Q: If I change jobs to a lower-paying job, will I be able to have my child support payments lowered?
A: Not if you chose to make the change.
Q: I was forced to take a job in another area of work and now make a lot less money because my company shut down and my vocation disappeared. Can I have my child support payments lowered?
A: Yes, if you can show that your profession, industry, or vocation or employer no longer has a use for your skills so that you had no choice but to take a different, lower-paying job.
Q: If I quit my job, will I be able to ask the court to terminate my child support?
A: No, not if you voluntarily left your job.
Q: I pay my child support based upon 17% of my income. Now my ex wants me to pay 50% of all child care costs. Do I have to pay this?
A: Generally, child support additions (some people call them “add-ons”) are paid in proportion to your income and your ex’s income. So, if you both make the same amount of money, you would share the cost of the add-on 50-50. Add-ons can include educational expenses (tutoring, for example), extracurricular expenses (music, ballet, karate lessons), child care, summer camp, and religious instruction.
Q: If my child comes to live with me, can I just stop paying child support?
A: No. You must first petition the court to terminate child support citing the change in circumstances that warrants the reduction in child support. You always need the court’s permission to stop paying support and under the current law, if you fail to ask permission, the court can’t forgive any arrears that accrue prior to your filing of a petition. A court order remains effective until the court terminates (or changes) the order.
Q: My child is working full time and is therefore emancipated. Can I stop paying my child support?
A: No. You may be right that your child is emancipated, but you must ask the court to make that determination, or you may suddenly find yourself owing substantial arrears. Whatever court order for support has been issued remains in effect until the court changes it – no matter how the circumstances change.
Q: I pay child support to my ex-spouse for our child. I have since remarried and my new spouse and I have a child. Can I have my support payments to my first spouse lowered?
A: It depends. The courts believe you knew what your obligation was to your first child before having more children. The question comes down to a balancing of resources available to the children of each household. For example, has your ex-spouse remarried? How does your combined income compare with your ex-spouse’s combined income (if he/she has remarried)? If your combined income is less than his/her combined income, you may be able to have your child support lowered.
