Employed! Now to Fix My Child Support.
Child support, I have always maintained, is a responsibility. If you are not the primary custodial parent you owe it to your kids to work hard to ensure your kids have what they deserve. The issue is some people have a problem with that word "deserve."
I don't, but I do have concerns about the attitude of the courts. In fact I can safely say I am wary of and distrustful of judges, but still I try to work out a support amount that's fair and reasonable based on my income, something I am honest about with my ex-wife, and the Canada Revenue Agency. So I truly resent when a judge tells me I haven't earned enough money when I dedicated my life to earning as much as I possibly could.
That aside, I am very happy to be employed again. Three weeks in and I'm getting my bearings and making a difference. It's a busy office, and a demanding role, and I'm not telling my ex-wife where I work, period. She's played games before, filing court actions rather than discussing things. The FRO knows I'm working and I'm paying the last agreed-upon amount reliably and I am 1 month ahead for safety's sake, but I do need to address my recent changes.
I'd like to get my finances in order, then look at the new value as one based on last year's income rather than some interim amount. My income last year (while on Employment Insurance) dropped by 27%, I reduced my support by much less than that when you factor that my daughter moved back in with me last September, but that doesn't matter much, what will matter is coming up with a fair deal this year, and not letting my ex-wife try to steam-roll the deal with unexpected expenses for my daughters, such as Hypnotherapy or Dental work that I simply cannot afford. This year, no deal unless I'm satisfied that the expenses are reasonable and necessary.
So, the deal I'm looking at is based upon my income last year, period. There's been no discussion of extra-ordinary expenses to date, so I will disregard them. I'm waiting on my tax forms to arrive (due by February 28th) and from that I can put together an arrangement. She can take it or leave it, and leaving it means we head back to court. My intent is to be fair.
Neither of us want this, but If I need to take that path I'll start with a new Form 15.
I don't, but I do have concerns about the attitude of the courts. In fact I can safely say I am wary of and distrustful of judges, but still I try to work out a support amount that's fair and reasonable based on my income, something I am honest about with my ex-wife, and the Canada Revenue Agency. So I truly resent when a judge tells me I haven't earned enough money when I dedicated my life to earning as much as I possibly could.
That aside, I am very happy to be employed again. Three weeks in and I'm getting my bearings and making a difference. It's a busy office, and a demanding role, and I'm not telling my ex-wife where I work, period. She's played games before, filing court actions rather than discussing things. The FRO knows I'm working and I'm paying the last agreed-upon amount reliably and I am 1 month ahead for safety's sake, but I do need to address my recent changes.
I'd like to get my finances in order, then look at the new value as one based on last year's income rather than some interim amount. My income last year (while on Employment Insurance) dropped by 27%, I reduced my support by much less than that when you factor that my daughter moved back in with me last September, but that doesn't matter much, what will matter is coming up with a fair deal this year, and not letting my ex-wife try to steam-roll the deal with unexpected expenses for my daughters, such as Hypnotherapy or Dental work that I simply cannot afford. This year, no deal unless I'm satisfied that the expenses are reasonable and necessary.
So, the deal I'm looking at is based upon my income last year, period. There's been no discussion of extra-ordinary expenses to date, so I will disregard them. I'm waiting on my tax forms to arrive (due by February 28th) and from that I can put together an arrangement. She can take it or leave it, and leaving it means we head back to court. My intent is to be fair.
Neither of us want this, but If I need to take that path I'll start with a new Form 15.
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