Struggling with Missed Child Support: AITA for Seeking Legal Action?

Child support is supposed to be the one thing that keeps life steady when a marriage falls apart. But in this Reddit post, a dad is watching his ex-wife’s payments go missing, month after month, and it’s starting to mess with everything from groceries to school stuff for their kids.

OP, a 35-year-old man, shares a 7-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son with his 33-year-old ex-wife. They agreed on child support after the divorce, yet for the past few months she’s been consistently skipping payments, blaming financial struggles. He’s tried talking it out, staying patient, and asking her to prioritize their children, but nothing changes, and his own budget is taking the hit.

Now he’s weighing legal action, and he’s worried it will blow up co-parenting, while his kids keep paying the price.

Original Post

So I'm (35M) and my ex-wife (33F) have two kids together, a 7-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son. After our divorce, we agreed on child support payments for the kids.

For the past few months, my ex has been consistently missing payments, citing financial struggles. I've been understanding and patient, but it's starting to affect my ability to provide for our children.

I work a full-time job, but the child support is crucial for their expenses. I've tried talking to my ex-wife about it, asking her to prioritize the children's needs, but it hasn't led to any improvements.

I'm at a point where I'm considering seeking legal action to ensure the financial support is consistent. I don't want to strain our co-parenting relationship, but my kids' well-being is my top priority.

I feel conflicted because I don't want to escalate the situation, but I also can't keep shouldering the financial burden alone. The missed payments are putting a strain on my budget, and I worry about the impact on our children.

So AITA for considering legal action to enforce the child support agreement?

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OP has been patient through the missed payments, but every time his ex-wife says she’s struggling, his wallet gets thinner and his stress gets louder.

This is the same kind of high-stakes boundary decision as the new parent keeping their friends’ cats away from a newborn.

The conversation attempts, where OP asks his ex-wife to prioritize the kids, keep ending the same way, with no consistent payments showing up for their 7-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son.

That’s when the real dilemma hits, OP wants to keep co-parenting peaceful, but he’s also stuck shouldering the financial burden alone.

With his budget strained and the kids still needing support, OP is now considering legal action to enforce the agreement and stop the “missing” pattern.

How would you handle this situation? Let us know in the comments.

He’s not trying to ruin co-parenting, but he’s done being the only one paying when the bills hit.

For a community blowup after a neighbor’s aggressive cat attack, read what happened when it was rehomed without warning: Neighbors rehomed the cat after it attacked their pet.