrier will be required to file a formal guardianship lawsuit so that a judge, and no one else, oversees the receipt, deposit, investment and expenditure of all life insurance proceeds. The guardianship lawsuit would remain active throughout the minority status of the child. Court Guardianships are cumbersome, expensive and fraught with legal limitations.
Some will say that this situation can be avoided by naming a Grandparent or friend as the direct beneficiary instead. However, this does not technically comply with the divorce court’s order which requires that the minor children be protected. Under Mississippi law, a directly named beneficiary under a life insurance policy becomes the legal owner of the insurance proceeds in the event of the death of the insured. There would be no legal prohibition on the beneficiary to spend those proceeds for the benefit of the minor children, and nothing stopping the beneficiary from using the proceeds for personal gain.
The better practice is to create a Last Will and Testament having trust provisions that name a trustee of the life insurance proceeds (and other estate assets as well). The trust language of the Will establishes the responsibility of the trustee to protect the interests of the minor children. Because there is an appointed trustee, there is no need for further court intervention. The actual trust that is created by the Last Will and Testament may be named as the beneficiary of the required life insurance policy. In this way, in the event of death, the life insurance proceeds are “owned” by the trust created by the Last Will and Testament, and the life insurance company is authorized to pay the proceeds over to the trustee named in the Will without the need for further court intervention.
The professionals at Adams & Edens, P.A., are familiar with both Mississippi divorce law and Mississippi estate planning. Let us help you navigate the uncertainty that results when faced with divorce.
Tags: Brandon Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Estate Planning, Estate Planning After Divorce, Jackson Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Life Insurance, Mississippi Child Support, Trusts
Posted in Child Support, FAQ | No Comments »
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
by Chris Palmer
When child support payments are set by court order and there is a desire to either increase or decrease the amount of the payments, the person seeking the change must show that a substantial and material change in the circumstances of either the parents or the child has occurred since the date of the child support judgment. The process is begun by the party seeking the modification filing a Complaint for Modification and having it, along with a summons and court date, served on the defendant. In reviewing a request to change the child support amount, the court considers the increased needs of older children, higher expenses, a child’s medical needs, the parents’ financial situation, the health and needs of the parents, the monthly living expenses of the party ordered to pay child support, the parents’ tax obligations, the respective costs of each party’s residence and any other facts and circumstances the court considers relevant. However, the most common reason for either party seeking a change in child support amount is a change in the payor’s income.
A modification cannot relitigate issues already decided in the original decree. Modifications must be based on facts that occurred after the court established the original child support order. If you were not satisfied with the original order then the remedy was to ask the court to reconsider and/or appeal the decision, but there are strict time frames in which that must be done. Also, the change in circumstances sought to be used as the basis for a change in child support amount must be unanticipated at the time of the original decree.
Lifestyle decisions cannot be used to justify a child support modification. For example, a payor cannot purchase a new car and then claim he should pay less child support because the car loan is too expensive. Additionally, a payor cannot have child support reduced because he or she decides to have more children.
Typically, a modification is brought because the person receiving child support discovers that the payor has received an increase in pay. If so, a substantial increase in pay will justify a modification with the court considering the child support guidelines. Likewise, if a payor receives a substantial decrease in pay, a downward modification may be appropriate. However, if the payor created the decrease in pay, the situation may be a little more difficult to address because courts are traditionally reluctant to take child support away from a custodial parent simply because the payor wanted to take a lower paying job. In those situations, the court is likely to pay close attention to the motivation behind the payor’s actions.
If a modification is sought, it is important to act quickly because a modification is generally only effective from the date of the complaint to modify (at the earliest) or the date of the court order modifying the amount.
Tags: Brandon, Brandon Divorce Attorney, Brandon Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Child Support, Child Support Guidelines, Child Support Modification, Irreconcilable Differences, Jackson Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Mississippi Child Support, Mississippi Child Support Collection, Mississippi Divorce Attorney, Mississippi Divorce Law, Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Modification, Rankin County Divorce Lawyer
Posted in Child Support, FAQ, Modification of Child Support | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
by Chris Palmer
In divorce cases, there is a common misunderstanding among divorcing spouses about the taxation issues associated with payments for both child support and alimony.
Child support is defined by the Internal Revenue Code as a “payment which the terms of the divorce or separation instrument fix (in terms of an amount of money or a part of the payment) as a sum which is payable for the support of children of the payor spouse.” 26 U.S.C.A. 71(c)(1). Basically, child support is a payment ordered in a divorce decree that the divorce decree labels as child support. There are situations where payments labeled as “child supprt” may not qualify as child support but we won’t get into those right now. The tax code treats any payment of child support, so long as it meets the requirements of Section 71, as a non-taxable event, meaning that the receiving spouse does not include the child support in gross income (which means it is received tax-free) and the paying spouse receives no deduction for the payment of child support. 26 U.S.C.A. 71.
