Child support rant.

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JaseNZ

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#166292 8-Mar-2015 16:56

So I do not know how many of you the new changes affect but for me the new changes pretty much suck.

To start with I have no problems paying child support and have been doing so for the past 14 1/2 years , What I do find troubling is that my child support now with the new changes will go up $60 per week to $300.00 per week for one child.

The new changes do not take into account any partners or thier children if you provide for them etc.

The new changes were supposed to make it fairer however I do not feel this is the case.

Do you think it costs $300 a week to raise a child ??.

We are not rich by any means and there is nothing I would not do for my son , I just however feel like I am being taken by a ride by ird.

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MikeB4
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#1253462 8-Mar-2015 17:17

With food, clothing, medical, education, housing, power etc etc $300 per week would come close

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

tdgeek

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#1253482 8-Mar-2015 17:57

That is just your share, which makes your question worse. Been there done that. My 16yo now lives with me, as from her 16th birthday, so she now gets cared for properly.
No, its not fair. Does the cost of the child increase if the non custodial parent earns $150k instead of $50k? Don't think so.

insane

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#1253485 8-Mar-2015 18:01

I heard some people at work talking about some new letter they were sent in the mail, fully listed their ex husbands current income which was more than what they had originally disclosed. Not sure how that doesn't breach some privacy laws.

JaseNZ

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#1253499 8-Mar-2015 18:25

I have always been up front about my income which I cannot report as lower as IRD has all my income information anyway as I am not self employed.

Yes I had a child and we split later , however I have a life to live as well and the more you try and get ahead the more you are penalized in extra child support so yes I do not think its fair.

My ex is always asking me for extra money and I feel horrible when I say no I am already giving you $250+ (to go up to 300) a week.

She is not on the benefit so what I pay in child support she gets.

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stocksp

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#1253501 8-Mar-2015 18:37

$300 a week does not sound excessive, if you are on a good income. If you are on a good income, why shouldn't your child, whether living with you or not, benefit from this.

Children are life long responsibilities - and I have three, so not just talking through my head.

If someone has declared less than they actually earned, then good on IRD for disclosing - this person has no integrity and is trying to shirk their responsibilities.

networkn

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#1253570 8-Mar-2015 21:02

$300 a week seems insane, especially since that is only your half. No way does it cost $31000 a year to look after a kid. There are plenty of households who don't have income to support that.

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MikeB4

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#1253573 8-Mar-2015 21:11

From memory of material read at work the average cost per week to raise a child to 18 is circa $250,000 or $270.00 per week.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

tardtasticx

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#1253584 8-Mar-2015 21:21

$300 per week is absurd. How come until you're 18 it costs that much to be raised, but the second you get over that and you start Uni, Study Link thinks it's perfectly fine to live off $175 a week by yourself? Nothing changes overnight. You still need to be fed, homed, clothed and kept healthy (except you have to pay dental after 18 too, and doc visits cost more).

lxsw20

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#1253588 8-Mar-2015 21:23

KiwiNZ: From memory of material read at work the average cost per week to raise a child to 18 is circa $250,000 or $270.00 per week.

So if the mother is putting the same/similar into the child, then it's double what it needs to be.

MikeB4

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#1253594 8-Mar-2015 21:36

The key word is average. Therefore there is pluses and minuses. There is also regional skews. The Child Support Agency has a formula to calculate this I suggest acquainting ones self with this.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

Geektastic

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#1253615 8-Mar-2015 22:19

Not having any children, I can only guess at the cost but it looks pretty high to me.

I know my late father used to roar "If it wasn't for you lot, I'd be a bl**dy millionaire by now!" quite often - usually when the account for our school fees arrived on the doormat...

Cost has always been one of the reasons I have avoided having any.

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frankv

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#1253651 9-Mar-2015 07:05

What's the difference between the unemployment benefit for a single person and the DPB for a person with one child?

That tells you what the Govt thinks is the minimum amount required to raise a child.

MikeB4

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#1253656 9-Mar-2015 07:27

frankv: What's the difference between the unemployment benefit for a single person and the DPB for a person with one child?

That tells you what the Govt thinks is the minimum amount required to raise a child.

Income support by way of benefit is a temporary backstop and there for not reflective of the true costs.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

Inphinity

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#1253666 9-Mar-2015 08:20

Yes, I do think it can cost over $300/week to raise a child. This will be greatly dependent on a lot of factors, some obvious such as location, some less obvious. If I were to be in a situation where I were expected to pay child support, I would have no issue with $300/week, provided my child was clearly being properly provided for. I don't necessarily think the changes are fair in all cases, but unfortunately it's a fairly complex issue that, for consistencies sake, is being handled by what is essentially a mathematical equation. I think it would be better to have a trained case worker assess both parties and make a genuinely fair decision, but I can't see it happening.

surfisup1000

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#1253667 9-Mar-2015 08:20

I guess if you live in auckland , $300 barely covers rent and with average house prices quickly approaching a million bucks your payments are only going to increase .

[edit] but, i do have sympathy. From what I understand and have read in the papers the whole family court system is setup against fathers and I assume that applies to child support payments too.

If your roles were reversed then I bet you wouldn't get $300.

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