Father seeks reimbursement of child support from ex-wife

Courts award child support as a means to prevent one parent from having to shoulder an undue portion of the expenses related to raising children. Circumstances arise, however, that may necessitate an alteration of the amount or length of such payments.

A wealthy Wall Street investment banker is seeking reimbursement from his ex-wife for $263,000 that he claims was paid for nannies that were never used. The former couple share custody of their twin children, and the man agreed to pay $40,000 per year for child support, plus costs for his ex-wife to employ a live-in nanny in the divorce decree. Those costs were determined to range between $13,000 and $85,000 at the time of the divorce. However, the man says that his children have told him that the money has been used for other purposes and that they have not used a nanny at times when his ex-wife said they were. He is seeking the previously mentioned total as reimbursement for the alleged fraud, as well as $2.5 million in punitive damages from his ex-wife.

Child support is a monetary award granted to the custodial parent by a court in order to ensure that both parents share in the costs associated with raising children after a divorce. States have their own methods for calculating the proper amount of such payments. In Georgia the shared income approach is applied. The payments are used for assisting with daycare and insurance costs, as well as other expenses that are incurred for the children. Once an order has been entered, it can only be changed by requesting the court to do so and showing adequate evidence that a modification is necessary. Circumstances that may necessitate such a modification include a change in employment or income for one parent, a temporary emergency or a change in custody.

In the present case the parent making child support payments is seeking that some of the money be returned as it was requested for expenses that weren't actually incurred. Parents seeking to modify an existing child support order may seek the assistance of a family law attorney to help with their request.

Source: New York Post, "Investment Banker sues ex over $263K for 'fake' nannies", Julia Marsh, June 28, 2014