If you have been making court ordered child support payments, you are aware of the financial burden that can come along with them. Losing your job can only make paying these payments that much more challenging. Here are a few things your should know…
Can I Have My Child Support Order Modified?
If you are unemployed, you might be eligible to have your payments modified but it is not a guarantee that the court will approve a modification. It is important that you contact your family law attorney immediately if you lost your job and need assistance. You should also know that your eligibility does not excuse you from making from payments right away. You are still legally obligated to make your payments until your order has been officially changed by the court. If you do not make your payments prior to approval, you will still held accountable for those payments even if your modification was approved. You may also be eligible to receive a child support modification if you have not been able to work for an extended period of time as a result of an accident, injury, illness, and/or disability. Regardless, you should still continue to make your child support payments until the court has approved your request for a modification.
Can I Make My Child’s Unemployed Parent Make Their Child Support Payments?
If you have primary custody, you have a few options should your child’s other parent become unemployed. If you need advice, contact an experienced family and child support lawyer to see counsel based on your situation. This will help you avoid going to court and losing payments. You and your co-parent might be able to come to terms without involving a lawyer, if they are only going to be without a job for a short period of time. However, if this does not work and they continue to not make their court order payments, you should immediately contact a family lawyer. They can serve as the middle man to help you negotiate payments and take legal action when necessary.
How Do I Change My Child Support Order?
You should consult with a family lawyer as soon as possible to help you avoid making costly mistakes that only make it that much more difficult to provide for your child. Your family lawyer will work with you to work on a modification at the court that has jurisdiction over you case. If you do not live in the same state or court district as your co-parent, a family lawyer can help you determine which court holds jurisdiction and will be involved in making any modifications to your agreement.
Are Modifications Temporary or Permanent?
Depending on your situation, you can have your child support payments modified either short or long-term. If your crisis includes short-term unemployment, disability, or financial hardship, you should opt for a temporary adjustment. A court may allow several months of modified payments before you have to pay the original agreed upon payments. Should you have a life-altering accident, injury, illness, or are permanently disabled, you may be eligible for a permanent or long-term modification. In this situation, you might need an immediate adjustment so that you can afford medical treatment. Please seek help from an experienced family lawyer immediately.
Does Social Security Income and/or Social Security Disability Impact Child Support?
Social Security Income is not usually included into your total income when a court decided on your child support obligations. This does vary by state so you should get in touch with a family lawyer to find out how your social security income could factor into your child support agreement. Social Security Disability Income is not treated the same as regular or Social Security Income. If you receive Social Security Disability Income, you may be eligible for permanent changes to your child support agreement.
Contact us (859-341-2500) for a Free Consultation!
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About Grubbs & Landry
At Grubbs & Landry, PLLC, we are dedicated to personal and friendly service. We manage our practice in an ethical, cost-effective manner to best help our clients resolve their legal issues with the least expense possible. We pride ourselves in advocating for our client in divorce, child custody, and child support matters as well as other family law matters. We are active in prosecuting personal injury cases-recovering for the injuries our clients sustain due to the negligence of others. Additionally, we help our clients prepare for the future through the preparation of Wills, Power of Attorney and Living Will. >> Learn More
The family court takes the payment of child support and alimony seriously. Very seriously. And a spouse who fails to pay without a valid justification can get in big trouble financially. Despite both parties coming to an agreement in order to finalize a divorce, that doesn’t mean they will uphold their end of the bargain. If your ex-spouse or the other parent fails to pay child support in Kentucky, the family court can help. The non-paying parent will be issued papers with instructions to meet in order to set up a payment arrangement.
Getting the Court Involved
As a technical matter, you can make these requests with a Motion for Enforcement, a Motion for Contempt, or a Motion for Order to Show Cause. In both cases, you are asking the Court to use its powers to fix the problem. If a party fails to follow the instructions on the paper, jail time could be a consequence. the court has the ability to order your ex to pay a fine and attorney’s fees to you for having to hire a lawyer to fix the problem. Sometimes your ex learns his or her lesson, and the problem never happens again. This is what you hope for because jail time is unproductive since then the ex will not be able to work to make any sort of payment.
The following are common instructions to recover child support payments…
Garnish Your Ex’s Wages – Similar to an income withholding order, you can request a garnishment of your ex’s wages or other money such as bank accounts.
Ask For The Sale Of Pre-Existing Assets – In certain circumstances, you can request the Court order your ex to liquefy assets in order to pay the alimony and/or child support award.
Ask For A Lien On Property – What if your ex has money in real property and money is not available to garnish? You can ask the Court to put a lien on the property.
Withhold Federal Tax Refunds
Suspend a Business License
Suspend Driver’s License
Next Steps If The First Try Doesn’t Work
If your ex fights you in court or attempts to underestimate his or her earnings you can request an income and expense declaration. Sometimes, a former spouse will ignore the request for a current Income and expense declaration. If this occurs, the Family Code provides that if there is no response within 35 days, or if the Income and Expense Declaration is incomplete as to any wage information, or if pay stubs and income tax returns are not attached, then the requesting party may serve a Request for Income and Benefit Information directly on the employer of the other party. The non-responding party may also be sanctioned by the court for his or her failure to comply with the initial request. As much documentation as you can provide such as pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, and any records which provide the income and capital of the other party is to your advantage.
Contact us (859-341-2500) for a Free Consultation!
—
About Grubbs & Landry
At Grubbs & Landry, PLLC, we are dedicated to personal and friendly service. We manage our practice in an ethical, cost-effective manner to best help our clients resolve their legal issues with the least expense possible. We pride ourselves in advocating for our client in divorce, child custody, and child support matters as well as other family law matters. We are active in prosecuting personal injury cases-recovering for the injuries our clients sustain due to the negligence of others. Additionally, we help our clients prepare for the future through the preparation of Wills, Power of Attorney and Living Will. >> Learn More
The family court takes the payment of child support and alimony seriously. Very seriously. And a spouse who fails to pay without a valid justification can get in big trouble financially. Despite both parties coming to an agreement in order to finalize a divorce, that doesn’t mean they will uphold their end of the bargain. If your ex-spouse or the other parent fails to pay child support in Kentucky, the family court can help. The non-paying parent will be issued papers with instructions to meet in order to set up a payment arrangement.