QuestionI am not sure if i should marry this guy considering he owes a lot of money in back child support, am i responsible for this if i marry him, secondly i live in new york. does his back child support becomes my debt too. should i have a pre-nupt before marriage because of my future income as an attorney which im attending school for what should i do. thanks
AnswerHi Rachel~
Maybe marrying him really isn't such a good idea. If he's not able to pay child support, then what will he do if you ever had children together and you unfortunately divorced him (it happens all the time in 50% of marriages). You have to take into consideration is he responsible for things in his life (taking care of his child(ren), paying support, providing for the child(ren), etc).
A prenup might be a good idea anyway to protect yourself from various things. The thing is you are NOT responsible for any of his child support debts. The state and/or ex can not come after you for anything regarding child support. You aren't financially responsible for his child nor child support. They can't even consider any income you make, that's solely his responsibility alone.
Just be aware that some states are very strict about this and they can/will throw him in jail if he's too far behind in child support arrears. You may want to keep your money separate from him in your own checking account. The state can also garnish his wages, take his license for non-payment of support. Also they can seize any income tax refunds and give them to the state/mother for back child support owed. So this means that you shouldn't file taxes with him. If you do marry him, you would have to file married but filing separately. The reason is that if your name is on the refund they can take it too. However, if that was the case, in order to get your half of the money you'd have to file a grievance and get your portion of the money back (which can be a hassle and take a little while for the state to figure out and refund your portion of the check). That's why I initially said it's best if you just file separate so that you don't have to risk going through this (the state taking the entire refund tax check, which they will do, if his name is on it). Your debt for child support doesn't become yours too. Any debts together are things that you purchase together, such as a house, car, etc. Basically anything you co-sign for or put your name on with him, that will become your credit together. You can keep your credit separate from him, by not co-signing or even adding your name as a user for something as simple as a credit card (b/c that will show up on your credit report). Okay, I know that I'm rambling on now, but I think you get my point here.
