Should I feel “guilty” because my ex-wife pays child support?
Should I feel “guilty” and “ashamed” because a “friend of the court” determined my soon to be ex-wife should pay me child support as part of the divorce settlement?
It depends upon whether the analysis was based upon the applicable facts and law.
Usually, child support is paid by one parent to another if A) the recipient parent has less monthly/annual income than the other parent; and B) the recipient parent has the children in his/her custody more often than the other parent.
Courts are not allowed to engage in sexual discrimination as a basis for awarding child support, i.e., courts cannot award child support to a parent because she’s the woman and the other parent is the man.
If the child support calculations are based upon false and/or incomplete information such that the calculations are inaccurate and/or unfair, then I would not be surprised if that caused you to feel guilty or ashamed.
But if you make as much money, or less money, than your wife, if you have the children in your custody more often than your wife, if any other applicable facts and law of your jurisdiction dictate or weigh in your favor, then it should come as no surprise that your wife pay child support to you in an amount that comports with your jurisdiction’s child support guidelines, and there’s no reason to feel guilty about that.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277