Does cashing a check imply accepting that as child support amount?

[Anonymous]

If "July payment" is written on a check's memo line, does cashing it imply that you're accepting that as the child support amount, if a divorce agreement hasn't been done yet? I'm in between lawyers right now, so I don't have a legal rep to ask. Something my former lawyer once said suggested that I should be wary of cashing checks, but I don't know if it would only matter if it said "July child support" or something more specific like that. Does anyone on here happen to know? I tried Google, but couldn't come up with anything relevant.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand. Your ex sent you a check intended for child support andyou're trying to mess with them by not cashing it so you can claim they did not pay?

[Anonymous]

The legal term you’re looking for is “accord and satisfaction” (and usually why the check says “paid in full”).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. Your ex sent you a check intended for child support andyou're trying to mess with them by not cashing it so you can claim they did not pay?

That's not what I got at all from this post. You might want to get some testing done to see if you have a reading disability.

[Anonymous]

If you are the parent sending the check, put July Child support for XXX (child's name). Be very clear. If you receiving it and its clear its for child support, what is the issue? July payment is ok but best to be clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. Your ex sent you a check intended for child support andyou're trying to mess with them by not cashing it so you can claim they did not pay?

That's not what I got at all from this post. You might want to get some testing done to see if you have a reading disability.

That's what I get from it. My husband's ex would do that. She even went to court claiming it was a personal check so it wasn't child support (there was never a garnishment).

You got the money. How is this an issue? Its clear its for July child support.

[Anonymous]

I understood it as check was written for (example here) $500 but OP is in the process of asking for $1,000. If OP cashes the check, does that mean OP forever accepts $500 as the amount?

[Anonymous]

I thought the question was if they accept a certain amount once, can the later claim that they need more?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the question was if they accept a certain amount once, can the later claim that they need more?

Child support goes by a formula. It can be modified at any time. What they agree to now can be changed when they go to court.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understood it as check was written for (example here) $500 but OP is in the process of asking for $1,000. If OP cashes the check, does that mean OP forever accepts $500 as the amount?

No. It has nothing to do with forever. There is no child support agreement so its what ever they agree to until the divorce is finalized and it can be changed at finalization or even after. But, it goes by formula or agreement. OP can ask for 2 million dollars but if the calculator only says $1K, then it will generally go by that.

[Anonymous]

Why is your ex sending checks instead of having the CS garnished from his paycheck?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is your ex sending checks instead of having the CS garnished from his paycheck?

Most CS is paid directly. A garnishment would have to be ordered by the court and that is not common. In this case it sounds like OP’s ex met his or her obligations but op is hoping to get more some day. In any case, it doesn’t sound like a court has been involved so no garnishment.

[Anonymous]

It only counts as an offset against whatever child support is ultimately agreed. I mean, think this one through a bit. If parties had to wait until the separation agreement was finalized before any child support was paid that would produce a bizarre result wouldn't it? If the CS ends up being less than the check the payer gets an offset against the next month's child support.

[Anonymous]

My attorney (MANY years ago) advised that I could write on the back of the check "amount under contest" or something of that nature to indicate that I did not agree that he had paid in full when my ex tried to short change me.

I'd call your old lawyer and ask them, their paralegal might even know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understood it as check was written for (example here) $500 but OP is in the process of asking for $1,000. If OP cashes the check, does that mean OP forever accepts $500 as the amount?

OP here. Yes, this is what I meant. However, we haven't started negotiating the agreement yet, due to life priorities that had to take precedence over pushing through a divorce, so I haven't asked for a specific amount yet. In the meantime, I've received several checks from STBX, at random intervals (not every month), and for random amounts. This is the first one that says it's for "[month] payment", so I don't know the implications. All the checks, including this one, have been for almost insultingly low amounts compared to how much child support is reasonable and necessary, even compared to the court formula (however, CS won't go by a formula in our case, because income is above the formula threshold, so I think that means a judge can make it whatever they want). I've gone into debt, so I could use this money, and want to cash the check, but am worried about boxing myself in, and don't have a lawyer to ask at the moment.