Joint custody and $5,000 subsidy

[LordBritish]

Hi everybody,
This may sound silly to everybody out there, but my wife and I are going to get a divorce in a couple of weeks (after I get my APRC), and a question about custody has come up. Somebody has told her that single parents and/or divorcees with joint custody can get a $5,000 subsidy per child per month.
Does anybody know anything about a $5,000 per child subsidy for divorcees or single parents?
If there is such a thing is it available only if the Taiwanese parent has custody of the child, or is it available for a foreigner, too?
Also, is joint custody now recognised in Taiwan?
If it is, is the $5,000 available for divorcees with joint custody?

Initially, we were going to go with 2 kids for me, and one for her, custody-wise. My soon-to-be-ex-wife is quite emotionally unstable, and so I need to do everything I can to protect myself (and the kids) from her.
Even if there was joint custody, if she decided to pull a nasty, in a similar vein to PG Daddy, then I'd still be screwed, wouldn't I? I can't imagine the cops or judges really forcing her to open the door with joint custody. The only real protection I would have against her would be to have total custody, wouldn't it?
Thanks everybody

[Mr He]

I have not heard of this, however my ex is busy getting all the support she can from local govt. I do not feel like calling her and asking about the details, though.

Money talks, IE can she get by without your support, if not, you should be the one setting the terms regarding visitation etc. She might even need someone to look after the kids, or even deciding to get rid of them alltogether down the road.

Joint custody is recognized in Taiwan, and I have been working on that basis for now 6 years. My ex. could try to take off with them, however I would think that I would have my oldest daughter on the payphone in the very moment she located such a device detailing her whereabouts, exact location and the like in order to facilitate a speedy pickup.

If you get sole custody and have it registered here as a part of the divorce, then great. If not, work with joint custody at the very least for every child, and do not settle for less. Unless she has something very nasty on you, just refuse to sign the divorce until the joint custody bit is well and truly squared off. If she gives you sole custody, then it would be best, however do not sign away any single child. It's hard to change here.

Regarding who gets to "have" the child, my experience is that longer term, the more important is your relationship to the child than anything else. If your soon to be former wife brainwashes bad enough for ti to backfire, then custody be damned, the kids will probably prefer you once they are in their teens and start to see things a bit more clearly anyways. In that case, I would stay near them, and ensure that I got to see them on a regular basis.

[housecat]

I don't know much about this accept that it does exist. I have a friend who needs to divorce, but keeps putting it off because, though her ex doens't want to raise his child, he wants custody--so that he can submit papers and claim this money. She's going to have to fight for custody over this five thousand dollar a month amount.

The only other thing is that there's likely an income limit on those this is dolled out to. I beleve the five thousand dollar amount is the legal lower limit for child support orderd by a court, so this is the amount the government will pay for single parents with custody.