Q: I've been paying child support. With a recalc at my x's request it shows she now owes me money, do I have to take it?
I have been paying child support since my separation/divorce several years ago. We have had it revised/reviewed once since then. My x recently requested another review and requested "backpay" for any additional amount it were to go up from what I am currently paying back to when my "new" pay started. The thing is, my income has actually gone down a bit since the last review we had, but I was not going to adjust child support based off the decline. Now that she has requested it, it is showing that she now owes me money since her income has gone up since the last review, we share our children 50/50 and I pay for medical for the kids. I do not want her money, but since I am still paying alimony can I request her to come to an agreement where alimony ends at the same time that the new child support calculator is to take affect and neither of us owe each other anything? Or do I have to accept the child support?
A: In a general sense you do not have to take the child support. However, as most courts feel it is their duty to go by the guidelines, absent a good reason, you will need to come up with a good reason to convince the court to deviate from those guidelines. More information would be helpful to full assess your question. In essence, you are free to come to agreements. They just need to pass court muster, which can be accomplished with good wording.
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