There are a few rules to follow
if you want the court to lower your child support
payments. Keep in mind, however, that the court may not
lower your payments even if these guidelines are followed.
The best way to lower child
support payments is to spend more time with the child in
question. Child support is determined by how much time a
parent spends with a child. The more time one parent
spends with a child, the more financial support the other parent
has to pay. If you are the father but only have 25%
custody, then you will pay more support than if you have 50% or
75% custody. Of course, if you are with the child more
often, then you have to pay for items (clothing, food, etc.) for
the child during the time he spends with you. Adding
more visitation time will increase your parenting time and may
help reduce your child support payments. You can find this
extra time by taking the child during school vacations and
during more holidays.
To have the court lower your
child support payments, you also need to have your lawyer make
sure that the other party's entire financial situation is being
considered. This includes not only income from a job
but money from any other sources, such as parental help or
alimony or disability payments. It all needs to be
considered so that the court has a clear picture as to how much
income the other party actually has and how much child support
should be paid.
Also ensure that the court is taking deviations into
consideration. Every state follows established guidelines
when determining child support payments. Deviations
from these standard guidelines may include things such as
extreme personal credit debt, losing a job, paying child support
for other children and having to travel long distances to meet
and drop off your child. Extreme situations such as
these may impact your ability to pay child support, and the
court should be made aware of them.
If you want to lower your child support payments, then you
need to talk to a local, affordable lawyer who is experienced in
child support cases. Contact us
and we can put you in touch the right lawyer for your situation
and help get your child support payments lowered.