Can You Decrease Your Child Support Payments?

When you and your spouse have gone through a divorce, if your spouse has custody of the children and takes care of them for the majority of the time, you may be the one in the relationship paying child support. Child support payments will depend on many things, including how many children you have, the health of your children, your income, and your spouse’s income. If a court has ordered you to pay a certain amount of child support and, for various reasons, you believe this amount should change, it may be time to reach out to an attorney. 

What happens if you stop paying child support? 

Even if you lost your job, simply not paying child support is not the answer. A person who is found guilty of not paying child support could face very serious consequences like going to jail. If you still have a job and are not paying child support, your child’s other parent could go to court and ask a judge to order your wages be garnished. 

While the system is in place to make sure a parent does not slack on paying child support and taking care of their children, your circumstances (or your child’s other parent’s circumstances) may have changed significantly. When this is the case, you may be the one wanting to go to court and make a change. How does this happen? 

• Your circumstances have changed. In the event that you have lost your job or become injured and can no longer work the same job, there is a chance that your income is lower. When this is the case, a lawyer, like a family lawyer from a law firm like The Law Office of Daniel J. Wright can help you make the case that you are no longer able to afford the same level of child support. 
• Your child’s other parent’s circumstances have changed. In this case, if the other parent has a better paying job or they have received training and education that could get them a better paying job, you can speak with a lawyer about paying less child support. 

The first thing a lawyer would do is file a petition with the local court to show that there has been a change large enough to affect how much child support should be paid. You will want to submit any documents that can verify these changes. Working with a lawyer in these circumstances can help when you are not sure whether you have enough evidence to show the need for lower child support and it can help when you want representation on your behalf. Reach out to a local attorney to see how they can help you.