I made a promise to pay $150 a week in child support when I had a great job in my divorce agreement. Unfortunately I lost my job and no longer make what I use to. Can I go back to Family Court have have this agreement modified lower?
Yes you can. I translated in family court for a male relative going through a divorce and he had his child support payments reduced due to his income being reduced. I also think that I recall his lawyer saying that child support payments are based on on a formula applied to whatever your income is. If you cannot afford a lawyer call the family court in your area and find out what days and times duty counsel (free government supplied lawyer for advice and guidance) will be there an ask for his/her guidance on how to proceed.
March 25th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Yes you can, just have proof. How many kids are involved and how much did u make?
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March 25th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
You certainly can, just have the documents showing loss of employment. Also, if you filed unemployment, then it might be a different story.
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March 25th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Oh yeh, for sure… if you can’t pay it due to loss of employment of course it can be varied. Be diff is you were a dole bludging loser who didn’t want to pay for your kids – but this is a legit reason.
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March 25th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Check with a lawyer. As long as you are paying something for the child.
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March 25th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Yes you can. I translated in family court for a male relative going through a divorce and he had his child support payments reduced due to his income being reduced. I also think that I recall his lawyer saying that child support payments are based on on a formula applied to whatever your income is. If you cannot afford a lawyer call the family court in your area and find out what days and times duty counsel (free government supplied lawyer for advice and guidance) will be there an ask for his/her guidance on how to proceed.
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March 25th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
It depends.
A loss of your job does not make it fair for your children that YOU are supposed to be supporting. Men quit jobs and are forced to be fired so they do not have the ability to pay. Sorry. Your kids still have the need.
It’s up to the court, but usually they will keep a running tab and you’re going to have to catch up!
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March 25th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
yes, if you no make the money,
how you expected to pay the bills…….
the court should look at your income
and base payments on it
if it’s lower, then your payments should
also be lower
make sure you have good paperwork
showing your loss in wages
otherwise, it could go up
Good Luck
:)
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March 25th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
You can have the judgement modified, but you are going to have to file in juvenile court and have the case heard by a judge. Call the child support enforcement agency that you have the judgement through and ask for paperwork for a modification of the order be mailed to you.
Fill out the paperwork and file in court. You will need to prove that you have lost your job and the order may (or may not) be modified based on the judge’s decision. If you are receiving unemployment, they may take your support directly out of that. They may also deny your claim if the court feels that you are deliberately trying to hide income or are claiming poverty when you shouldn’t be (like being deliberately "underemployed").
Above all else, stay in contact with your child support caseworker. Tell them what is going on. If you get behind in payments, pay whatever you can ($50 a week is better than nothing, and at least shows that you are making an effort). Even if the order is modified, you will probably still be responsible for back support owed up to the point of a new court judgement.
Many people are struggling to stay working, and I know alot of people who pay support and have taken a significant pay cut in the last few years. If you don’t foresee your financial situation improving soon, ask for a modified order. But keep in mind that this is for your kids, bottom line. They deserve that support, and you need to live up to that responsibility the best that you can.
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