Q: I pay $600 per month for 2 kids. Should I still be paying the same amount if one child is now 23 and not in college?
My divorce papers state that I pay $500 per month for two kids. When my son graduated I was informed that I must still pay $500 because it didn't state $250 per child. Since I owe back child support, I pay $600 per month. The monthly support should have been reduced to $250 for the one child who is 15 plus the amount for back child support.
A: Your child support doesn't necessarily go down because one child graduated. If you make more money than you did when the support was calculated, it's possible the support could even go up. $600 is not a lot to pay, so you might be better off just continuing as is. Or, you can file a modification and 6 months from now, maybe knock $100 off. The support doesn't get cut in half. In addition, the court could lower your current support, but raise the arrears amount so you'd be paying the same amount monthly. Bottom line: it's probably not worth it to try based on the low amount you are paying.
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