Although every state in the nation has family law issues such as divorce, child custody, child support and even spousal support, it's worth noting that not every state handles these issues exactly the same. Some states, just like here in Kentucky, try to adapt their laws to accommodate changes made in the civil court system. Sometimes it's these changes though that can grab national attention, which can make some people start to question what would happen if a similar change was made to their own state laws.
Such may have been the case recently because of a controversial child support bill out of Wisconsin that aimed at reducing child support payments for wealthy individuals in the state. According to reports, the legislation was introduced in an effort to help a multimillionaire businessman reduce the amount of child support he paid each month for his three children. But according to one legislator, the bill encountered a significant amount of misinformation and was recently withdrawn by the bill's sponsor.
Even though the bill’s sponsor insists that he will resubmit the bill after he has consulted with family law judges and those affected by the bill, even a reworked bill could run into opposition much as it did recently. Some concerns among residents were that the bill would effectively require shared custody except in certain circumstances and would eliminate a judge’s discretion on increasing and lowering child support payments by creating a set formula for payment calculation.
Just like in Wisconsin, residents here in Kentucky might find a similar change in legislation off-putting because it might leave the spouse with primary custody at a financial disadvantage down the road. Some residents here in Kentucky might also think that the bill was being introduced simply to help out a major campaign contributor with his own family law issues rather than providing laws in the best interest of children across the state. In the end, the rationale behind the law may have overruled what the sponsor of the bill’s real intentions.
Source: The Wisconsin State Journal, “Withdrawn child support bill was second attempt by Rep. Joel Kleefisch to aid wealthy donor,” Dee J. Hall and Matthew, Jan. 15, 2014