What Will Happen If I Get Laid Off from Work Because of Covid-19 While I am Paying for Child Support
We all know that the Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in our daily lives. Also, your financial status would most likely be affected. What is important to know at this point is that the amount of child support payable is highly dependent on the support payor’s salary or income.
It is imperative that prior to any enforcement measures are taken against you, you have to address the change in your income at once. It would be extremely helpful if you can consult a lawyer to guide you through your legal options. Your lawyer can assist you in the following areas:
• understanding the Child Support Guidelines
• determining the amount of child support payments due
• ensuring that varied costs for the rearing of the child/children are taken into consideration
• providing a holistic legal guidance on every aspect of child support
Our team at AJ Law LLP can help you determine the amount of child support payments that you need to pay depending on your financial status and capability to generate income. We use advance legal tools that would ascertain calculations to better suit your financial situation.
It is crucial to consider that any change in the financial capacity of the support recipient (the parent who has full custody of the child) does not necessarily affect any existing Court Order or signed Separation Agreement. The support recipient’s income is typically not considered in the computation of the child support, except when there is a genuine shared parenting arrangement in place between the parents.
On the other hand, however, when it is the income of the support payor that has been altered significantly, without his fault, this can be a ground for asking for a re-computation and have the support payment decreased. Should you and your former spouse or partner cannot arrive at an agreement on the amount, you can go to Court to file a Motion to Change. A motion to change is the court procedure utilized to request a judge to declare variations and changes regarding child support that was previously settled in a Separation Agreement or issued in a Court Order.
You can talk to a lawyer who would be able to explain the court process to you, tell you what you can expect in terms of timelines and the amount of adjustments that can be made depending on your current financial situation. Your lawyer can ascertain if particular facts exist which could satisfy the judge to change your existing Separation Agreement or Court Order. AJ Law LLP offers an initial 15-minute consultation free of charge or obligation to better address your concerns especially during this pandemic. Contact us to book an initial consultation for free.