Child support payments are designed to ensure that a custodial parent in Milwaukee has the funds necessary to pay for a child’s needs and care. However, there is a growing concern that the support system in America is inherently flawed. The concern is that people have children with wealthy partners not because they want children but because there is a financial incentive to do so. It is claimed that the child support system as it currently exists actually punishes the less powerful and wealthy partner in most cases.
In some cases, the non-custodial parent winds up paying more than they can afford. If payments are not made in a timely manner, then they continue to accrue with no way to reset or reduce them. There are also cases where the custodial parent is accused of using the funds for his or her own benefit rather than for the children. The lack of oversight on how child support payments are spent is frustrating for many people, but the courts argue that it would be nearly impossible to carefully monitor every penny paid in child support.
In Wisconsin, the custodial parent is referred to as having ‘physical placement” of the child. The courts may determine what the placement will be if the parents cannot reach an agreement., and the child support payments will be based partially on the physical placement of the children in question. Support levels are based on a percentage of the non-custodial parent’s income. There are also special cases where the percentages may be altered. This includes situations where parents have very high or low incomes, there is more than one family being supported, the parents have shared custody, or there are multiple children and placement of them is split.
The support agreement is binding in court, but it is not written in stone. Parents can request modifications if there are changes in their circumstances. They can ask for different custody arrangements, request an increase in child support or have the levels decreased if they are laid off. It’s important to understand all of the child support enforcement laws, what happens if the payments are delinquent and how modifications can be requested. An experienced divorce attorney may be able to help parents navigate the process and receive the appropriate child support levels.
Source: The Root, “Child-Support Laws: A Boon for Gold Diggers?”, Keli Goff, May 22, 2013
