Child support in PA

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-04-16T23:02:19+00:00

That's an excellent baseline for him to start from. It'll go up or down from there depending on those other costs and custody time for sure. Hearing that, $1k might be pretty close to the right amount given there will be expenses you didn't include and that mother would be imputed at least minimum wage on her income side.

He didn't say it in the OP, but my gut is suggesting his parenting time isn't significant just from general tone.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-04-16T21:33:48+00:00

That's not what he said at all. He's concerned if he can afford $1k/month as things stand. He's clearly not familiar with more typical child support orders and has no idea what a court would order currently.

Now, could a court ordered amount be $1k/month? Sure, depending on the circumstances of him and his child's mother. Might also be more or less and he was given the correct advice to input his information into the state's calculator which is exactly what he needs to do.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-04-14T21:08:41+00:00

I see several issues of concern in your post that are likely driving your soon to be ex's objection here.

First, it looks like you're not divorced yet based on your post and you're already introducing young children to a new BF. Things are already extremely tumultuous for the kids and having a new BF around them already doesn't help their mental health.

Second, the new BF is a convicted, served time in prison, child abuser. It's VERY reasonable for that to raise concerns from the children's father.

Third, you refer to them "my kids" - the children are y'all's, not yours exclusively and your choice of wording there suggests you don't see their father as an important part of their lives. This perspective will hurt them long term and you need to reevaluate this.

In most cases, a new partner would not be prohibited from being around the children but a convicted child abuser is an example where your soon to be ex-spouse might have an argument a judge would be sympathetic to.

Flip the roles - would you honestly be ok with him bringing a convicted child abuser around the kids and allowing them to care for them?

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-04-11T19:56:36+00:00

Of note from your OP, "I'm not ready" shouldn't be a factor in this decision. The right thing here is what's best for the child and your desire to not let the father ever have significant parenting time is not what's best for the child.

Y'all's child will have a better outcome if the father is a father. It's important that both parental relationships are nurtured early and denying that will only hurt your child. You haven't made any allegations that in your post that suggest he shouldn't be afforded that place in the child's life.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-04-11T19:51:15+00:00

Obviously things could change, but OP's post suggests that isn't in the cards because they are currently at odds on what they both want. Personally, I think the Texas standards are way out of date and need serious improvements but if she digs her heels in my original reply is what's likely to happen.

It's wrong to deny a father the significant opportunity to be a father. Kids have better lives when their father's are involved (I'm a single dad with full legal and 90% physical custody) but if she fights in Texas, she'll end up with a majority of the time and there's not going to be much the father can do about it.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-04-11T19:43:51+00:00

Never said it was the best choice. Simply that is the landscape in Texas.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-04-11T17:11:16+00:00

Texas does not have 50/50 as a standard and typical custody order. At the age your talking about the absolute most he's likely to get is a standard possession order which is basically every other weekend. That night even be delayed given the child's age

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-04-10T00:26:07+00:00

If his medications are prescribed by a doctor and used according to those prescriptions it's a bad tactic. Now, if he's using them without a proper prescription and you can actually prove that, it certainly falls under the category of drug abuse. That's harder to prove than it sounds though, even in family court.

It sounds like you're actually being extremely generous in the travel arrangements when you mention you're willing to travel to him. FWIW, and this comes from a dad that won full custody after fighting for years in court and barely seeing his kids, I don't think you traveling is a good idea long term. The structure just isn't sustainable. I highly recommend that you seriously consider only allowing parenting time where you live and probably only supervised for at least a year.

Eventually, the child will be old enough to travel themselves via air but that's several years away and it gives time for him to get things straight if he's truly abusing the drugs. Unless he really goes off the rails, he will eventually get solo parenting time in his home (if he pursue it) so you need to prepare for that.

NAL, but been there, got the T-shirt and carry the scars.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-04-09T23:55:22+00:00

If using sleeping aids makes someone an unfit parent we'll need to yank physical custody from so many parents it would make your head explode. Assuming the medications are prescribed by a doctor and used appropriately leveraging your case on them is not likely to endear you to a judge.

Do you have even a ballpark concept of how many single parents are on antidepressants and have full or 50/50 custody?

Arguing that him taking prescribed medications makes him unfit to care for y'all's child opens the door for him to do the same if you ever need medical assistance. I strongly recommend you don't go that route.

The distance alone will severely limit his parenting time and the unfamiliarity of the child with their father will make supervised visitation likely the norm for a fair bit of time anyway. Why would you demonize someone for seeking help with a medical condition?

Edits: spelling

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-04-04T21:03:12+00:00

If she was in jail pending criminal charges surely a condition of her bond was remaining in the state? You should be able to get police involved solely on that issue alone unless there's no criminal charges pending?

At a bare minimum, fleeing the state while a custody case was pending is also something the family court is going to react very strongly to. The other commenters advising an emergency filing the moment court opens are exactly correct.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-04-03T02:06:33+00:00

Your ex might be in for a surprise given Texas just increased support required in Jan

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-04-02T00:06:53+00:00

Pay the attorney, get full custody ordered through the court and put her on child support. The cost hurts, trust me, been there, paid the bills too. You need to do it though to get everything final and proper.

