Kept In The Dark About Child Support

by Sharon Joy

I am the custodial parent of 2 children. My ex husband has historically kept me in the dark about his finances. He works in sales, and makes over $100,000/year, but from month to month his paycheck varies because of sales commissions. He has refused to set up a direct deposit into my account for child support and maintenance.

Every two weeks, he is late giving me a hand written check and I have to ask him for it. Sometimes he gives me a copy of his pay stubs, sometimes he doesn't. Also, I have struggled to get him to comply with the Joint Parenting Agreement, which states that all decisions regarding our two children must be agreed upon by both parties, or else should remain "status quo".

He unilaterally makes decisions regarding the kids extracurricular activities that effects me financially, then unilaterally decides to deduct money from my child support check without my consent. This is maddening to have to continually deal with him every two weeks on this level.

I want to eliminate contact with him on this level, and establish a system that will automatically deduct 28% of his net income every two weeks and direct deposited into my account. What can I do to make this happen?

On a separate note, I have recently become aware that my ex husband has bought a home, putting $159,000 down in cash. He bought his new girlfriend a very large diamond engagement ring. He has taken his new girlfriend on extravagant trips, and separately has taken my kids on extravagant trips this year.

The list goes on and on. How do I establish the truth about his income to child support ratio? I want to get a copy of his recent tax return for starters. How do I go about doing this? And how can I find out if he is withholding information about his income?

Thanks for the help.