Husband has End Stage Kidney Disease & child

[imcurious]

support ??? We live in Texas and my husband had no money to pay for his child support this month because of his disease-he had to retire. He will only be making 1200 a month from Teacher's Retirement(no check yet) now which makes it hard to make ends meet. His insurance alone will run him 300 and that doesn't include his medicine and doctor bills. He has to go to court Aug. 2nd and obviously he can't afford a lawyer. How do you all think they will calculate what he will owe? This is tough....We do want what is best for the children (4), we just don't have it to give. Will they take into consideration that he needs his medicine and insurance? (If he doesn't keep his insurance, he really will be in financial ruin.) He is currently trying to get on the transplant list.Thanks to All of You who try to help us.

[rsdSUCKS!!]

i know child support is important, but his meds and doctor bills are important too. if it comes down to it stand up for him in court and lt them know how you feel about the situation. good luck!

[Loraine F]

Just pay what you can. I don't know what the courts will do, but I think his ex needs to be understanding about this. Even if they were still married, SHE'D be doing most of the supporting at this point.

[spaznskitz]

why don't you have him call the ex and see if they can come to an agreed amount before the court date...the courts will not necessarily concern themselves with HIS needs, it is about what the child's needs are.

[nerakian]

It depends on the judge. If you get a sympathetic judge they may lower his child support. Most judges are out to do what is right by the children and they don't care about your current situation unfortunatly. I would get a lawyer and figure out how to pay him. Without one you are lible to be in big trouble. Sorry for your situation and hope everything goes alright for your husband. Hope he gets on the list and gets a transplant.

[Summer]

they'll probaly calculate what he owes by how much he recieves from his retirement. Unfortunant. I am sorry things are so hard for you guys. Have you got a job that can offer insurance or maybe pick up a second job.

[FredHH]

When his income level changed, he became eligible for the court to recalculate his child support. No lawyer needed all he has to do is write a properly formatted letter to the court asking for re-evaluation.The basic premise is... you can't get money that he doesn't have. His needs for his own survival come before his child support.There is a BASIC rule of percentage of income for child support... his income went down, so his support payments WILL be reduced. And yes, the court can (and should) take into consideration his costs for his medical needs.BTW... "End stage" is medical-speak for ... he's dieing and they can't do anything to stop it. It would be petty and cruel for you to be hounding him over money.

[idtakeny]

I had a transplant 4 years ago and I am divorced with 3 dependents. We were divorced many years before my esrd occured and I never got a lawyer as we agreed I would pay x amount for child support. I didn't have any medical and there are plans that will pay for the transplant and medicines. I currently have insurance and the drug companies supply me with my major meds at no cost. Feel free to emal me if I can be of help with any questions.

[baltimorewendy]

wow! it must be hard for your husband, and will be on his children but I am sure the judge will take that into consideration, but he still has a responsibility with his children and no matter how little money he makes he still has to pay child support, as you say it's 4 kids and it is very hard for the custodial parent just to support them by herself. Thank God he has YOU, because I am sure you are stepping out to support your family financially and emotionally, like the saying: "for better or worse", after all that is what marriage is all about, right? when one of the partners is falling you will lean your hand to help. I wish your husband all the luck in the world, God bless him and gives you all the strenght to help him through this hard situation.

[Patti C]

I don't think he will really need a lawyer. He is not trying to get out of paying child support. Where I live, they will take his loss of income into consideration and reduce the child support payments. If your husband is trying to get on the transplant list, please have his doctors write a statement explaining his medical condition. Make sure you take all the papers necessary - proof of income, price of insurance, price of medications, etc.Good luck to you. I hope your husband's doctors can get him on some sort of public assistance program which will help with the co-pays and medication expenses.

[*****]

yes, they will take all of the household allowances into consideration

[Orion]

Call the courthouse and ask how you would go about getting a court appointed attorney. Don't wait till you walk into court. Although he's getting retirement I would recommend you contact social security. I would think you all would qualify for disability which will carry over even after his passing. My prayers are with you.