Well being that I am in a similiar situation, I will tell you what I did less than 3 months ago. My daughter is 6 years old and I have been getting child support since she was about 6 months old. Her father lives in Louisiana and we have managed to remain friends. Over the years I have chosen not to adjust his child support for fear that it would cause conflict in our relationship. I chose to fill out the paperwork for the adjustment. I told my ex what I was doing and why and although he was upset at first he has calmed down. He knows that it takes alot more than what I was getting to support her. I am not telling you how to decide but if they are willing to go up on your support by almost double what you are getting now. SOMEBODY is living really well off while you're needing an extra boost! I promise they wouldn't have awarded you that amount if he wasn't able to handle it. But if you really don't think you need that much more, tell the courts how much you are willing to settle for. Because like you said, he isn't going to chip in and go above and beyond on his own and you can always save the rest for their college or save it for a rainy day.
I am now getting like 350 more and although I really don't need it because my budget was in place before the adjustment, I am just putting it in her savings account. That way when she is 21 she will have a little nesting egg to start with!
I know that this decision is not an easy one, but make the decision that is going to be best for your children.
__________________ Tameika and Beauty  "Good Things Come To Those Who Wait" |