[Patience]

One thing I want to mention again is that every state is different.  Several have mentioned age 18.  In some states that will be 21 IF the child is in college or pursuing some further education. 

[Tsunami]

Lost,

Some states it's 25% for one child; 35% for two. 

When we lived in Washington State when the kids were younger, the ex had to pay for their college too.

Do a google search, and best of luck to you.  Please make sure you do a garnishment, that way he can't torment you with payments.

Tsunami

[Buggy31]

Okay
So I don't know what this calculator is but it was pretty much spot on for my child and spousal so try it because it calculates both....and PA has some kind of regulations where if the custodial parent lives in the marital residence and the MORTGAGE exceeds 25% of the custodial parents income then the non-custodial parent must pay 50% of the difference.  This added an extra $300 to my child support amount AND they have to pay a percentage of child care equal to the percentage of your total parental income.  So if he makes 55% of the total amount of yours and his combined then he has to pay 55% of childcare.  Hope this makes sense as I'm rushing a little but PM me if you have any questions.  Below is the link to the online calculator
http://www.pennglazier.com/support2010/support.html

[Rebel Yell]

Hi all.
How many of us have kids with special needs?
S18 has ADHD.
Maybe another piece of the puzzle?

[whyme2]

My S15 have ADHD.....only child syndrome, very oppositional defiant.  My H is not his biological father.....I know in my heart dealing with a mouthy, run the show teenager has played a part in the sitch....but my H will not admit to it....and I do not want my S to feel it is in any part his fault....but my heart knows it does.....I have decided to not even attempt to get into another R until my son goes off to college.  It is just to darn hard on someone else to handle.  Hard for me at times....so I can only imagine if it is not your own child.

Just saying....

[ForeverHopefulOne]

My S11 is autistic.  The divorce rate of couples with special needs children is 80%!  Our S is a 24/7 job and we rarely took time for ourselves - a big factor in my H's MLC!

[Covenant for Life]

Sorry to break the trend.  Our two teenagers are unbelievable human beings and stellar students, musicians, debaters who love the Lord.  They are responsible, independent, and highly motivated.  They are reaching for the stars and deserve a father who supports their dreams instead of the father they have who is so selfish that he doesn't even realize how lucky he is to be their father.

Now, my H has been diagnosed with psychosis (when D19 was not even 2) and shows SEVERAL signs of ADHD, bipolar disorder, and definitely obsessive/compulsive disorder.  So, it is my H who has special needs.

[Rebel Yell]

I just noticed it seems like another thing that was statistically higher then the average.
I'm the same guy that noticed that the husbands being younger than their wives was
stat quite a bit higher here than the average too.
Just interesting, could be nothing? Could be a puzzle piece?

[LearningIamOk]

Well I have Bipolar/gender confused S23 and Auditory Processing Disorder S20.  D27 claims she has ADHD and has started taking meds at law school.  My H once said he'd like to punch people who talk about how successful and well their kids are doing.  So I think this is a contributing factor to his issues.  Also the fact the 3 boys live at home at their ages isn't helping.  So runaway H and leave me here with the mess.

I was a SAHM until the youngest was 11.  I should have gone to work the whole time and put them in daycare.  Then I could have had guilt about that too.

[LisaLives]

I just read a new thread with advice on telling a son about depression and how people act and do things that are uncharacteristic.  My biggest struggle in all of this has been communicating with and about my kids. 

I tried telling my kids that I thought their Dad was in a bad place, but of course, he thinks he is fine and the only reason our kids are having any difficulty with all of this is because I can't just get over it and realize everything is better now.  He says that I "killed him, slowly and painfully," that I was no fun, that we never had anything in common, etc.  My kids have told me lots of things that I think he should know, but when I reveal anything to him, he uses it against me.  Then, he wants to discuss what to do about our eighth grader that is failing ALL his classes.  But he doesn't believe anything I say, and then he paints a picture to everyone that I won't work with him or communicate to help our kids. 

Does anyone else deal with this and how do you do it?  It makes me crazy.  The same goes for his family, none of whom has even contacted me since this all happened.  I have no idea what he told them, but none of them want anything to do with me.  And that's hard for the kids, too.  I never had a great relationship with my MIL, but I didn't really expect to be totally exiled...  Thoughts?