Alimony, on the other hand, is considered income to the receiving spouse (must pay taxes on it just as if earned at a job) and may be considered a deduction by the paying spouse. 26 U.S.C.A. 71. There are situations where the Internal Revenue Service may consider a spouse to be receiving alimony even if the payment is not called alimony. Obviously, this would be a huge problem if the receiving spouse had not been including the alimony payments on her income tax return. We’ll get into alimony is more detail in a later post.
Many people try to prepare their own divorce documents to save money on legal fees but often their efforts to save money result in unintended tax consequences. It definitely pays in the long run to get the divorce documents drafted correctly. You do not want to find out during an audit that the tax-free money you’ve been receiving is not really tax-free.
Tags: Alimony, Brandon Divorce Attorney, Child Support, Divorce, Jackson Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Lawyer, Mississippi, Mississippi Divorce Attorney, Mississippi divorce Joint Accounts, Mississippi Divorce Law, Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Mississippi Divorce Tax Issues, No-Fault Divorce, Taxation, Taxation Issues in Divorce
Posted in Alimony, Child Support | No Comments »
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
by Chris Palmer
An article was posted on FOX News this morning that leaves you waiting for the punchline. Unfortunately, it is not a joke. The headline reads, “Florida Priest Seeks Custody of Child From Stripper.” The article needs no explanation other than to say that issues pertaining to custody of children and child support know no societal, economic or professional boundaries and that when you think you’ve heard it all, you soon realize that you have not. A link to a more thorough article on the matter is here.
Tags: Brandon Divorce Attorney, Chancery, Child Support, Custody, FOX News, Lawyer, Mississippi, Mississippi Child Custody, Mississippi Child Support Collection, Mississippi Child Supprt, Mississippi Divorce Attorney, Mississippi Divorce Grounds, Mississippi Divorce Law, Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Paternity, Rankin County Divorce Lawyer, Restraining Order
Posted in Child Custody, Child Support, General, Modification of Child Support, Modification of Custody | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
One of the most frequent issues in family law is that of a custodial parent’s concerns over how much child support he or she will receive. While the courts have the final say in determining the amount of child support, the Mississippi Child Support Award Guidelines are fairly easy to follow and working through the statute’s procedure often gives a paying spouse the assurance that the amount being considered is appropriate. Also, calculating a child support estimate early in divorce negotiations can often assist the parties in agreeing on a resolution.
The first step in the process is calculating the amount of monthly adjusted gross income. This generally is done by taking the gross amount of money earned in a month (which includes all earnings, even if paid in cash) and deducting from that the amount withheld for federal, state and local taxes as well as social security contributions. If the paying parent is required to pay child support for another child pursuant to a court order, then that amount should also be deducted from the monthly gross pay. If mandatory contributions to a retirement plan are made, then a deduction is taken for those contributions. (All of these mandatory deductions, including taxes and social security contributions, are most easily calculated by reviewing the payor’s W-2 form). Finally, if the paying parent is also the parent of a child living with him, then the court may subtract an amount that it deems appropriate to account for the needs of that child. The amount remaining (if calculated on a monthly basis) is the monthly adjusted gross income. If the calculations were done from a W-2 form then the net amount must be broken down into a monthly amount by dividing the net amount by twelve.
Once the monthly adjusted gross income is calculated, the next step is to multiply the monthly adjusted gross income by the correct child support percentage to come up with the amount of monthly child support. The percentages are:
1 child: 14%
2 children: 20%
3 children: 22%
4 children: 24%
5 or more children: 26%
There are some exceptions to these rules, but this summary should assist anyone who wants to take a shot at coming up with a ballpark child support calculation. It is important to remember though that the Court is the final authority over the amount of child support and it evaluates child support amounts carefully to make sure that the law is followed.
Tags: Brandon Divorce Attorney, Child Support, Child Support Guidelines, Divorce, Income, Mississippi Child Custody, Mississippi Child Support, Mississippi Child Support Collection, Mississippi Code, Mississippi Divorce Attorney, Mississippi Divorce Grounds, Mississippi divorce Joint Accounts, Mississippi Divorce Law, Mississippi Divorce Lawyer, Mississippi Divorce Tax Issues, Rankin County Divorce Lawyer, Taxation Issues in Divorce
Posted in Child Support, FAQ | No Comments »
