VIC Child support and 50/50 care

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SamanthaJay

Well-Known Member
4 July 2016
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With a final court date coming up later in the year after my partner having interim orders for 100% for a year and then majority care 6 months and now 50/50 care the past 6 weeks, he is now confident that it's in the best interests of the child for final orders of 50/50 care with the mother. The mother has worked on the issues that led to the judge making the interim orders so this is a good outcome.

His lawyer has drafted orders but has noted that they have included child support matters, that my partner thought may be appropriate in the orders, as a notation as it can't be made an order of this court and that it's not enforceable. Lawyer has also noted that it may back fire on him if he is required to pay child support to the mother - which he has recently been assessed to pay due to the mother having lodged a very low estimated income with Child Support.

The matters are 50% of costs for medical/dental after private health insurance claims (with the father continuing to cover the cost of having the child on his private health insurance policy) and 50% of all education costs ie books, uniforms, fees, camps etc.

In the case of care of the child being 50/50, and one parent being assessed as having to pay child support to the other, is it the parent receiving child support that is responsible for medical/dental and education costs? We think this is what the lawyer is suggesting in their letter. They also say that if he pays for any of these costs, he may not be able to offset it against child support payments paid to her.

@sammy01 , I was doing a search to see if I could find if anyone had posted about this before and you had a post about your experience with your ex.

He is just trying to get his head around this as his lawyer is not available to discuss the matter until next week.
 

SamanthaJay

Well-Known Member
4 July 2016
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794
Thank you - no binding CS agreement. My partner has in the past always paid what he has been assessed to pay and will continue to do so. The problem in the past comes down to the mother continually telling the father that the child can't attend school camps/excursions as she has no money. And having the child calling the father crying saying mum has no money to pay for my 'camp' or 'excursion' etc. He has always paid for the child's school uniforms and books and early on in the separation during mediation, they agreed to paying 50/50 each of these type of costs with him paying private school fees, uniforms, books and sports and private health insurance for the children.

The mother had a decent job in the finance industry and threw it in to avoid paying child support when the interim orders saw the child going to live with the father 100%. We have since been informed that she is in fact working and is being paid 'cash'. This is why my partner thought it might now be the time to have an official document stating who pays what.
 

sammy01

Well-Known Member
27 September 2015
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Hey you need to get your partner to read this....
Plan A -the notation is a waste of time. You'll find in the CSA rules that a notation is not enforceable. Hey can you send me the link to the thing you referenced above about my post about notations? just outa interest....
Plan B So a binding agreement.... Yep... um no. Binding agreement? nice idea. But it requires her to agree. That is what an agreement is. I can hear your laughing.... Like she is gonna agree.

Not liking anything so far.... Go make a cuppa / bottle of wine - it is only gonna get worse.

Plan C. The ex agrees that school fees, health fund, soccer club, blah blah that you pay is in lieu of child support and as such should be deducted from the child support payments... You're not laughing are you? crying? let me give you a hug...

WHY? Well last summer I agreed for the ex to have 4 full weeks of the summer break. Lesson learnt, no good dead goes unpunished.... So she had them for a month. She called CSA and explained that she was the primary carer of the kids and she wanted child support for that month. About $700 bucks disappeared from my wages as a result... I was overseas at the time so didn't get csa corespondence.... CSA have informed me they will recover that debt from the x one she does her tax returns... That is nice... she hasn't done a tax return in 8 yrs. FFS. My kids live 90% with me. CSA should never have taken $900 of my hard earned.... But wont accept responsibility for their stuff up....

Hence my advice - pay for the uniforms, excursions, sunscreen. - yep the ex sent me a reciept for sunsceen once. The kids will know... And what matters more? winning the argument? Giving the kids the upbringing you want them to have despite of the ex's antics, or retiring a little bit earlier because of the $$$ you saved?
Right now, given how my eldest is behaving. I'm thinking retiring earlier. But the answer is giving the kids the best you can...

Mate - spend the $$ on the kids. WHY? thanks for asking, well if you were still living with the ex you would have been paying for it. TRUE? now read that bit again, because it is worth it.... And the next bit is worth getting tattooed on your arm. You're still paying for it.... But at least you're not living with her anymore. But at least you're not living with her anymore. Sounds like something Shakespeare could have written.
 

SamanthaJay

Well-Known Member
4 July 2016
335
55
794
This thread Sammy:

ACT - Clarification of Consent Orders Regarding Child Support?

Plan A - noted. Thanks.

Plan B - yep, hilarious!

Yeah, plan C, know that this is an impossibility.

He is a generous dad, and child knows how to work it. Except when child comes home and tells dad that they know he hasn't ever paid a cent of child support in his life because MUM told them all about it!

I think mum is making a career out of dealing with Child Support. He could probably learn a bit by just following what mum does :D

In the past, he has had payment re-assessed when mother has had one - yes 1 day that wasn't in original assessment.

Ok, he gets the drift now and is going to ask for the notations to be left out and just enjoy his week about with his youngest child.