Q: Does she have legal recourse if I don't pay?
My kids mom is attending school and asked my wife and I for help with childcare last year and we rearranged our work schedules at a cost to us, to accommodate her classes. This year she added some classes/ days and has again asked that we help. We agreed to help but asked that she pay $5/wk for gas, because it adds a lot of driving and more time off work for us to do this. X said no way, but if I won't take the kids during this time she will put them in daycare and force me to pay for half. Our decree says I am responsible for half of her work-related childcare expenses, but that we are supposed to try and find free care through family first. I'm offering her free care but need help with the extra driving. She is putting the kids in daycare at $300/mo instead of helping me with $20, and threatening me with legal action if I don't pay for it. May be irrelevant but I already pay her about 2k/mo in child support and alimony. Am I still legally responsible under these circumstances?
A: The answer is likely yes but we would need to review the terms of your decree to be sure of what your responsibilities are here. You may want to take the issue to the judge since it sounds like your decree favors personal child care over surrogate and it seems absurd she would choose day care at this cost as opposed to what you proposed.
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