When a judge declares that you have to pay a certain amount of child support, their ruling is based on your income at the time. However, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be making that same amount of money in a year or two. Countless parents in Mississippi have found themselves struggling to pay child support after they lost their job or experienced a decrease in hours.
How can you cope with income changes?
Unfortunately, there’s no way to get out of your child support obligations. Even if you lost your job, you still have to pay child support every month or risk facing penalties. For this reason, it’s important to set aside money in your savings so that you can continue to pay child support until you’re able to obtain a modification or your situation changes. Otherwise, you’ll be scrambling to pay child support along with your other bills.
If you’re experiencing a temporary decrease in income, you might be able to stick it out until you find a new job. But if you’re going to be suffering from a loss of income for a year or more, you might want to talk to a family law attorney about requesting a child support modification. A modification could lower the amount of child support that you have to pay each month.
Be prepared to give the judge evidence that proves that you need a child support modification after your divorce. You might have to show the judge that you’re dealing with issues beyond your control and aren’t suffering from a lack of personal responsibility.
How can you request a child support modification?
An attorney may help you request a child support modification that makes it easier for you to stay on top of your parental obligations. Your attorney may present your employment information and other financial documents that back up your claim.
