Q: My ex-husband is trying to take me for child support
He's trying to take me for support when I barely make any money or none at all ( Caregiver). He makes more than I do, He's trying to go after my husband ( not the father to the 2 children I have with him) because he's the one that makes the money. Will he win the support case? I have 2 children with my current husband and are always home with them, and I'd love to have more custody of my 2 that I have with my ex husband he won't allow.
A:
Child support goes by a parent's "earning capacity," not necessarily his/her "income." If a parent isn't working -- and doesn't have a good reason for not working -- an earning capacity could be imputed/assigned to the non-working parent for purposes of a child support calculation. While you're staying home with your two younger children from a new relationship, you still have an financial obligation to help raise your older two children as well. It'll be up to your local domestic relations office whether they'll assign you an earning capacity, and, if so, it will be based on your earning history. If your ex-husband has always made much more money than you, however, then he probably won't get much (if any) child support from you at all.
In addition, if you'd like more custody of your older two children, you can file a petition to modify your custody agreement and ask the court to award additional custody to you. Your ex-husband's permission isn't necessary at that point, and he'll have to explain to the court why it's not in the children's best interests to spend more time with you.
Best of luck to you.
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