Ask Me Help Desk - Child Support

I was not married and have twin 2 years olds with my ex. We had a verbal agreement, that he has upheld for 8 months, paying me "X" amount of dollars a month. Now that he filed his taxes and has this years W-2 (which claims he is making way less than he has in the past two years) he wants to go to court. I have done his taxes in the past and have reason to believe that he was getting paid "under the table" to lessen his child support payments to me. What can I do about this? Can he not get a job and live with his parents just to beat me out of money? Can he get a new job that makes more money and the court documents (when we go to court) are still what we go by? I'm confused..

Once you go to court and a support order is issued, he is required to pay it. The amount order is based on his current pay stubs. If he's getting "paid under the table" then there won't be any documentation showing this additional income. He could choose not to work but once the judgement is issued, the support still adds up and he will just be in the hole once he goes back to work.

Unless you can document his income, you are stuck. The court will rule based on documented income.

But if he is getting paid "under the table" or having his boss withhold money from his W-2 isn't that withholding money from supporting his children? He is a chef in a high end restaurant and claiming that he made less than someone who was a "chef" at a franchise restaurant. I have his W-2s from the past two years and this year, coincidentally after being separated for 8 months, he is claiming he has made 60-70% less this year working the same amount of hours if not more than the past two years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by twininmass

I was not married and have twin 2 years olds with my ex. we had a verbal agreement, that he has upheld for 8 months, paying me "X" amount of dollars a month. now that he filed his taxes and has this years W-2 (which claims he is making way less than he has in the past two years) he wants to go to court. i have done his taxes in the past and have reason to believe that he was getting paid "under the table" to lessen his child support payments to me. what can i do about this? can he not get a job and live with his parents just to beat me out of money? can he get a new job that makes more money and the court documents (when we go to court) are still what we go by? im confused..

if you had a verbal arrgement with him that he would be paying you X amount each month they still deduct that from the child support. Doesn't matter when you get a court order for him to pay child support, it could be a year down the road.. he still paid.. I'm was in the same situation with that.he would give me 20 here and 20 there... I wrote it all down and it came back when he was given the court order to pay child support.
if he is getting paid under the table let the court know and they can have legal aid go into his workplace and they can tell them to put him on payroll. His payments shouldn't go down if he's on payroll or working for cash,but call your local court house and ask. I know his pay scale for paying child support was from the day she was born till we were in court.. he "quit" his job just before the court dates because he thought the court wouldn't make him have to pay if he didn't have a job... I laughed about that. The judge asked if he though people were stupid... lol... if his pay would go up by any after the court order for him to pay it wouldn't make any difference on what he would be paying you. Hope this helps... I've been there... I know what its like.

First your vebal agreement is not worth the paper it is not written on.

A child support order needed to be done though the courts from day one.
That is your error.

You take his old W2, you ask for copies of his checking account record, see if you can get a court order for a copy of the kitchens account payable records. If he is living off 3000 a month, he can not be making 1000 a month,

All you can do is be sure to get all of the custody and visits and support in writing and though the court

Quote:

Originally Posted by JennSmallman

if you had a verbal arrgement with him that he would be paying you X amount each month they still deduct that from the child support. doesnt matter when you get a court order for him to pay child support, it could be a year down the road..he still paid.. im was in the same situation with that.he would give me 20 here and 20 there...i wrote it all down and it came back when he was given the court order to pay child support.
if he is getting paid under the table let the court know and they can have legal aid go into his workplace and they can tell them to put him on payroll. his payments shouldn't go down if hes on payroll or working for cash,but call your local court house and ask. i know his pay scale for paying child support was from the day she was born till we were in court.. he "quit" his job just before the court dates because he thought the court wouldnt make him have to pay if he didnt have a job...i laughed about that. the judge asked if he though people were stupid......lol............... if his pay would go up by any after the court order for him to pay it wouldnt make any difference on what he would be paying you. hope this helps..... ive been there ...i know what its like.

This is a legal forum, that sticks to legal advice.

While I am happy that it worked out for you, this is not accurate legal advice.

The court does not have to honor and most of the time will not honor verbal agreements. Legal Aid will not be assigned to go tell the company to pay him on the books.

Most likely they will assess the child support issue as a fresh issue basing it on his current verifiable income. They may ask for checking accounts records, but most likely will base it on his most recent check stubs. It is based on gross pay, so if he is having additional funds withdrawn for his W-2 that will not affect his ordered amount. Any time that you believe that he changes jobs and has a better income, you can have child support reevaluated for change of circumstance.

Take his last two income tax returns, the judge may allow your testimony of the verbal agreement and he may allow the tax returns if they are from the same place of employment, if you tell him you think that his company is helping him hide income. Better to have the information, if they will accept it.

Like I said YOU need to prove he's getting paid under the table. You need to get an attorney who can tell you the proper and legal way to get the records you need.

I'm not sure you will find anything though. The restaurant owners would be taking a great risk by paying him off the books. Is he that important to them that they would take such a risk?

Quote:

Originally Posted by twininmass

but if he is getting paid "under the table" or having his boss withhold money from his W-2 isnt that withholding money from supporting his children? he is a chef in a high end restaurant and claiming that he made less than someone who was a "chef" at a franchise restaurant. i have his W-2s from the past two years and this year, coincidentally after being separated for 8 months, he is claiming he has made 60-70% less this year working the same amount of hours if not more than the past two years.

Right now in this economy it wouldn't be a surprise to find out that business has fallen off for a luxury item. Many people have been asked to cut back on their jobs. So it wouldn't be unusual at this point in time. So unless you have absolute proof of your claims then your better off not saying anything in the courtroom.