Divorce Advice for Men | Fathers Rights Divorce | Child Custody

Question:

Do child support laws recognize informal agreements? My ex-wife and I agreed to a child support amount that was different then the court-ordered amount, and I pay support directly to her.

Now she is disputing the child support amount we agreed to and recently had my wages garnished for the full amount.

Can she do this?

By Andrea Johnson

Attorney, Cordell & Cordell

With the current economic situation, many unemployed divorced dads cannot afford child support payments.

Some just pay what they can for a period of time until they find another job.  Others make informal agreements with their former spouse about a temporary modification. 

Both of these courses of action are wrong. 

Question:

My ex has verbally agreed to let me have sole physical and legal custody of our children.

What steps do I need to take to make our agreement official? Does it matter that my children and ex currently live in a different state (Texas) then where our divorce judgment was entered (Florida)?

Question:

Can child support be applied retroactively?

Per our verbal agreements, I have been paying for daycare since we separated but my ex wants me to pay for back child support as well. Can she do this?

Question:

I have a child with an ex-girlfriend. We have never been to court, but we have worked out a verbal agreement for custody and child support.

I don't feel like this custody arrangement is working anymore and I would like to get full custody.

Is this possible since the mother and I were never married? Do I have any legal rights to the child?