Child support is an important issue in most divorces. Alabama law requires a non-custodial parent to pay money to the custodial parent for the support of the children of the marriage. Calculations according to the published guidelines are pretty simple. You plug in the incomes of each of the parties, the costs of work-related child care and health insurance for the children, and voila, out pops the “presumptive” child support amount.

However, under Alabama law, if a third party provides a portion of that support, the non-custodial parent is relieved of the responsibility for paying that amount  to the custodial parent.   For instance, if a father is paying a mother support for a teenage daughter, and the mother kicks the daughter out and cuts off support to her, mother cannot continue to seek support from the father.

In other cases, the custodial parent signs over guardianship to third parties, normally grandparents, and then goes after the non-custodial parent for support.  Birmingham attorney Steven Eversole recently published a blog regarding a recent court decision holding that the custodial parent has a duty to disclose such arrangements to the court in a pending support action.  Here’s his article:  http://www.birminghamdivorceblog.com/2015/03/articles/alabama-child-support/l-m-v-k-a-full-disclosure-required-in-alabama-child-support-cases/

If you’ve been paying support and recently discovered that your ex isn’t the one providing for your child’s needs, you may be able to seek reimbursement from him or her.  Give me a call at (251)445-0891, or email me at ron@mcbaylaw.com.

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