You probably know that each state has a formula for calculating how much child support is owed to a custodial parent. Judges will consider many factors including which parent pays for the majority of aspects, who takes care of health insurance and the ages of the children. But did you know that sometimes those child support guidelines don’t make sense for your case because the circumstances are so unique? In these cases, your child support might need to be set higher or lower than the guidelines. What circumstances does this apply to?
Setting Child Support in Other Ways
If you believe that the guidelines shouldn’t apply to your case, of course, your first move should be turning to the help of a judge. You might be in charge of paying for your child’s private school, medical expenses, and more so you believe that your child support should be lowered so that you can continue to handle these matters to the best of your ability. You might have custody of a child who requires extra care and believes that the amount you are given is not enough. Today we want to go over some of the circumstances that might cause you to deviate from standard child support.
More Than Needed: Sometimes, the guideline amount is more than what’s needed to care for the child. If the noncustodial parent makes a lot more than the support amount, the judge might decide to reduce the amount because the regular expenses are not that much.
Paying Parent Can’t Pay: Sometimes, the noncustodial parent earns very little money and it would be virtually impossible for them to meet the guideline amount. Maybe they recently lost a job, which could mean that changes in the order need to be applies. The judge will probably order both parents to return to court so that he can speak with them about these circumstances.
Special Needs: If a child has special medical or educational needs, a higher amount of support might be needed.
Now that you understand there are very different circumstances that could apply to a case, you might wonder how you can move forward so that these changes reflect your order. We want to help. At the Montes Law Firm, we have what it takes to get you the results you deserve during this time. Call us today to speak with us about your case.
