Can Child Support Paid to My Fiance's Son Change After We Marry?

[hej1 0]

Hi, everyone--

I am new to this site and my fiance and I are just starting the process. My fiance Peruvian. His 9 year old son lives in Brazil with his Brazilian mother (she and my fiance were never married) and her husband. My fiance has always paid child support and sends additional amounts when he can. We certainly want and are planning to continue to do what we can for his son.

Here is the question: Once we are married, is there a possibility that his son's mother could legally obtain an increase in child support based upon my or my fiance's salary? I am wondering if we need to consult a lawyer to understand whether this could happen? I really know very little about child support in general as this is my first experience with it-- and I just don't want to expose us to financial problems down the road by not addressing this before we get married. I live in North Carolina and we will live in North Carolina once we finish the visa process.

Does anyone have any advice or experience with this? Any help would be much appreciated-- thank you!!!

[whisper2me 0]

I would assume it will continue to be based on your fiance's income and not yours and that if his income increases, child support amounts increase with it. That is how it is done in Australia at least since it is based on taxable income for the previous financial year.

The other thing to consider is if you and your fiance one day have a child together, the amount of child support he pays may decrease slightly, since he will have the added responsibility to support both children. In this case they will consider your income, since your income will affect how well you can both financially support YOUR child together.

Edited August 25, 2008 by whisper2me

[pushbrk 13,117]

Hi, everyone--

I am new to this site and my fiance and I are just starting the process. My fiance Peruvian. His 9 year old son lives in Brazil with his Brazilian mother (she and my fiance were never married) and her husband. My fiance has always paid child support and sends additional amounts when he can. We certainly want and are planning to continue to do what we can for his son.

Here is the question: Once we are married, is there a possibility that his son's mother could legally obtain an increase in child support based upon my or my fiance's salary? I am wondering if we need to consult a lawyer to understand whether this could happen? I really know very little about child support in general as this is my first experience with it-- and I just don't want to expose us to financial problems down the road by not addressing this before we get married. I live in North Carolina and we will live in North Carolina once we finish the visa process.

Does anyone have any advice or experience with this? Any help would be much appreciated-- thank you!!!

This is a question about Peruvian family law that could only be reliably answered by a Peruvian family law attorney.

[whisper2me 0]

Hi, everyone--

I am new to this site and my fiance and I are just starting the process. My fiance Peruvian. His 9 year old son lives in Brazil with his Brazilian mother (she and my fiance were never married) and her husband. My fiance has always paid child support and sends additional amounts when he can. We certainly want and are planning to continue to do what we can for his son.

Here is the question: Once we are married, is there a possibility that his son's mother could legally obtain an increase in child support based upon my or my fiance's salary? I am wondering if we need to consult a lawyer to understand whether this could happen? I really know very little about child support in general as this is my first experience with it-- and I just don't want to expose us to financial problems down the road by not addressing this before we get married. I live in North Carolina and we will live in North Carolina once we finish the visa process.

Does anyone have any advice or experience with this? Any help would be much appreciated-- thank you!!!

This is a question about Peruvian family law that could only be reliably answered by a Peruvian family law attorney.

As I clearly acknowledged, I was relaying my experience here in AUSTRALIA.....naturally laws are different all over the globe but the issues for consideration are still the same...

Edited August 25, 2008 by whisper2me

[brnidokiegurl 0]

I would believe the mother would have to ask for this increase, that it wouldnt just automatically happen. Here anyway i would have had to go back before the court and ask and show the reasons...

[NickD 203]

Hi, everyone--

I am new to this site and my fiance and I are just starting the process. My fiance Peruvian. His 9 year old son lives in Brazil with his Brazilian mother (she and my fiance were never married) and her husband. My fiance has always paid child support and sends additional amounts when he can. We certainly want and are planning to continue to do what we can for his son.

Here is the question: Once we are married, is there a possibility that his son's mother could legally obtain an increase in child support based upon my or my fiance's salary? I am wondering if we need to consult a lawyer to understand whether this could happen? I really know very little about child support in general as this is my first experience with it-- and I just don't want to expose us to financial problems down the road by not addressing this before we get married. I live in North Carolina and we will live in North Carolina once we finish the visa process.

Does anyone have any advice or experience with this? Any help would be much appreciated-- thank you!!!

In my wife's case living in Venezuela and her ex moving to Colombia, would have cost her more in legal fees to collect child support payments than the value of those payments. Are these payments based on a moral obligation or on a court order? Has there been a custody hearing on the child? And since this woman is remarried, is that child support money going for the welfare of the child or is his step dad taking it? Why isn't your husband fighting for full physical custody of that child? And what countries is he dealing with? Sounds like Brazil, Peru, and eventually the USA.

Custody battles are won on the ability of the parent to properly take care of the child, both morally, emotionally, and financially.

[hej1 0]

Thanks, everyone-- I appreciate the responses and any others that may come along!!

I am going to ask some of the questions suggested above and add some more information...thank you!!

[NickD 203]

Thanks, everyone-- I appreciate the responses and any others that may come along!!

I am going to ask some of the questions suggested above and add some more information...thank you!!

Only other question, is it really his child, DNA testing proves that.

[hej1 0]

The paternity of the child is not in question and it has long been decided that he would live with his mom in Brazil-- they were young when he was born and there were many circumstance which made this the best choice for him at the time. He is happy and healthy and loved. If anything were to change and all agreed it was best for him, I would be more that happy if he lives with us.

Really my only question is on the legal issues surrounding child support calculations and possible future issues that may come up. People have made some good points and I will have to look into the details a bit more...

