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Name: darkoverlord

[ Original Post ]

Katie and Deb are a lesbian couple that have been together for 5 years. They have decided to puchase a home together. They both have decent jobs and each owned their own home before making the decision to buy one together. They have agreed to opening a joint checking account which they will both contribute equal amounts, on a monthly basis, and all household expenses will be paid for by using this account. These expenses include things like mortgage, food, home furnishings, etc.

Deb has a 10 year old son from a previous marriage. She receives $580 per month in child support from her ex-husband.

Should Deb be expected to contribute a portion of that $580, above the agreed-on equal amounts, to the general household fund? ↓

Name: marija | Date: Nov 15th, 2006 11:33 AM

Why not?
i received child support and it was used towards the house and family, why because my children from the former relationship were now mine and my husbands responsibility. We both worked we both paid the bills and mortgage and we both contributed to the school fees/ food/ clothes no child in our house had more or less than the other.
If Katie has not taken on the responsibility of the son then i say no Deb shouldnt have to contribute because she will be the only one who will be paying for school fees/ clothes/ and everything else associated with what her son will need...movies/ outings those sort of things. i do however think she should pay extra towards food especially if alot of treats are bought for her son on the grocery bill...they can add up.
Seems like they are very cautious with their relationship and money is an issue, but hey each to their own if it works for them stick to it, but if you are going to do things down to the wire as is with this relationship then they better sort out the child support quickly otherwise they will start bickering over the smallest thing
e.g your son ate my breakfast bar that i paid for...starts small ends up huge
good luck katie and deb ↑

Name: jillw | Date: Nov 15th, 2006 8:56 PM

If the fund is only for house hold stuff then no I do not thing that she should have to pay extra. they have an agreed upon amount it does not matter where deb get her income from. If they are "sharing" the responsibility of debs son then that amount should ahve been concidered into the budget. If they are not sharing cose then deb is still only responsiable for the agreed upon amount that it takes to run the house and will need to use her own money to pay for her sons things. child support is not "free money" that should be contributed on top of what she already needs to pay. it should be counted as a part of her yearly income and used to provide for her child. ↑