My husband has been paying child support to his son's mother for the last 10 and a half years with no court order. Recently we had to lower the amount of support paid because our financial situation has changed drasticly. Needless to sa she was very unhappy about this. Now she is threatening to file for child support and back child support. I don't mind if there is a child support order in place, but can she really get back child support for the 10 and a half years that has gone undocumented?

First, your husband has not paid child support for 10.5 years. What he has done is give gifts to the mother during that period. Second, he picked one of the worst states to not go to court for this since CO has no limit on back support. So the answer is yes, she can file for a support order and get awarded support backdated to when the child was born. So your husband will not only have to pay support for the future, but it will be increased by the amount of arrears. He could wind up having to pay more than he was paying. The court MIGHT take what he has paid into account if he can prove it.

This site can help estimate the amount of support that will be ordered:
Colorado Child Support Calculator - AllLaw.com

It is almost always better to have custody/visitation/support issues done by a court to avoid this. I suggest he consult a Family Law attorney.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

First, your husband has not paid child support for 10.5 years. What he has done is give gifts to the mother during that period of time. Second, he picked one of the worst states to not go to court for this since CO has no limit on back support. So the answer is yes, she can file for a support order and get awarded support backdated to when the child was born. So your husband will not only have to pay support for the future, but it will be increased by the amount of arrears. He could wind up having to pay more than he was paying. The court MIGHT take what he has paid into account if he can prove it.

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I have a question on that. This form to start child support in Colorado:
https://childsupport.state.co.us/sit...GetApplication
Asks the NCP to list "all support paid to the custodial parent directly..." Since the form is to only start child support and not to modify an existing order, doesn't that mean the state would take the money that has already been paid into consideration when setting an order?

I realize he has not been paying "child support", but simply just giving gifts. But I have also heard child support is awarded when the petition is filed and I was told this by a Colorado lawyer. I also read on a website that he is not leagaly responsibly to pay child support if there is no court order. I have a child support case with my oldest daughter and her father and they denyed me back support. I started getting support from the time I filed for it. Don't get me wrong I am a firm believer that she is entitled to child support and that every man should take responsibility for his child(ren), but I don't believe she is entitled to her child support twice. I have recently had a second child and due to major difficulties during my pergnancy I am unable to work at the moment, so we are a single income family and I have two small children to think of too. I would just like to know my options in order to make sure my children are taken care of as well.

From my research, it is very clear that a custodial parent can apply for child support up to the point the child turns 21 and have that support backdated to birth.

Whether the court allows voluntary payments to count towards the back payments is more at the discretion of the court. The court may or may not consider the voluntary payments. There may be case law to support one way or the other.

It is true that he is not responsible to pay until a court orders support.