Will My Future Husband's Back Child Support Affect My Income in Michigan?

Question
my fiance and i will be getting married in less than a year. He owes a lot of back child support because he was unemployed for a very long time before he found his present job. if he is unable to get up to date on his back child support and we get married will the courts be able to garnish my income? we live in michigan and the support order is in michigan also.

Answer
Hi Ivette~

His CS has absolutely nothing to do with you or your income.  They can not garnish your wages, period.  You have no legal obligation or right to his children.  So the state, etc can NOT come after you for CS that is in arrears and owed to his ex.  They can not take into consideration what you make no matter how little or big your wages are.  The state can only go by what he makes (they will go by gross annual income) and that alone.  So no worries.  The only thing you need to be aware of is if you share a bank account or any other joint accounts or tax refunds together.  They can garnish things with only his name on them.  I would strongly advise against filing any income tax returns together, b/c they can take his refunds.  But they are not entitled to your portion of it, you would have to contest it and fight them for it though.  It's not worth it b/c it can take a while to get your portion owed to you of the income tax refund.  This is why I said to file married filing separate, this way it protects you in the event this should happen.  I hope this helps you some.