Child support orders offer many potential pitfalls. One of the largest pitfalls facing people is how to handle child support when things change. Here are some changes that often reflect and impact on child support. A person gets a new job or loses a job. A child starts to live with the other parent. A child emancipates by turning 18 or graduating from high school. These challenges often get people into a lot of problems, especially the person who is obligated to pay child support.
Often times, people do not want to hire an attorney to handle an issue that is already occurring. For example, if a child stops living at moms and moves in with dad, the dad often fails to take any other steps but essentially stops paying child support because the child is no longer with mother. While technically correct, this approach is not legally correct. Under the child support guidelines child support can be modified any time there is a material and substantial change in circumstances.
What is a change in circumstances? Anything that can impact on the child support obligation. The examples outlined herein are usually seen as a change in circumstances. For this reason a person must file a motion to modify child support. If a motion is not filed then the last court order remains in place. Thus, even though custody may have changed the child support does not. That is a horrible possibility where the child lives with a parent but that parent remains obligated to pay child support. Such outcomes cost way more to fix than if you just hired an attorney in the first place to fix it.
To learn more about how changes can impact on your child support obligation contact us at 505-880-8737 or email us at info@JusticeLegalGroup.com.