Q: Child Support & Underemployment
My ex-husband is an auditor. He made between $40,000 - $50,000 per year throughout our marriage. I was a stay-at-home mother. He claims to be unemployed but spent a few months working in a call center between December '16 and March '17 . He asked the state child support enforcement to modify his support based on an imputed income of $12.00 per hour.
He has never paid a dime in support. He does not visit the children.
The county child support enforcement office agreed to impute his income at $12 an hour and are proposing a nearly 50% decrease in child support. I fear that should I agree to this and lower his child support, I will never be able to raise the issue again after he finds a job.
Is it possible to allow someone to lower or suspend their child support temporarily while they are looking for work? Can I challenge the modification suggested by the child support enforcement office? Should I get an attorney?
Thank you in advance for your time.
A:
Child support is always subject to modification up to the end of the support at 18/19 years old. The operative term is "change in circumstances" (which has a legal definition that is far more restrictive than the lay definition). Based on your facts, it is reasonable that a decree in income due to no fault of the payor should reduce the support payments. Similarly, an increase in income (by either parent) should also modify the support amount. In other words, if his income increases at a later date, you can seek a modification (note: you will have to discover or suspect the increase because neither party is required to update the support amount).
As to the questions of the ability to challenge/accept the modification, these questions are best left with an attorney you directly contact (who can also provide case-specific advice and create an attorney-client relationship). If you do contact an attorney, expect to pay for the attorney's time.
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