Mlitary member and child support

[chuck99803]

I am a military member stationed in Alaska. I receive COLA and Housing allowance for my area due to the cost of living here. My exwife is trying to take me back to court in Illinois for an increase in child support because I receive these allowances. Can my COLA and Housing allowance be included in the amount of child support I have to pay? When I leave here in 18 months I will lose the COLA and my housing allowance will go down considerably, will I still have to pay the same amount?
I am only making about 24,000 before you add in my allowances, my exwife makes 32,000 plus child support and I pay for medical and travel between Illinois and Alaska.

 

[$depp$]

Hi. I live in DE and they didn't take housing support, etc into our calculations (my ex was in the Army temporarily). I'm not sure what the laws are in your state. My only advice can be that if your CS payments are raised, AS SOON as you are discharged or your situation changes file a modification yourself so that CS is returned to a reasonable amount.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Good Luck

 

[brenda wright]

I'm no lawyer, but i don't think they should be able to take those things in to consideration. I'm also in the military. Those are benefit promise to you by law. That is why they are non taxable. they change from state to state. it is no different than working nights or working holiday that income in not always promise. what if you move on base than you lose you house allowance and you only get cola because you are in a high cost of living area. If you lived where I lived you would be getting nothing. I don't know what branch of the service you are in but the Air Force come down hard on you for nonpayment of anything you owe. Your circumstance are not like a normal civilian you might want to bring that up to a judge. not many civilians can lose their jobs/go to jail for finacial irresponsibility. than what will the children receive nothing because you won't have a job. I hope everything works out for you

 

[Esimon1]

I too do not think the COLA should be allowed to be considered in CS, but if it is taken into consideration, and you do file for modification after your benefits cease, beware that some cases have been told, (i'm not sure about your state) that you can't have a modification done unless you have at least a 15% change in income, otherwise It could be 3 years before a modification can take place.

 

[chuck99803]

Thanks for the info

 

[chuck99803]

I am in the Coast Guard here in Alaska. The cost of living is extremely high. When I leave here I will take a 50% pay cut due to losing my COLA and Housing money. We don't have housing here in Juneau and housing is very limited. My exwife is about to get remarried and she has a really good job that pays well for where she lives in Illinois. Being so far away I don't know what all of my options are. When I want to see my kids I have to pay for everything (airfare, babysitter while with me and pay the ex child support), if I don't I will not get to see my 2 sons. Thanks for all of the help.

 

[Military Dad]

No, your EX cannot consider COLA, BAH or SEPRATS when filing for an increase.

 

[Military Dad]

Chuck,
I just wanted to expand on this a little.
Your EX can only consider “Basic Pay” when applying for an increase involving child support.

She cannot use:
COLA
BAH
SEPRATS
Sea pay
Flight pay
Hazardous duty pay
Uniform allowance

These are all non-taxable and therefore not considered when raising child support.

When I leave here I will take a 50% pay cut due to losing my COLA and Housing money.

You will only lose your housing money if you move into Government leased housing, Government owned housing or a barracks. They will take your BAH away because your “new” housing will be paid for (including electric, water and garbage). If the CG can’t find a place for you, then you will still receive BAH.

COLA is not part of your basic pay; it’s an addition to help offset the cost of living. When you get transferred to a new unit its very likely that you will lose COLA unless your staying in Alaska or moving to Hawaii (those are the only two states I can think of that have COLA).

When you say your taking a 50% pay cut when you move…………….Well, it just aint true. Your base pay will always be there no matter where you go.

 

[chuck99803]

I understand all of those things are not taxable but here lawyer seems to think that COLA and BAH are apart of my pay. I know I will not take a 50% pay cut but I will lose my COLA (575) and my
housing here is 1366 and there aren't many places down south that can even come close to that. I have even offered to raise the childsupport while I am in Alaska but she didn't want any part of that. Sorry for the rambling but I am at my whits end.

 

[Military Dad]

Hi Chuck,
Contact these people. I've used them before and they can really help.

17th CG District Legal Admin (907) 463-2050
USCG ISC Kodiak Legal
Assistance
Attorney (907) 487-5474

 

[katracer]

Allowances are added in all the time!

My husband and his ex were never married, and the initial child support order was done in CA. They added in every allowance he receives to come up with the child support amount. Now, the case is being transferred to WA as neither of them are in CA any longer, and custody was never determined (being heard in WA now). Again, they are adding in the allowances, stating that "his expenses for housing are lowered because we either receive the allowance or live in government quarters". We have argued that the allowances are not subject to legal process, he did receive these allowances until we got married, and they change every time he is transferred. Which means every time he is transferred, we must go back to court. Of course, his ex makes more than he does, even with the allowances, drives a brand new van that is paid for, and just bought a house with money given to her by her dad. and she thinks she should get more money and he should get a hardship because we have three children together. What should we do to keep them from using the allowances? We have submiited copies of the DoD pay manual which state the allowances are not subject to legal process, and are not figured in when calculating disposable income.

 

[bnjmein]

Here is what the judge determined in our case: COLA is to offset the higher cost of living for where you are stationed and therefore not included in determining support, however, BAH and Seperate Rations are benefits of your employment and considered INCOME and therefore subject to inclusion when determining the amount to be paid. The taxability of such income was irrelevant. Hope this helps.

 

[usmcfamily]

The reason that BAH is often included in calculations is that if you are receiving the BAH rate for "w/dependants" (as you would if the child is listed on DEERS) then that child is included in the govt's calculation of how much BAH you receive and therefor considered as "entitled" to part of it as their benefit......I probably didn't word that in the most easily understood wording but I hope it may shed a little light as to why it is included in calculation.

 

[katracer]

BAH

As I understand the way they do BAH now, just having dependents does not entitle you to the w/dependent rate. The dependents must live with the member. So, is you have dependents that you pay child support for, you only receive the BAH diff rate (which is just under $200 for an E5). So in reality, the BAH with dependents is for the children and spouse that live with the member. Only the BAH diff rate should be allocated for the children the member is paying support for.

 

[chuck99803]

Just wanted to bring this back to the top, about to go crazy!!!

Thanks for all the advice. Chuck