Legal Question in Family Law in Oregon

Re: stepparent and child support

Your future husband is not responsible for paying or contributing to your pre-marital financial obligations, not do you have any responsibility to pay or contribute to his. And your child support obligation is a pre-marital debt. New husband is not responsible.

BUT----- a word of caution ---- under some circumstances, the "financial advantage" (if any) that you derive as a result of new husband's income MAY be considered as a basis on which to rebut the "presumption of correctness" that is otherwise attributible to your support obligation as computed under the Oregon Child Support Guidelines. (For example, if you have been working at a job paying you $2,500 p/m and you now quit the job upon getting married, since new husband has enough income to eliminate your need to work, it would be argued that you are deriving a financial advantage of $2,500 p/m as a result of new husband's income. In essence, rather that deeming your income to be $-0-, since you quit your job, the judge could deem you as having income of $2,500 for Oregon child support calculation purposes. In essence, the "financial advantage" afforded to you as a result of new husband's income is simply "income replacement" of that which you earned at your old job that you had before you got married.)

LAWRENCE D. GORIN

http://www.divorcesource.com/OR/pages/ldgorin.html

Law Offices of L.D. Gorin

521 S.W. Clay St., Suite 205

Portland, Oregon 97201

503.224.8884

E-mail: [email protected]