Where we are today and how we got here.
I do want you to understand, that when I say my children, that my oldest daughter is 24 and my son is 21 and still getting child support.
My first issue with the way child support is decided is that it is based on the man's salary, regardless of what the income of the custodial parent (she is a Vice Principal in her local school district from what I have learned). Child support is a twisted issue to follow. In my case, I was making good money in NJ at the time and NJ Law allows for up to 52% of the salary to be garnished for child support. If she had to deal with the same cost of living I might not be so disgruntled over the situation. The reality is that she didn't have to deal with the same costs. She moved back to Iowa where she purchased a 3 or 4 bedroom house on an acre of property and her mortgage was under $400/month.
In 2005, I relocated to Arizona which has less generous standards. The State of Iowa requested that the NJ standard be applied and assumed the judgement. The State of New Jersey agreed to step out of the picture as they no longer had me as a resident and no direct control over me. The State of Iowa then directly petitioned my employer to enforce the Order of Child Support without involving the State of Arizona. I petitioned Arizona to take over control of the case but they declined to get involved. Since 2012, I have requested 2 hearings from the State of Iowa for adjustment and have been declined both times. The cost of living and the wages in Arizona are much less than those in NJ.
Yesterday, I finally had a Child Support hearing from the State of Arizona, requested by Iowa. The main things raised during this was why the State of Iowa is still seeking the Order of Child Support and why Arizona hadn't heard my request in 2006-2007 when I filed here? According to Iowa Child Support Guidelines, an Order of Child Support remains in effect until the "child" turns 26 or obtains a college degree. Both had a college fund established before they were 3 years old. The State of Arizona Guideline states 18 years old and it terminates. Arizona and Iowa are going to have "private" conversations on the resolution and will advise me of the outcome. I asked these questions point blank- When does the system become fair to the non custodial parent that pays child support and why should a state that I have never been a resident of have control over my life. That is like me getting stopped and ticketed by local police for making a right hand turn on a red light, which is legal here but is illegal in another state.
The shock to me came when I learned that since I first began paying child support I have paid $102,145.51. That money sure would come in handy to expand and build on my current success...
Ladies, I ask that when seeking child support please be fair and don't use the children as a weapon. Guys, do your fair share to support your child(ren)!!
Everything that we have done and experienced in the past has made us who we are and gotten us where we are today. All of this has occurred because, instead of building things up piecemeal as I have been with profits coming from the homestead, I wanted to earn extra income to expand things faster by getting a part time (20 hours a week) $8.25/hr job and the employer uses E Verify which is controlled by DHS... So, if Iowa gets their way, I will pay even more in Child Support for my 2 adult children and my landlady wants more rent because I am thriving... I may just have taken a huge step backward instead of forward depending on the outcomes. I will keep you all updated when I hear from the State again and what happens with negotiations with the landlady.
They say that which doesn't kill us only makes us stronger, well after this I feel that I should be able to bench press a Buick.