Hi,
My oldest of 3 children is already 18yrs old and is graduating high school in June. I assume child support will need to be re-calculated. Will the court re-calculate the amount using the same information it used to come up with the original amount? There has been an increase in my ex’s income and a slight decrease in mine. Also, since I move to Massachusetts, I have had to spend alot of money on plane tickets for visitation. Can I include that amount as extraoridnary exspenses and how much of that amount will be considered. I’ve spent nearly $2,000.00 so far this year. Should I have the court clerk calendar a hearing now and when can I file my claim for a change in CS? Thank you for your help.
You should file a motion to terminate support for your oldest, and include a motion to modify support for the other two children based on the new income figures if it has been 3 years since the last calculation, and the new figure of support is 15% higher or lower than before. It is within the judge’s discretion whether to include your travel expenses as extraordinary expenses in the new calculation.
It hasn’t been three years yet but her income is certainly 15% higher than it was before. Do both conditions have to exist? Do I have to wait until June to file the motion? What if I can’t get a court date until after June? What if ex wants to avoid court and we both come to an agreement on an amount? Can we draft up something on our own?
You may agree to change support on your own, and will need to file a Consent Order amending the amount.
A motion for termination cannot be filed until June, and the remaining support will likely be based on the old numbers until the case is ripe for modification (yes modification requires the passage of 3 years and a 15% change in the support).
Along these same lines. I am in the same situation
If old income numbers are to be used until it is time (3 years) until modification, will the amount that is paid for health insurance be changed now since the number of children covered is less?
thank you
No, CS will be modified in part.
Ok…I just reviewed the NC Child Support guidelines and it seems the rates have increased. Will my new calculation be based on 2010 guidelines or 2011 guidelines? In your experience, how often has a judge given credit for extraordinary exspenses? I moved from NC to MA for employment and family reasons, so I pay several thousands of dollars a year to visit with my child on top of the nearly $2000.00 a month in CS/Alimony.
The new guidelines took effect in January and will be used for your new calculation. In my personal experience judges will count travel expenses (or at least a portion thereof) as extraordinary expenses in most cases.
Can my ex wife legally ask for my current wifes W2? Current wifes income is off limits when calculating CS correct? We have decided to avoid court and come to an agreement. How do I amend the order? Do I need a hearing? Should I still schedule a hearing just in case we do not agree? Can I caledar a hearing before I submit a claim for taking my 18yr old off CS? I am out of state (MA) so attending a hearing would be difficult for me, what are my options?
Your ex is not entitled to your new Wife’s W-2s and her income is not accounted for in any calculation. I suggest you go ahead and set a court date. If you agree before that you can draft a new Consent Order and submit it to the judge at your scheduled hearing,(have your ex take the order to court).
Ok…sorry to drag this thread out but I have another question. My ex wife keeps asking for current Paystub and my 2010 W2. My original order was set on March 26th 2010. Is she entitled to that information any time she wants? She alo quit one of her jobs under her own will…Can she request more child support? I tried negotiating with her with no success. She wants the CS to stay the same even minus one child. I am also spending nearly 3000 /yr on plane fare to have visitation with my 9yr old. Do judges have a history of considering that? I moved back to MA for work and re-marriage. My ex also made it clear that her intent was to move back as well.
Do I absolutely have to go to court for CS to terminate on my 18yr old? I am not sure I can even make it to a hearing this year. Besides hiring a lawyer to go to court for me, is there anyway I can have the jusge modify without a hearing seeing this is just to terminate. What if I lower it on my own, can I be held in contempt?
You will need to file a motion to terminate support, and a new amount will be calculated based on your current income, so the documents do need to be turned over. You will be in contempt if you lower support on your own.
Judges do factor travel expenses into support as extraordinary expenses in many cases.
Yes, but earlier in the thread, you stated 3yrs had to pass since the original order as well as a 15% change in income. She recently quit her second job which seem like a way for her to depress her income in order to retain a high support amount.
The judge may want to recalculate the support in light of the new guidelines, but you certainly have an argument that no modification should take place at this time, only a termination.
It now appears the calendar is full for July and I may not get in until August. If my CS order is reduced, will I be entitled to a reimbursement of the difference retro to the month of July?
The judge may account for an overage paid, and would likely subtract any amount over paid from your next few months of support.
She has filed a motion requesting the court deviate from the NC CS guidelines. How often will the court consider this? What kind of evidence could hurt me in this. She quit her second job a week or two before our court date. She did the same thing for alimony. She pleaded for alimony so she could quit her second job, then she went out and got a second job again. Can I request her bank statement to see how she spends her money? What kind of evidence should I bring to defend this?
The court upon its own motion or upon motion of a party may deviate from the guidelines if, after hearing evidence and making findings regarding the reasonable needs of the child for support and the relative ability of each parent to provide support, it finds by the greater weight of the evidence that application of the guidelines would not meet, or would exceed, the reasonable needs of the child considering the relative ability of each parent to provide support, or would otherwise be unjust or inappropriate. If the court deviates from the guidelines, the court must make written findings (1) stating the amount of the supporting parent’s presumptive child support obligation determined pursuant to these guidelines; (2) determining the reasonable needs of the child and the relative ability of each parent to provide support; (3) supporting the court’s conclusion that the presumptive amount of child support determined under the guidelines is inadequate or excessive or that application of the guidelines is otherwise unjust or inappropriate; and (4) stating the basis on which the court determined the amount of child support ordered. (One example of a reason to deviate may be when one parent pays 100% of the child support obligation and 100% of the insurance premium.)
The guidelines are intended to provide adequate awards of child support that are equitable to the child and both of the child’s parents. When the court does not deviate from the guidelines, an order for child support in an amount determined pursuant to the guidelines is conclusively presumed to meet the reasonable needs of a child considering the relative ability of each parent to provide support, and specific findings regarding a child’s reasonable needs or the relative ability of each parent to provide support are therefore not required. Regardless of whether the court deviates from the guidelines or enters a child support order pursuant to the guidelines, the court should consider incorporating in, or attaching to, its order, or including in the case file, the child support worksheet it uses to determine the supporting parent’s presumptive child support obligation under the guidelines.
No, the motion to deviate must be made 10 days in advance of hearing.