AITA?
AITA for filing to increase child support after doing my ex a favor and being mocked for it?
I (25F) share a toddler son with my ex. Originally, he had more parenting time, but now he only has our son every other weekend. I have our son about 26 days a month and cover almost all of his day-to-day expenses.
When child support was first calculated, I actually agreed to a much lower amount than I could have pursued. I did that because I didn’t want a huge court battle or to saddle him with years of arrears. I thought I was being reasonable and trying to keep things peaceful.
Instead of appreciating that, he constantly calls me “money hungry” anytime child support comes up. He taunts me, acts like I’m obsessed with his money, and tries to diminish the fact that I work hard and provide for our child every day. He has even implied that I should just be grateful for whatever he gives, despite the fact that I have our son the overwhelming majority of the time.
The part that frustrates me the most is that I genuinely feel like I did him a favor by accepting a lower amount initially. I could have fought harder for more support and potentially pursued larger arrears, but I didn’t. The judge even told him he was lucky he wasn’t being imputed for more after asking me if I wanted to contest. He owes 13K in arrears because I accepted the lowest minimum amount, which I accepted because I didn’t want him to struggle or have a hard time catching up. Now that circumstances have changed and I’m carrying even more of the financial and parenting responsibilities, I’m considering filing for a modification.
He’s now acting as if I’m selfish and greedy for wanting support to reflect reality.
I don’t want his money for me. I want my son to be supported fairly by both parents. But after being taunted and having my sacrifices minimized, part of me wonders if I’m wrong for pursuing the increase now. The support order is $90/week & $160/week contributions to daycare
AITA?