When it comes to divorce, some fathers may feel like they get the short end of the stick with child support and alimony. In some cases, fathers may end up feeling like the system is slanted toward women and does not take into account financial hardships, like job lay-offs, which can affect anyone.
One father, who wrote the book “Sometimes Daddies Cry: What a Dad Really Feels About Divorce,” shared his personal insight about his child support payments and the modification process.
The father said that he was ordered to pay $1,000 a month to his ex-wife. At the time this amount was determined, he was a successful mortgage banker, so the amount made sense. However, in 2008 when he lost his job, it became impossible to keep up with the payments. He did file for a modification, but he said it would take 11 months.
During those 11 months he was continuing to owe and owe. He ended up even going to jail for 15 weekends because he was unable to pay it.
He also had concerns about his role as a parent. He claims that even though he paid $1,000 a month for five years, he only saw his daughter six days a month and had nothing to do with any decisions that his ex-wife was making.
No doubt there are probably many Missouri fathers reading this who can either relate or worry the same thing will happen to them. However, those worried or struggling fathers should not try and go at this alone — or keep these worries of unfairness to themselves. Rather, talk with an attorney who has experience handling fathers’ rights cases
Source: Huffington Post, “Child Support: Man Says He Was An ‘ATM Machine’ After Divorce,” June 19, 2013
