The law requires a non-custodial parent to pay a monthly allowance to help a custodial parent with child rearing expenses. Child support is determined by a court in the state of residence. To ensure consistency in the amount of child support awarded to custodial parents, the federal government has established state-specific guidelines covering several areas. Expert child support attorneys provide free consultations to people struggling to understand their states child support laws.
How Much Child Support Should You Be Paying?
These state-specific guidelines consider the income of both parents, deductions such as alimony or child support to another party, and childcare, healthcare, and unique expenses. Most guidelines attempt to account for the amount of time spent with each parent, increasing the child support amount when a non-custodial parent does not spend much time with his or her child. Therefore, a situation involving sole custody and limited visitation is likely to result in a larger amount of child support than one featuring extensive visitation or shared custody in certain states.
Non-custodial parents should be aware of their child support rights and should be prepared to enforce them if the amount of support awarded seems too high. Many people presume that their state child support guidelines provide for the correct amount of financial support. However, it may be possible to obtain a lower or higher amount of child support. Non-custodial parents attempting to lower child support payments must prove extenuating circumstances that justify deviating from the guidelines, whether the guidelines be a specific percentage of a non-custodial parents net income or the based on the needs of the child.
A court may award too much child support based on inaccurate documentation provided by the custodial parent. Unfortunately, some primary caregivers are not honest about their income and assets when attempting to get child support. A non-custodial parent should obtain representation from an expert child support lawyer to protect their rights. By proving that income or savings is being hidden, he or she may be able to decrease the child support award.
Child support orders can be modified on a temporary or permanent basis. If the non-custodial parent loses a job or develops a temporary medical condition that affects earnings ability, support may be temporarily lowered. If this adult incurs a disability or is forced to take a lesser-paying job, a permanent adjustment may be in order.
A child support attorney can help a non-custodial parent determine whether the child support figure is too high. If it is, the attorney will build and present a case to lower this ongoing financial obligation on a temporary or permanent basis as warranted by filing their petition to modify child support. The non-custodial parent will pay a fair amount to support the child but no more than is necessary. Learning your child support rights is as easy as connecting with an attorney that provides a free consultation (they all do here!).
My husband has paid child support for one of his children for a few yrs now he put his self on due to problems with visitation.. Now his oldest sons mother after 8yrs has filed for support also well he only works part time the first order already takes close to 50% of is income and the new order is asking for even more .. What steps does he need to take if they first agreed to no child support then later her lawyer keeps pressing for it and they agreed on a set amount but the order is way more than the amount agreed…
also they are trying to take both orders of support from one part time income which will leave us with little to nothing and we have a disabled child of our own we still have to care for…
Just because they agreed to not go after child support does not mean that at some time, he won’t be forced to help take care of his children. While understanding that the other parent has done much wrong by the details you provided, keep in mind that the court wants parents to pay for their children, and the amount can hurt. If his support was based on him making more money than he is now, he should file for a modification of child support and show that his current income has decreased and that he should be paying less. He probably should not be paying 50% of his income, but he should be paying something. Couple that with the fact that he is only working part-time, and that needs to change or he needs to find a second job. The court can “impute” full-time income to an individual if they believe that the individual should be working more hours (closer to 40/week). I know this isn’t the answer you were looking for, but you need to understand how it works, even if it does not make it easy. File for a modification of child support asap and provide a detailed accounting of all your bills, income, etc., with all the facts (bills, etc) to back the numbers up. Make it simple to understand–judges do not like to be confused. Good luck!
I live in California. My court ordered child support is $650. Since my income went up without a court order I paid my ex 1000 a month. My daughter graduates in two months and since I have been overpaying for the last five years, I am wondering if I can skip these last couple payments since I have been paying an extra 350 a month. My ex said she will take me to court for the 1000. The court mandated payment is still 650.
Trusting your ex to do the right thing was your first mistake. No good deed goes unpunished. Filing a motion for modification of support will only show the court that you have more income and should pay more money. Possibly, if you just pay the $650 that is ordered, you may be ok. By the time she files for a change, your daughter could be out of the house by then. Good luck!
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKES FOR THE STATE OF FLORIDA CHILD SUPPORT TO CLOSE A CASE THAT HAS BEEN OPEN SINCE 2006 AND NO ACTION HAS BEEN TAKING?..and if im paying childsupport can i file for my child im paying child support for?
Filing a Petition for Modification of child support or a petition to modify custody should get you started on the right path. Don’t wait for the state to do anything for you or in a speedy manner. Do it yourself, or better yet, save some money up and hire a professional–it will save you thousands in the long run!
I now have a great new employer, and the only problem that I am having is that he is very confused by the orders, and now has told me that he is going to “withhold” my entire check until he gets confirmation from the state on the amounts that is owed. I am in arrears, and the current amount to be with held is around 240. Only problem is, I now get paid 250 a month in check form, and I am working for “in kind” pay for my apartment as an apartment manager. Yes, the 250 a month is not much, but he is going to withhold all of it. This could be MONTHS until he finds this out. What the heck do I do now?
If you are receiving “in kind” payments, technically, you need to include that amount as income for the calculation of child support in some states. You may owe more than $250/month even, and may need to obtain a second job. Many judges can order people to get a second job to pay child support, so be ready for this if you rock the boat.
