Okay, so I thought I would put this out there and see if any of you have any experience on the subject. My ex-fiance and I both have kids from previous relationships. He pays child support and I don't pay child support, nor do I receive it. We both make around the same salary, him a little more! We were planning on getting married the end of this summer, but it all blew up because he talked to a friend of his who is a lawyer who told him that if we got married our combined income would be used to figure out the percentage he pays in child support. I couldn't believe that could be true, seeing as I am already the sole provider for my two kids. Does anyone know anything about this or have experience with this?

As a lawyer--but one who has no real experience in family law issues--my sense is that the answer to your question is going to vary by state (i.e., each state probably has a different law in this respect). You may need to dig up legal resources in the states in which you and your ex-finace live as well as in the states where the support orders issued, etc., to start figuring this out.

Not much help, but there it is.

Thanks Capp! He is in NY and I'm in CA, so that may make a difference.

So are you looking for NY or CA law?
If NY, I don't think the combined income is used to calculate how much he pays, BUT I believe that there may be certain exceptions: he can't claim to be unemployed or underemployed because he is relying on your income--NY will impute income to him, and regardless of whether he's home on the couch, he will have to pay or face pentalties for arrears. Also, if there are any offsets that he's looking to claim under the CSSA (child support standards act) your income may reduce the offset (for example, housing expenses are not an offset, but if they were, he couldn't claim that he pays the entire mortgage out of his salary if you are married--see what I mean?) If you are looking for more NY info, and have more specific questions, you can contact me off-line and I will try to provide you with some resources that can help.

In Ohio child support is based on the parent's income, and step parents income is NOT included. So I can remarry and the additional income of my new spouse would not affect how much child support I should recieve. I am sure there are exceptions to every rule in extreme cases. Typically you can do a google search for the child support agency in your state and find answers to questions like this. This question is covered in the FAQs on my county's child support website.

Melissa

Violet, I know in PA step-parent's income is not included in child-support calculations, and my sense (not a promise though) is that in most states that's also true. If YOU were getting alimony that would be affected probably, but child support usually is only calculated based on both the payor and payee's incomes. Good luck!

Thanks all! I did some research on the internet for both CA and NY Child Support Laws and they both seem to say the same thing which is what I thought; that as long as we both are working, my income won't count towards his child support obligation.

Just for the record, I heart the wise and giving Offsprung lawyers. And I'm not even saying this angling for legal info, since I get it free through school. I just think it's nice that you all are here and smart and willing to share.

So, Violet, does this mean the ex-fiance reverts back to fiance?

Yes, I second McGlory! Much appreciated!

MM- We shall see, the ongoing dilemna is the 3000 miles between us. We have both tried to find jobs where the other lives and it hasn't been successful. He is in a small town, I'm in a big city. There are more job opportunities for me here and he has a good job where he is. Yadda, yadda, yadda! We talked last night about it all. Who know? We may end up being one of those couples that is married and lives on opposite coasts from one another because of our careers, but I'm not really feeling that so much. After three years of that already, it is definitely getting old.