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Father not allowed to pay child support in lump sum

Before the billion-dollar Powerball drawing that took place recently, many of our readers surely spent some time fantasizing about what they would do if they won that kind of money. Readers probably know that lottery winners get the option of getting a lump-sum payment or a regular series of payments for several years.

Each choice has pluses and minuses. The lump-sum payment makes you instantly wealthy, but is a fraction of the official jackpot. The installments are smaller, but they give you a steady source of income, for those who do not want to deal with investments and financial planning.

Of course, child support is not a “lottery.” It is compensation that a custodial parent in Virginia receives from the noncustodial parent, to ensure that the child does not suffer financially despite the fact his or her parents do not live together.

A man who tried to combine child support with the lottery has been told he cannot pay his support in a single lump-sum payment. A family court judge in his state told rejected the plan, even though the child’s mother agreed to it.

According to the New York Post, the man did not want the child and tried to convince the mother to have an abortion. After the child was born, the father convinced the mother to take a $150,000 payment and to let him terminate his parental rights.

But the court would not sign off on this scheme. The judge noted that the lump sum was significantly less than what the child would receive from regular payments over the next 17 years. Especially given that the father, 24, is an Ivy League graduate with a promising career ahead of him.

Child custody disputes can become contentious, but they do not have to be, especially when the parents both keep the child’s best interests in mind.

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