I don't mean to get off task here guys but it's obvious that some of you are not child support paying dads like me. Thanks Dan S. for applying the term "deadbeat parents" instead of "deadbeat dads". Statistically, mothers required to pay child support are less likely to pay than fathers. That being said, the sad truth is that in the vast majority of cases the children are awarded to the mother in child custody cases. You can forget about a fair shot here, all of us know that.

Please realize that the child support system is not just about helping custodial parents and children, it's big business. Millions of dollars are raised through this system from matching funding sources including Federal. I am required to mail my child support to the State of Oregon. The State then receives a percent of Federal dollars as a match. This system of course raises millions in Federal match and employs alot of folks, thus the interest in making sure the money keeps coming.

I believe a much higher perecentage of non-custodial parents would be in compliance if the system were more fair. In my case, I have joint custody with my ex, she has them 4 days a month more than I. Despite this and a modest income, I am forced to give my ex 850 dollars a month! I still pay half of all medical, dental, and unreimbursed costs and of course all their expenses while they are with me. Now if that is not enough, at the end of the year, she gets to claim both children (Federal Loop) as dependants because she has them more than I which pulls her in an additional 3k per year! This is of course after I paid taxes on that money. I am totally current on all of my child support obligations and will continue to do so but find it no surprise that there are "deadbeat parents". I am fortunate, many are not so lucky. It must be overwhelming to many "deadbeat parents" to have a judge take their home, most of the time with their children, and then require them to pay half of their monthly income. Would you still pay? It's damn tough to live on nothing.

RM

[ 07-29-2001: Message edited by: RiverMan ]