It’s an admitted issue. You want to take care of your children. You don’t dispute they deserve your financial contribution. However, you resent making the payments to the ex. Can you bypass your former spouse?
Maybe it’s that you think your child is responsible enough to manage finances.
We won’t tell you that no questions will be asked. However, you could possibly make payments directly to your children.
Would this make you feel that your hard earned money is used as intended? Quite possibly.
Be careful not to be jump to conclusions. It’s up to a judge to decide if your situation warrants direct child support payments. Your children will also need to meet certain age requirements.
Asking the Court to Allow Bypassing the Ex for Child Support
A recent unpublished trial court decision in Kayahan v. Kayahan provides valuable information considering this issue. We think you will enjoying hearing this family’s story.
The Kayahans were married in 2007. At the time of their post judgment hearing in 2015, their daughter was 21. The young woman had already earned her Associate’s degree and planned to move on to secure her Bachelor’s. In fact, she was accepted to start a four year school. She would be advancing her studies as a full time commuter student.
The father considered his daughter’s Associate’s Degree as a good reason to seek her emancipation. After all, she didn’t immediately start the transition to her Bachelor’s degree. There was also the issue of a decline in his financial situation.
Surely, the court would end the dad’s child support obligations. If not, a reduction seemed in order. Even if the judge didn’t rule in his favor, the father had a simple request. He wanted his support payments to go directly to his daughter.
Mom had her own share of financial woes. She even worked two jobs. She also knew her daughter was just waiting for classes to start to go back to college.
The daughter picked up a part time job. She understood her parents were low on cash. The court looked at the party’s financial situation as a whole. The judge acknowledged that lower pay and rising costs were an issue.
The question of emancipation was dismissed. After all, the young woman was still attending college. However, the father’s income loss was significant. He was also contributing to tuition costs. It was deemed appropriate to lower his child support obligations.
The Outcome as far as Direct Child Support Payments
The court acknowledged that the matter of Jacoby v. Jacoby suggested that it “may be more appropriate for a parent to provide direct payments to the student for some of the child’s support needs rather than to the other parent.”
The court has determined that some adult children are mature and responsible enough to properly use payments made to them. Of course, not all.
There are other concerns. A child support order isn’t intended to act as an allowance for an adult child. And, there must be enough money for the custodial parent to maintain the household for the child.
In this particular case, the judge did not agree to afford the daughter direct child support payments. It wasn’t because the court was concerned the money was misused. Instead, the decision was based on the fact that the mother was already destined to receive less child support. It would be challenging to make the bills.
Contact Us
Every situation is different. Do you have sufficient grounds to ask the judge to move your support payments to your child? At the Law Offices of Sam Stoia, we use our experience to provide legal advice. Contact us for a complimentary appointment to discuss your issues.