Family Law: Tips For Acquiring Child Support Modification
Do you pay child support, but due to unforeseen circumstances in your life find that the amount you have to pay is just too much? If this is the case then perhaps you can get the child support lowered. To do this you will need to seek out a lawyer who can help you make an argument in the courts as to why you should pay less. However, before even hiring a lawyer there are some things you can do yourself to improve your chances of getting child support modification granted. They are as follows:
Reach An Agreement With The Other Parent
It might be the case that you don't even need to use the courts to get payments lowered if you can reach an agreement with the other parent. An agreement of this kind is favourable because it removes the cost of litigation that both parties have to incur. Not having to pay any lawyer or court fees is desirable if you are already struggling financially. Avoiding the courts also allows the relationship of a divorced couple to stay more positive – that's advantageous for the sake of the child.
Continue To Make Payments
It's important to make payments in order to build trust with both the court and the other parent. Failure to make payments will reduce the quality of your argument once in court. Credibility is important in court cases where you want to reduce payments via child support modification. That's because the court should be able to believe that you are actually having difficulty making the payments.
Document Changes
Any changes in your life that are causing you difficulty in being able to pay the current child support rate must be documented. This could include change of job, income reports of a business, medical disability income and so on.
Documents are a great way to make an argument in a court. They can show without any doubt that you really are having difficulty in paying the current child support rate.
Act Fast
Ideally you should get a child support modification order granted before your circumstances actually change. This means when they do change, you won't be stuck paying the higher fee that you can't afford until the courts have lowered it.
Unfortunately, even if you cannot afford to pay child support you will still owe any unpaid amount in arrears. Typically this type of debt cannot be discharged -- even if you were to go into bankruptcy, and it cannot be reduced retroactively.
For more information, contact a law firm such as Adelaide Legal.