Is child support for 1 kid really that cheap?

mckayleesmom wrote: I was just shocked when Nadia said that if Brad went to court he would be ordered to pay less....Seriously? I know it depends on how much they make and all, but that would be infuriating...

coasterqueen replied: I will probably be forever confused on the court system in regards to child support, etc. As many probably are the same, we know a lot of people who either receive or pay child support and the amounts are so different and random we have never figured it out. Some of our friends pay/receive more than others and well, there is a formula the courts must use that I don't completely understand. I'm sure it's all based on income, etc.

luvbug00 replied: here it is a table based on income. Brad would be paying arround 75 with the other kids counted and 160 if he had no other dependents at best if he went threw the court.

yup it starts at 200 (that is the highest i've heard of) and goes down with age..

i was smart. i bargened for 300 a month, medical insurance, half of all medical bills and half of education costs. until she is 21.

i know it sounds odd to read about children that way but when it comes to coustody battles it is in fact war.

CantWait replied:
It sucks to think of it that way, but lets be realistic. You're paying the rent where she has to live, the food she eats, school costs, including supplies, extra curricular activities and extras (birthday parties etc)) So why should someone (mom or dad) get off paying only a small percentage of what it actually takes to raise a kid??

What if the parent with custody had more than one kid to care for?

mckayleesmom replied:
Exactly what I was thinking. I always thought that they had to cover part of the roof over the kids head, school fees, daycare..etc...Guess I was wrong.

mummy2girls replied: yes it sucks. I never wen to the court for my child support. me and aron just agreed to 300. im not sure what he would have to pay if we took it to court...

luvbug00 replied: Here they factor in

Childcare. (Doesn't apply to us, mya not in daycare)


Income

Other dependents

and that's it. Everything else depends on bargining.
We did go to court shelly but brad was so scared to face the judge he last min agreed
To agreed terms and signed off on it. So we kinda did what u did. We tried the playing
Nice but brad kept not paying and saying he didn't have to so I took him in! Lol!
He really hates courts.

DVFlyer replied: We have divorced friends where the husband pays $900-$1100 PER KID.

I can only imagine it's because he makes a lot of money. But I know it doesn't take $900/mo to raise a child (who is not in daycare).

mummy2girls replied:
ive been lucky with aron as much as he was a butthead he never was late on his payments other than a couple times but after a reminder he gave it to me... he knows that if he doesnt give me money he goes to court

MommyToAshley replied: I don't know much about these matters, but it does sound low. School lunches alone are $50/month.

I think my brother paid around $800/month for one child, not sure how they determine the figure though. I would think $300 month wouldn't cover the expenses unless there were other agreements like the other person also covers insurance and health care costs, extra activities, etc. And, what about college funds... who assumes responsibility for those?

luvbug00 replied:

I beg to differ. it costs more because you have to amuse them all day long..my costs me out the ying yang in the summer, with all her trips to the movies, amusement parks and such..
At daycare you pay for the teacher to entertain them. I'd love to put her in but her father and Nana will NOT let me> ( "Not" = drama galore that i dont like to deal with)



Dee Dee I put in all schooling in case mya was ever going to private school. i had it all figure out

Hillbilly Housewife replied: It's based on salary here.... it doesn't matter what the other expenses are

salary of 30000
1 child:270
2 kids: 444
3 kids: 598
4 kids: 724

40000
1) 367
2) 601
3) 773
4) 915

50000
1) 462
2) 753
3) 986
4) 1161

and it goes on and on. There's a huge table.

boyohboyohboy replied: Here in Pa, there is a whole page of stuff they take into consideration, and some of that also includes the time they spend with the other parent...but it seems low to me to get $30.
We were told our agreement made by the court for one child was $850 and he also had to cover his health and dental and eye insurance..and half daycare.
but we agreed on our own figure to stay out of court.

Ours is also on a website you can get access to with out an actual court case, can you see yours and maybe figure out if you would get more by taking him to court?

DVFlyer replied:
This can never be discussed rationally because of the emotion involved, but "entertaining" a child by going to the movies etc should not be considered part of "support".

Using your logic, the obvious counter point is that are plenty of free things to do like parks. A child doesn't "need" to go to the movies or amusement parks.

The necessities like food, clothes and shelter, medical expenses etc are what should be calculated.

I have two kids. It doesn't take $1800/ mo to raise them.

stella6979 replied:
I absolutely agree.

flirtycuddle replied: I have a 5yr old and a 4yr old and their dad was ordered to pay $220 a month total in child support. $200 a month for child support and $20 for rears he had. I was told I could fight this but honestly when hes not working and refuses to hold a job there was no point in even going to court over it. Now if and when he ever starts working we will be going back to court to re-evaluate the child support, but after 3yrs of not working I never see that happening and not like I'm even getting that $220 now so he's over $5,000 in rears

Mommy2Isabella replied: I agree with DVFlyer

$300 seems a sufficient amount to me.

This is a touchy subject though for most. I will leave my thoughts at that