Q: Does he not owe child support due to COVID lockdowns and terms of the child support agreement?
Ex-spouse & I signed a mediation agreement early 2020, just before legally mandated lockdowns. in lieu of paying to court, ex agreed to pay equivalent amount of per guidelines child support by paying child's insurance coverage (pretax from paycheck) & day/aftercare. Shortly after signing the agreement, child's PreK/day/aftercare announced they were closing for good. I presented my ex an alternative that was offered for the displaced kids & my (still) spouse (at the time) said, "I cant afford that." Our child hasn't been in day/aftercare since the preK closed, none over summer/fall 2020 or now, she is now in virtual kindergarten. The insurance is paid as agreed, but no payments for child care in lieu of child support have been made. Also during our divorce/mediation a woman he was dating became pregnant late 2019, child born in late '20. He is paying childcare for that infant & his income was NOT affected by COVID. Is he off the hook for our kid's child care portion of support?
A: You need to read your agreement carefully. He is not "off the hook." However, if the agreement says he pays the daycare directly and the daycare closed then he can argue that he does not have to pay. You may need to go back to court for clarification or enforcement. What he did or is doing with the new relationship does not affect your case.
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A: He appears to be off the hook as long as you allow him to be. Your ex cannot be required to pay for a daycare that is not in operation. Now, if you were to ask him to pay the same amount to the new daycare and you are willing to pay the difference, I think you would have an argument. Otherwise, you will have to file a supplemental petition for modification of child support stating that there is a substantial change in that the daycare is closed and asking for that his portion of the daycare expense now go to you. I wish you luck!
1 user found this answer helpful
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