Q: Will I have to pay child support if the child moves in with his father who owes back child support?
This is in Missouri and the father owes 8,000 in back child support for this child.
A:
This has come up in several of my cases where custody has to change for various reasons. Most of the time, the judges in the courts I practice in have determine it to be a credit towards the amount you owe. Since you stated there is $8000 in arrears, you would be "paying" the new amount of child support as a reduction of the arrears. Your payments would reduce the arrears until the arrears is paid in full. If the new order has you paying $800 per month (not saying it will, example only), after ten months you would start actually paying instead of receiving a credit. Keep in mind, the arrears could be reduced faster if the parent in arrears has his or her taxes withheld to pay towards the arrears.
As always, you may want to consult with a family law attorney as every case is fact specific and this could change based on your local judges.
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