What to Know About Changing Your Child Support Payments

Depending on the outcome of a separation or a divorce, you may have to pay alimony or child support. How much you pay is determined by your financial status at the time the ruling was handed down. However, many people experience changes in their financial situation, and it is possible you’ll have to alter the initial child support agreement to either increase or decrease what you pay. Here’s what you can do as you work with child custody lawyers in Villa Rica to have your child support changed.

Filing a Motion

If your financial status has been significantly altered by recent events, like being hired or fired from a job, you should file a motion to modify your agreement. An initial motion filing kicks off the modification process and makes it legally binding. Once this is put in motion, anticipate having to go to court, perhaps for a number of times, to work out matters with your former partner.

Documentation

You should hold on to any and all documents that shows why your financial circumstances have changed so significantly that you need to alter your existing child support agreement. Child custody lawyers in Villa Rica need this documentation to help argue your case in court. These documents can include evidence that shows you have lost your job or that your pay has been cut, such as termination notices and pay stubs. Likewise, if your situation has improved, like through a job promotion, show documents like bank statements or a letter from an employer that prove your upgraded financial standing.

Hiring an Attorney

If you don’t already have an attorney, hire one as soon as possible. While you could represent yourself, it’s much more advisable to find child custody lawyers in Villa Rica that understand the law, argue the case for you, and prevent you from making mistakes that can cost you. Also, a child custody lawyer can assist you in gathering the needed documents to prove your financial circumstances have changed.

Patience

As you seek to get your alimony or child support payments changed, keep a cool head and be patient. This will not get resolved overnight. Actually, it can be a complicated process. Verification of financial and employment arrangements, as well as your existing custody agreement, will all have to be checked out before any new court order can be reached. So prepare yourself for a fairly long haul.

Know State Requirements

You should also get to know the laws of the state that governed the initial child support settlement. Even if you have moved to another state since then, you can’t change your existing agreement from a court in your new state. Only the laws of the state where the initial settlement was reached can manage how it can be changed. If you’re not sure about the state’s laws for changing alimony or child support, consult child custody lawyers in Villa Rica to assist you.

Changing an alimony or child support payment sometimes takes time, but the end result can be beneficial. Be sure to consult a child custody attorney to take you through the legal hurdles to reach the new agreement you’re looking for.

Kevin Smith is a writer and an avid reader. He writes about business, marketing, health, pets, or relationships etc.