Child support modification

[Anonymous]

I am given child support from my childs father ever since my child was 6 months. My child is now 8 years old. At the time, the father was laid off. Child support was calculated very low. Fast forward 8 years and i want to modify child support to reflect him working. However, i am scared i will end up with less since child is in school and no longer attends daycare but does go to aftercare. I am scared it will but cut even more or he will manipulate things. Is it worth pursuing? Is it a long process? Do i have to see a judge? I am a struggling single mother. I can not hire a lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Child support is based on the father's income. The child has a right to enjoy the same standard of living as his father. It is not based on the child's enrollment in daycare versus school.

You don't need a lawyer. You can send the court a note entitled "Motion to Open Support Order." Just write in plain English that you have a good faith belief that the father's income has increased, what you base that belief on, and the fact that the order is now 7 years old, and that your child should have more support to live on.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Where are you located? Some bar associations provide free legal advice to help you fill out paperwork in cases like this. Also, some law schools have clinics where law students (supervised by attorneys) give paperwork advice and/or represent people. Maybe someone knows of a service in your area.

[Anonymous]

How much are you receiving now in support? I'm assuming you receive a decent amount because you went 8 years without modifying. How much money do you think he makes now? Where do you live? Each state has the child support calculator on their website - it should help you determine whether or not you will receive more money. Depending on how much more you would receive, you can determine whether or not it's worth the stress of going back to court, risking your child's father manipulating information, risking the sanity of the relationship between you and your child's father, etc.

[Anonymous]

In DC if the father or absent parent doesn't have a job they still have to pay $150 per month.

While asking for a modification does require reporting your income, it doesn't weigh that much against your income.

[Anonymous]

Does your current order discuss/take into account daycare/child care costs? What jurisdiction are you in? Most (all?) jurisdictions have a child support calculator and barring either exceptional circumstances or income that is too high for the calculator, that's what the judge will order. You will need to go in front of a judge; you probably do not need a lawyer, unless the calculator is not applicable in some way.

[Anonymous]

google "online child support calculator" in your state and you can run some sample scenarios of what you would get if he earns x, you earn y, health care costs c, etc.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We are in md. I recieve 400 a month. No clue what he makes. The first time we went to court he had a job and claimed laid off but he quit and judge asked for no proof. So im scared to go back

[Anonymous]

OP do you make substantially more than him? if so, this could affect what you get from the modification.

Here are the basics for Maryland:


Maryland Child Support Guidelines

The guidelines include a schedule of basic child support obligations that shows the total amount of support both parents must pay based on their combined “adjusted actual incomes” (explained in detail below), and the number of children they have together. A percentage of the total support obligation is assigned to each parent based on that parent’s income percentage. For example, if parent A earns $6,000 per month and parent B earns $4,000 per month, parent A would be responsible for 60% of the support amount (6,000 divided by 10,000) and parent B for 40% of the support amount (4,000 divided by 10,000).

[Anonymous]

The Maryland online calculator is very easy to use. Plug in some numbers and see where you land. You can probably estimate his salary just using some ballpark guesses.