I need help fighting the court system to lower my child support my ex-wife was in jail and i had to pay her cs ….she didn’t even have our children and i wasn’t given the option to take them when she went to jail it was kept a big secret i didn’t find out until it was to late. Now she is in a half way house and still don’t have our kids and i’m still having to pay 975 a mth for 2 kids…..don’t get me wrong i want to pay but i want it to go to my kids……we recently went to court ….I filed a modification to lower my cs because i’m not wking and haven’t for the past 2 years and all that cs has added up to 22,000.00 in arrears I filed in may of 2011 and just went back to court in march 2013 and didn’t do me no good…..I NEED A ATTORNEY BAD but i’m not working rite now would i be eligible for a legal aid lawyer?
Is it legal for a woman to receive cs while sitting in jail ? I have so many questions but I don’t have a lawyer to ask them to…..PLEASE HELP! Thank You!!!!
I understand your pain, it is difficult, but when you become unemployed you must file for a modification immediately, you cannot afford to wait until 2-years pass and the arrears in back child support add up like that–that can’t be reversed. Filing a modification immediately is important. Hiring an attorney for child support, in many instances, will pay for itself in less than 4 or 5 months, and you can guarantee that it would have cost tens of thousands of dollars less than a $22,000 arrearage judgment! You need to talk to friends and family, get a credit card, and hire an expert now before that $22,000 turns into $44,000! It will be the best investment you will ever make. And no, legal aid is normally not available for people that want to lower child support, usually only the other way around. Good luck!
My husband pays $335 a week for two kids. At the time when they first went to court his children’s mom didn’t have a job and neither did her husband and he was working at a job making 16.75 an hour now he has a job making 10.10 an hour. Now i found out that she has a job at the hospital and hasn’t reported it to the court and is still pestering my husband. he tries to contact her but she blocks his calls and recently blocked both of us on facebook when we asked if we could see them. She is also moving too and will not let him know where she is moving too. What can we do?
The first step is filing a Petition to Modify Child Support. This is where you will show you are making less money than when the original child support order was entered. And in some cases,the other parents income can be taken into account as well. Ask the judge to require here to provide paycheck stubs and tax returns to show her income.
I have 3 support orders. My son’s mother is trying to get support in Illinois when I already have an order for him in another state. They wanna give her more for 1 child than I paid for 2. I can prove she lied about her financial hardship, how can I fight this in court
Illinois is a state that follows s simple calculation for child support. for one child, you pay 20% of your net income to the custodial parent for child support. If you already have support orders for different children, either in Illinois or other states, you subtract the amount you are paying from your net income, and then take 20% of that amount. Hiring an attorney for child support in this instance is cheap and a really good idea so that you are not taken advantage of, usually only about $500-$1500 – and it will save you a lot in the long run!
I live in California. I’m already paying child support ($900) from a previous divorce. Now I’m about to be divorced again and going to pay more child support (she wants $1000). Should I try to fight this in court or what exactly are my rights?
In most states, the amount of child support you pay will be lowered based on what you are already paying in child support from your first marriage. California has a tricky formula for child support, based on your income, the amount of time you will spend with the child, how many kids, etc. An attorney that provides a free consultation will help you out. Yes, you should fight. Depending on your income, ti sounds like this new wife is demanding too much money from you for child support.
I live in CA and pay the maximum child support and I have been penny pitching to pay my other bills. Recently my ex moved to Colorado and now Im afraid that I wont have enough money to go see my children or bring them back to CA for their visitation. Can this be grounds to petition to lower my child support?
It might be, it depends on a number of factors. Was there a parenting agreement ever entered in court? Technically, she cannot just pick up and leave with the kids without your permission or a court order. Doing so without permission could be a violation that could end up holding her in contempt of court and forcing her to move back. Speak with an attorney and get ready to go to court–it will be necessary. Get your credit cards ready too, its your best immediate relief for paying for visitation.
I was injuried in a motorcycle accident and haqve been out of work for over a year, due to my injury. My twins mother had a me locked up by a jugde on 12/12/12 for child abandedment. The jugde would not hear my story on going throught five surgencies or look at any of my paperwork from my doctor. I am just now starting to walk, but i am still having problems due to this accident. What am I to do? I was turned down for unemployement because I could not work at the time. Truned down for SSI. I did get a small settlement which she got almost half $10.000.00 and what I had when to bills, shetler, and people i borrowed money from. This is in the state of GA.
You are going to need to speak with one of our attorneys. Issues as serious as this require more than a paragraph response. Please contact us directly as soon as possible!
Have shared custody, pay 125 weekly for two kids, ex taking me back to raise this, what can i do? style of living greatly differs
Depending what state you live in, child support is determined in one of 2-ways: 1. a percentage of your net income, or 2. the needs of the child. If your ex is wealthy and you are not, it does not mean that you do not need to pay child support — you have an obligation to support your child. However, in certain instances where one parent is wealthy and the other is not, a judge can decide to lower the paying parents child support amount. You absolutely will need an expert child support attorney for this.
My original order for child support in the state of Florida was based on minimum wage even though I was unemployed. The order also included child care and my child is no longer in need of child care now that she has started school. I live in another state and need to find help in getting the amount changed. I have two other children that suffer from the disparity of the percentage of my income that goes to my daughter. I also feel that the custodial parent was not forthright in the income statement since a large percentage of her income is cash….
Proving someone makes more money than they claim, especially when they are paid in cash, is no easy task. An attorney would request financial and credit card records to try to determine the amount of money spent to impute that amount of spent money to how much income they earn. Only an expert child support attorney can help with this–it is not easy to do.
You need to file a motion to modify your order