NEED HELP, CAN ANYBODY TELL ME HOW MUCH ALIMONY IS THE MINIMUM IN USA?

[goldie 0]

got a phone today from the youth place, seems my ex tries desperatly to reduce the amount he has to pay for his doughter... now, he says, coz i am shifting soon to the states, and the living costs are lower then here, he wants to pay much less.. its crazy, coz even now, he is paying the absolute minumum what is required in switzerland! he pays only 500 $! for me nothing.

please, does anybody know how much the law says in usa about paying minimum alimony to a 5 year old child? are there any rules? i have a meeting next week with them, and dont know what i should agree.

thank you very much for your advice!

[Yodrak 7]

goldie,

The minimum alimony, or child support award, is $0. But that should not be a guideline for your situation in Switzerland.

I hope you've got an attorney advising you on this?

Yodrak

got a phone today from the youth place, seems my ex tries desperatly to reduce the amount he has to pay for his doughter... now, he says, coz i am shifting soon to the states, and the living costs are lower then here, he wants to pay much less.. its crazy, coz even now, he is paying the absolute minumum what is required in switzerland! he pays only 500 $! for me nothing.

please, does anybody know how much the law says in usa about paying minimum alimony to a 5 year old child? are there any rules? i have a meeting next week with them, and dont know what i should agree.

thank you very much for your advice!

[statman78 0]

got a phone today from the youth place, seems my ex tries desperatly to reduce the amount he has to pay for his doughter... now, he says, coz i am shifting soon to the states, and the living costs are lower then here, he wants to pay much less.. its crazy, coz even now, he is paying the absolute minumum what is required in switzerland! he pays only 500 $! for me nothing.

please, does anybody know how much the law says in usa about paying minimum alimony to a 5 year old child? are there any rules? i have a meeting next week with them, and dont know what i should agree.

thank you very much for your advice!

Each state has different laws regarding alimony and child support. In Wisconsin there is no minimum amount for alimony but there is a guideline for child support that recommends 17% of income. Check the laws in your state.

[miker32us 6]

First of all you are talking apples and oranges here. Alimony is NOT child support. Alimony is payment to a spouse because the courts have determined the other spouse is at fault for ending the marriage, the other spouse makes substantially more money than the spouse to whom alimony is paid, etc etc.

Child support is governed by the yearly income the NON-custodial parent earns and is usually awarded by the courts according to a table in every state. Child support is also determined by many other factors including other children the non-custodial parent may have.

BOTTOM LINE GET A LAWYER!!!!

[goldie 0]

First of all you are talking apples and oranges here. Alimony is NOT child support. Alimony is payment to a spouse because the courts have determined the other spouse is at fault for ending the marriage, the other spouse makes substantially more money than the spouse to whom alimony is paid, etc etc.

Child support is governed by the yearly income the NON-custodial parent earns and is usually awarded by the courts according to a table in every state. Child support is also determined by many other factors including other children the non-custodial parent may have.

BOTTOM LINE GET A LAWYER!!!!

sorry, i meant child support. we just call it alimony here. i dont know if a lawyer can help me, coz he doesnt know the usa law and rules, only the rules over here. and, definitly he wants to try to pay less then what he pays me now. and even this is not much. i wonder what would happen, if i dont agree. the woman there told me, then he has to go to court. well... and what, if i will be gone to the usa already that time, they will call me to court? what, if i am leaving switzerland before we made a agreement?

well, i will ask my lawyer, at least he can advice me about here...

[rebeccajo 14]

You'll most likely have to wait until you are in the US and resident here. Either or that or hire a divorce attorney in the city you are moving too and ask them to send the appropriate calculations to your attorney in Switzerland.

[pnd629 0]

It seems to me that since the child's father lives in Switzerland--those are the laws he should follow.

I don't see how the courts could make him comply with the laws of the United States--he doesn't live here.

In the U.S. if a person doesn't pay child support their wages can be garnished. I doubt you would be able to get a person's wages garnished who doesn't work in the U.S.

[Tim and Bethanie 1]

It seems to me that since the child's father lives in Switzerland--those are the laws he should follow.

I don't see how the courts could make him comply with the laws of the United States--he doesn't live here.

In the U.S. if a person doesn't pay child support their wages can be garnished. I doubt you would be able to get a person's wages garnished who doesn't work in the U.S.

I agree he is governed by swiss law, what does the cost of living in the US have to do with him?

[Ban Hammer 13,342]

It seems to me that since the child's father lives in Switzerland--those are the laws he should follow.

I don't see how the courts could make him comply with the laws of the United States--he doesn't live here.

In the U.S. if a person doesn't pay child support their wages can be garnished. I doubt you would be able to get a person's wages garnished who doesn't work in the U.S.

they can't hold him to anything, that's just it. in the usa the state that has jurisdiction in the case is the one the divorce was filed in. as they were divorced in another country that court retains jurisdiction. she should take it up with an attorney in switzerland.

