Q: My ex wife has moved to a different state, before moving we agreed on a new visitation an was so ordered by the court.
Child support was also in the document we brought to court (we agreed to terminate support) which was notarized and signed by both parties. The court could only grant the visitation and was told we would need to petition the court for the child support case since it is a different department. Tomorrow we meet virtually with the Support Magistrate and would like to know what to expect? Do i have to submit my w-2 or paystub even if we agreed to terminate the support, all that was submitted was the notarized. document
A:
The asker should retain counsel. In the family court world, each subject area carries its own petition: visitation/custody, support, abuse, neglect, guardianship and so on. When the parties conflate custody and support in one agreement, they severely limit their ability to submit and give respect to it in the different subjects under the different petitions. Stated another way, separate agreements work best in family court, and a separate agreement as to child support is best.
There is the possibility that the support magistrate will accept the oral assertions of the custodial parent and terminate support, but there is no guarantee. That is why a separate agreement is one's best course of action should the custodial parent renege on an agreement to waive.
Lastly, as a matter of policy, government deliberately limits the public's access to its courts. There are labyrinthine rules that if not adhered to, a matter is dismissed, and the litigant must pursue how to file the correct papers in the correct court. Even though it pays government to conduct family law cases, there are still the old practices and procedures in effect to this day.
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