[NickD 203]

The paternity of the child is not in question and it has long been decided that he would live with his mom in Brazil-- they were young when he was born and there were many circumstance which made this the best choice for him at the time. He is happy and healthy and loved. If anything were to change and all agreed it was best for him, I would be more that happy if he lives with us.

Really my only question is on the legal issues surrounding child support calculations and possible future issues that may come up. People have made some good points and I will have to look into the details a bit more...

It's refreshing that you and your fiancé are conscientious on this matter, mention your plight to my wife, she laughed being on the other end of the stick, trying to get child support payments from her ex living in a different country. And that was court ordered. But that turned out to be good for us, we needed his consent so my wife could bring her daughter her along with full custody and relieved him from that burden for his consent. He was happy to give it. It also helped to have a couple of bucks to hire an attorney in his country to serve him with a summons, course, he could have paid up on child support payments and not given that consent.

But he refused to give consent to his daughter to renew her passport, so she had to turn 18 first, she did go down and visit him plus a lot of other relatives, but is due home tomorrow, curious as to whether she will change her mind and stay down there or come back. Tonight she is planning on coming back, but now it's her choice. In nine years, that will be your fiancé's sons choice and I believe technically, you will be his step mother.

[Helmut & Bee 0]

I would not worry too much, since you will be living in the US.

The son's mother would have to get an increase in support approved by a Brazilian court. This judgement would not be valid in the US. To enforce the judgement in the US, it would have to be approved in a US court, after it makes it's way to the US, usually via the US embassy. The entire process would be so time consuming, complicated, and expensive, she would loose more in costs than she would make in any support increase.

The only danger would be if she gets a increase approved by a Brazilian court, and your husband does not pay it, and later returns to Brazil for a visit. Being a citizen of Peru, the US could not protect him from any action by the Brazilian legal system, and they could try to collect from him while he is there.

H.

[NickD 203]

I would not worry too much, since you will be living in the US.

The son's mother would have to get an increase in support approved by a Brazilian court. This judgement would not be valid in the US. To enforce the judgement in the US, it would have to be approved in a US court, after it makes it's way to the US, usually via the US embassy. The entire process would be so time consuming, complicated, and expensive, she would loose more in costs than she would make in any support increase.

The only danger would be if she gets a increase approved by a Brazilian court, and your husband does not pay it, and later returns to Brazil for a visit. Being a citizen of Peru, the US could not protect him from any action by the Brazilian legal system, and they could try to collect from him while he is there.

H.

Our daughter was on the plane and back home after spending two months at her home countries, wife is relaxed, but was a bit of a battle for us some five years ago. Our expense was not in trying to get child support payments for her, but to get her here. LOL, now I have to write a large check for her college tuition and dorm fees, but we are talking about a human being and not a couple of bucks. But one thing about those South American attorneys, they move quick if you give them a couple of extra bucks, but sure wouldn't have done it for the money, would have been strictly for principle as money wise would have been a bad investment just like Helmut & Bee stated.

My personal preference is not to pay child support payments, but to raise the child myself, it takes a lot more than money to raise a child correctly, I fully respected my wife's desire to bring her daughter here, and had quite a custody battle with my ex wife to raise my own kids. Kids are really the only thing you leave behind after you are gone and is quite a rewarding job to make sure they are prepared for life.

[hej1 0]

Thank you H for the point on problems if there is a change approved by the Brazilian courts.

Nick - You are right that it does cost more to raise a child than to make child support payments. Right now his mother is not allowing him to leave Brazil, and she has never let him travel outside the country--even to go to Peru. We are respecting that and planning to go to Brazil to visit him But it's interesting that you mention tuition-- that is already something we have been thinking about, that he may go to university in the US one day when it is up to him which would be great!

[NickD 203]

Thank you H for the point on problems if there is a change approved by the Brazilian courts.

Nick - You are right that it does cost more to raise a child than to make child support payments. Right now his mother is not allowing him to leave Brazil, and she has never let him travel outside the country--even to go to Peru. We are respecting that and planning to go to Brazil to visit him But it's interesting that you mention tuition-- that is already something we have been thinking about, that he may go to university in the US one day when it is up to him which would be great!

Is this child a citizen of Peru and living in Brazil? If so, is he in Brazil legally? Don't have to answer, just something to think about.

And of course the mother wants full custody of the child as well as child support payments, but is this what your husband wants? And even more importantly, is this what the child wants?

With my wife, her daughter really didn't want to come here, but also very typical of teenages, my kids didn't want to move either when I had a job change, plus she had to learn a new language and culture. Well after spending two months in Colombia and Venezuela, 19 years of age, she was on the plane last night, and quite happy to be back home. I did apoligize to her many times for falling in love with her mother and taking her away from her friends. But all that is history now, she could have stayed down there, we own property. But now, she is here on her own free will.

With my own kids, it was their choice to either live with me or their mother, they preferred and expressed their options of insisting they wanted to stay with me, I did not push that issue. I feel your husband to be son's should have that same choice, he is old enough now to decide for himself. Not sure about the laws in Brazil, that can be found out, in Venezuela, the father had more say about his children than the mother, but he was more interested in not paying child support than in rearing his own daughter, and she definitely did not want to live with him, so at least that much, was her choice.

Just something to think about. Also the education is far different here than in other countries, he would be much further ahead with an early start. My step daughter is enrolled in college, Saturday is going to be a busy day for us moving her into the dorms. But she has her US high school education behind her with a very good GPA.