I agree he is governed by swiss law, what does the cost of living in the US have to do with him?

he's trying to weasel

[goldie 0]

well, the woman from the youth office told me following: coz you will go to leave in another country, where the costs of living are lower then here, as well the child support has to be adapted, that means reduced! coz i as well will pay less for the child in the usa, then in switzerland... the problem is, i have no clue how much i should agree with them. the can tell me what they want. the lady from the office told me something like, in the usa its around 250$ per month.. how does she know! she told me they have a list! wow...i asked her, what we do, if i dont agree with the amount the ex suggests. she told me, well then he has to go to court. well. my ex has gone out of the country to his home country up to end of august. i hope to leave to the usa for good mid september. if we meet end of august and i dont agree, and he wants to go to court, well, i wont be there anymore..what then? will i still be able to demand the full child support which was agreed at the divorce? at the moment my ex is jobless, and gets only 80% of his salary. even the court counted only this 80% when they fixed the child support... what, if he gets a job again, and receives much more? and i will be far away in the usa, unable to go to court again?

sorry to write so much.. am just too confused and dont want to make a wrong step...

[Fandango 1,439]

To be honest with you, I think he's got you by the stones cos if you start playing hardball with him, he could make your removing his child from the country very difficult...

[diadromous mermaid 36]

well, the woman from the youth office told me following: coz you will go to leave in another country, where the costs of living are lower then here, as well the child support has to be adapted, that means reduced! coz i as well will pay less for the child in the usa, then in switzerland... the problem is, i have no clue how much i should agree with them. the can tell me what they want. the lady from the office told me something like, in the usa its around 250$ per month.. how does she know! she told me they have a list! wow...i asked her, what we do, if i dont agree with the amount the ex suggests. she told me, well then he has to go to court. well. my ex has gone out of the country to his home country up to end of august. i hope to leave to the usa for good mid september. if we meet end of august and i dont agree, and he wants to go to court, well, i wont be there anymore..what then? will i still be able to demand the full child support which was agreed at the divorce? at the moment my ex is jobless, and gets only 80% of his salary. even the court counted only this 80% when they fixed the child support... what, if he gets a job again, and receives much more? and i will be far away in the usa, unable to go to court again?

sorry to write so much.. am just too confused and dont want to make a wrong step...

Before you contemplate immigrating to another country, you should line up an attorney (Rechtsanwalt) in your home canton to deal with exactly these types of issues. You don't have to retain him/her necessarily, but when you depend upon an ex-partner who resides overseas, it's just wise to have an advocat who can go to "work" for you, if the occasion arises. As far as Kindesunterhalt is concerned, it's more than likely going to be predicated on his rate of income, rather than on your lifestyle. Under Swiss family policy, all cantons have introduced legislation by which they grant advances on outstanding child support payments. All cantons have set maximum amounts for these advances; most also set a threshold for the recipient's income.

For an attorney, check this link:

http://www.helplinelaw.com/lawyers/switzerland

International Cooperation Between the United States and Switzerland

By: Katie Donley

On August 31, the United States and Switzerland signed a bilateral agreement to enforce each other's child support cases. The agreement will help OCSE get financial support to needy families quickly, efficiently and consistently.

At the signing, Dr. Sherri Heller emphasized that OCSE has a strong commitment to Federal-level agreements that help children receive support wherever they are. International cooperation on family law matters has been increasingly important as more people cross and re-cross international borders as a result of globalization. Without such an international agreement, enforcement of child support obligations across international borders is difficult, if not impossible.

There is great enthusiasm and cooperation on all sides for this agreement because states of the United States and Switzerland have had various state-level arrangements for decades and prior arrangements with the Swiss Confederation have proven beneficial to U.S. families. Now that the agreement is official, American citizens both here and abroad will be assured that states can find non-custodial parents living in Switzerland and that the Swiss government will do all it can to ensure that child support orders can be enforced much like they would be by another U.S. state.

OCSE is now working closely with the Department of State to initiate additional bilateral agreements so that the benefits of such agreements can further the chance of U.S. children getting the financial support they need. With the Switzerland agreement completed, the United States now has Federal level agreements with 9 countries and the majority of Canadian provinces.

[goldie 0]

thank you very much for ur help, mermaid, i guess, if i contact the lawyer i had for my divorce last december, it would be fine. just, that i dont have much money to pay a lwayer, that might be a real problem..that tme, the governement payed for my lawyer, coz it was a divorce case. i doubt he ex can blackmail me if i dont agree, in switzerland u can go wherever u want, if u have full custody.

[Tim and Bethanie 1]

thank you very much for ur help, mermaid, i guess, if i contact the lawyer i had for my divorce last december, it would be fine. just, that i dont have much money to pay a lwayer, that might be a real problem..that tme, the governement payed for my lawyer, coz it was a divorce case. i doubt he ex can blackmail me if i dont agree, in switzerland u can go wherever u want, if u have full custody.

Which state will you be living in?

[goldie 0]

will be living in north carolina, thanks