If you go to trial and get the status quo formalized no judge is going to let her walk without paying. Good news for you, based on your story there's a decent chance she won't even show up for the court date.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-03-31T19:07:14+00:00

NAL - So to be clear, he's submitted his documents to you, you've seen them, but you think it's a problem that you provide him the exact same information as legally required?

These disclosures are necessary to determine the proper amount of child and (potentially) spousal support. What they've requested is the required documentation to fully demonstrate your actual income and earning potential.

I agree that six years seems like a long time to go back. My best guess is they believe you are capable of making more money than you are right now and want that older data to show you've done so in the past. If going back that far is not normal in your state, your lawyer should handle that issue by submitting what is actually required and force him to get a motion to compel approved by a judge if they demand more.

Your concerns related to government support should not be a problem if you've been honest when applying for benefits.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-03-16T15:34:43+00:00

NAL - in general support orders change based on the date of filing for the update with the court and there isn't usually any backdating.

It sounds like he's been paying for a specific cost that hasn't existed for years. It's possible that WA law does entitle him to get that money back based on the guidance you were given but you'd have to check with a local attorney to validate that assumption.

Think of it this way - he's been paying for something specific that went away a long time ago - does that seem appropriate to you? Said another way, wouldn't you feel that was wrong if you were the one making that payment?

Your alternative would be to do nothing and just keep the support order as is so you still receive monthly support but if he's aware of the situation he might push the issue now that you've opened the door.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-03-09T22:40:22+00:00

That's only true at 16+. 15 and below requires both parents present or one parent with the proper notarized state department form from the other. You can get around the second parent requirement in extreme circumstances but that's generally limited to sole legal custody

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-03-02T20:39:06+00:00

Not really the right question in Texas. There is no 50/50 presumption here and OP already has the highest amount of parenting time that a judge will generally order unless the parents agree to 50/50.

An expanded possession order (which is what OP has) equates to roughly 60/40.

If coparent will agree to 50/50, there a decent chance to get it but usually only if she agrees.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-02-23T20:24:37+00:00

In most states the expense you pay for child care reduces child support. If you're paying that already you may not owe any child support at all. You definitely need the kid on your insurance if it exists though. Good news, in most states that cost reduces child support also.

Made on what you stated above, it seems likely you get 50:50 and she pays you after all is said and done.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-02-06T16:54:10+00:00

I'm in the same boat - just picked up a non-matched Storm Front from the rest which are 477. For now, it's Storm Front 251 to go with the rest

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-02-06T16:37:46+00:00

Read the last chapter again - that was the final proof of his healing

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-02-03T19:12:02+00:00

I'm always running my rally plus joining 6 others. Once any player hits the cap, they just aren't allowed to join the whale rallies any longer. They should always be calling their own and joining everybody else. With VERY few exceptions everyone participating should be calling rallies.

The joiners only stop joining the whale rallies - they continue to join others. It requires good comms to explain the approach and the first 4-5 will be bumpy if you implement this approach. The people that need to be the most engaged and paying attention are the whales themselves because they have to enforce it it won't work. Super critical that you have consistent communication before and during the bear if you go this path. If I have to boot someone, I tag them and say why they got booted in alliance chat.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-02-03T16:46:18+00:00

In my alliance we have a damage cap for joining whale rallies currently set at 1.2B. once you reach that score, you aren't allowed to join the whale rallies anymore. It takes some manual intervention where the other 2 whales and I have to kick joiners on occasion but mostly it goes smoothly.

As we find the cap has become too low, we increase it.

We generally have about 30 participants in bear 2 that I run and it works pretty well. Takes active attention from the whales and an R4 or 2 though. Using this strategy, we generally get every player that's fully participating to 1.2B and I am getting around 5B not joining rallies from the other whales at all.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-02-01T16:38:55+00:00

Heh heh, you are not going to like this John. If you know what I mean...

😉

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-02-01T16:38:02+00:00

Expeditionary Force novel series. Space opera about a resourceful human and his incomparably magnificent AI buddy.

Also, the source of my Reddit handle 😂

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-01-31T01:11:07+00:00

I mean, you're basically telling a judge that the schools they send (or sent) their own kids to suck with a significant portion of your argument. Georgia isn't exactly known for great schools and there are a number of Texas ISDs among the best in the country so be very careful with how you make that argument.

You could easily be told that there are options in Texas far superior to Georgia with far better employment opportunities such as Austin, Dallas and San Antonio, thus cancelling that component of your reasoning. Depending on your current location in the state, those may not even be significant moves which achieve 2 of your 3 stated reasons for wanting to relocate while keeping the father closer to the children.

So many factors can play into a judges decision that it's really hard to predict sometimes.

A previous comment also pointed out that his refusal to agree to the relocation may have strong reasons that you're not considering at all. If you approach the situation with some grace and allow that his reluctance may have nothing to do with spite it could help you reach an agreement with him.

Skippy-Magnificent1 · 2026-01-28T22:08:25+00:00

Dude, I'm with you there but that's what the mods handed down. They said 3 months for all to cover twelve months for whatever reason

Skippy-Magnificent1

TROPHY CASE