UnityWall.com

Tim DeVargas

The issue of parenting and child support are diluted. I am currently going through the divorce process, and my ex's attorney is already

calculating the child support obligation, based on our parenting plan.

I did a lot of research and in a good faith effort, proposed what I beleived was a good, fair, and definately in the kids best interest, a parenting plan

for my ex to review and sign.

Apparently, her attorney got hold of it an is

turning it into a support issue.

These two issues need to remain separate and apart as one has nothing to do with the other. Good parenting is just that; good. Fair support is

also, that fair. If my ex is to have clothing, food, entertainment, etc. is not also my responsibility to maintain the same????

So, I ask, where is shared responsibility if the only thing that matters is how much money she gets as "child support". If my ex was truely interested in the best interests of the children, she would not have thrown me out of my home.

I have had to start all over again including purchasing new home items (everything from tissue to trash barrels, shower curtains, etc.) She on the

other hand has everything we built together and still wants substantial support.

My posture has not changed, however. I am willing to fight for equality in this unbalanced environment. The courts need to acknowledge that money is not what makes a child a responsible adult. Child rearing, discripline and support (of the emotional kind) are what are needed to bring our children up to become productive citizens, with morals and scruples.