Child support is usually not permanent, courts will change it when circumstances change. Since the father has custody of your daughter most of the time now, he might not have to pay child support for her any more. But he should help out with your son. I'd download a child support worksheet and fill that out. That will give you an idea of how much child support he should be paying.

Thank you for your response. I have already excused the father from not paying and child support for our daughter even though he does not have custody, I do. He doesn't want to help with our son either. You mentioned downloading a child support worksheet. Do you know where I can obtain that? Also, I have no idea how much salary he makes now to compare it with.

Thank you for your response. I have already excused the father from not paying and child support for our daughter even though he does not have custody, I do. He doesn't want to help with our son either. You mentioned downloading a child support worksheet. Do you know where I can obtain that? Also, I have no idea how much salary he makes now to compare it with.

I don't know which state's worksheet you would need to file, Florida or South Carolina. I would imagine they are probably similar, at least they'll give you a general estimate.

Florida: http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/childsupport/guidline s.html

South Carolina: http://www.state.sc.us/dss/csed/calculator.htm

Remember, the worksheets are only guidelines which the court could change in your favor or his.

A lawyer can pull his tax records for last year for you. Otherwise you'll just have to guess based on his occupation. There's a salary wizard at www.salary.com that gives general estimates of worker salaries based on zip codes.

Thanks again. This information gives me something good to start with and shows me that him complaining about the amount I have split in half is no where near what I should agree with. He pays less for two children than most pay for one and he's complaining! Any idea which state is tougher on support and custody issues before I file?

Which state is tougher on support and custody issues...........South Carolina or Florida?

The child custody worksheets are probably not that much different - they are almost the same throughout the U.S. You might fill out both worksheets identically to see if one favors you over the other.

It will be easier for you to file in the state you live, I would recommend doing that.

If you file in one state, the person in the other state can do the court proceedings by phone. Also, every state honors other states' child support orders.