Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey
Child Support Guidelines
In the following scenario, can you tell me what rights I may or may not have.
Reference Child Suppport
My wife is divorced. He is asking for reimbursement for a gift that was purchased for a party that he took one of our kids to. He is demanding that she provide a gift for an upcoming party and leave with their clothes bag when the father picks them up for the weekend.
Also he is provided clothes but when we get the clothes back, they are never laundered and his position is that he is not required to do this and is very uncooperative and indignant. They are usually returned balled up in a bag. He also is complaining that we send them with old raggy clothing, which is not the case. Can we send them to him for his weekends with just the clothes on their backs? If he is so unhappy with their cloths perhaps he should provide clothes for them when he has them.
I know this sounds picky but there are many other issues not mentioned here that have led to this.
My number is 732-718-6113.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Child Support Guidelines
Your rights in this situation will be governed by your separation and/or your judgment of divorce. You should refer to both of these documents. Often there is a provision where the husband and wife will split the child's "other expenses" according to income. That is, if the wife earns $40,000 and the husband earns $60,000, they will split expenses 40%/60%.
I cannot tell if you are being "picky" as you say, or are bringing up valid concerns. Is it possible that your ex-wife is in some type of financial trouble? If the children have no decent clothes, this could be the case. It could also be the case that your ex-wife is spending her money on something other than the children.
If I were you, I would investigate the situation further. If your wife is in need, then your children are in need. If this is the case, she can sucessfully sue you for increased child support. Or, even worse, she would let the situation go on, and your children will live with less than you can provide.
If you do not have the time or ability to investigate the situation, I suggest you hire an attorney. Remember, even if there are bad feelings between you and your ex-wife, the children should be the primary concern here.