Not at all like winning the lottery

In May of 2008, I sued Michael for child support. It was the opposite of fun. The order at the time was for fifty dollars a month, the maximum that they could order given his minimal income. He was also given sixty days to find more gainful employment. He did. Two months later, I took a vacation with my kids. Then Jake started school. I didn't even realize that four months had passed until I was filling out forms and had to declare income from child support. The clerk at the domestic relations office dutifully took my complaint, and a short while later, I received a summons. I attended the second meeting in September of 2008, where my (substitute) lawyer requested 50% of his income and an additional sixty days to get a better job, since he was still working as a part-time gas station attendant.

When I received the new support order, it was much better than the last one. The order was for $435 a month, assumed a past-due amount of $870 (since he should have had to pay that amount since July) and had him sending $25 a month extra (for a total of $460) to slowly whittle down the back support. There was no mention in the paperwork about him having to get another job, though, so when I received the packet in the mail, I went to the domestic relations office to ask if he was going to be held to it this time. I actually met my caseworker as I was putting money in the meter; she had just left for the day. I asked her about it. "Not formally, no. But if we asked for any more, it would be setting him up for failure. As it is, this is half of his net pay. If we ordered him to pay $1000 a month, and then he couldn't pay it, he'd go to jail. So we order the most we can expect him to be able to reasonably pay while still staying out of jail so he can work. I believe he won't be able to accept that amount of support himself, and this will provide its own incentive for him to get a better job." It actually made sense, so I wasn't going to push the issue.

I had been stunned, and later outraged, at the idea of a fifty-dollar-a-month order, so $460 seemed like lottery winnings. No matter what, I would get half of his net pay, straight out of his paycheck and into my account, until he paid down his back support. If he earned more than $1020 a month (which is what the caseworker had been hoping for) he'd get to keep any extra for himself. If he consistently earned more than that (got full-time hours or a better job, or both) then I could always take him back to court to review the order. If he earned less than $1020 a month, the amount remaining would get tacked on to the $870, and he would just owe more. So he couldn't just quit his job, sending 50% of zero, working under the table, and never pay me any support. If that happened, they'd pick him up for contempt of a court order.

I figured he'd continue working, the money would come, and I wouldn't need welfare to buy my food, pay my day care, and cover medical expenses. Stupid girl. After all, why should their father have to help pay household bills? Isn't that what the government is for?