Cs modification

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My dh and I are expecting a child in April. Should we try to get our cs modified before or after the baby is born? We have never gone through the state or court, we just used the formula for the state and pay to the BM directly.

I think you have to wait til

I think you have to wait til the child actually exists to get a credit. What state are you in?

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There are several states that

There are several states that do give credits (which are minimal) for subsequent children. We need to know what state she is in before giving answers.

Which state are you in? Most

Which state are you in?

Most states will lower support due to the birth of another child, as the OPs have stated. It also depends on what state you're in. Google "(insert your state here) child support" because that will probably provide you with a link to your state's website with the appropriate information regarding getting cs reduced in your state.

I'll try to google it for my

I'll try to google it for my state. I am perpetually cyberstalked by dh's ex and therefore reluctant to give any personal info on-line. I appreciate the help.

You more than likely need to

You more than likely need to wait until your child is born. With that said, if your DH has not had a decrease in income, odds are that nothing will change. Check your state laws, but most require a pretty big change, ie. 10% or 100USD or more...The credit that our DHs get for having another child, if they even get it, is usually CRAP...thus it never really meets that 10% or 100USD change...so no change in CS. However, if he had a decrease in income PLUS a child, that might be enough to get it changed. In addition, at least from now on, the new child will count for something, although again, it's CRAP what the credit is, and it will prevent the crazy ex from at least tapping SOME of his money.

You need to immediately

You need to immediately request a court order for visitation and CS. Immediately request direct payroll withholding and let the CSE office direct deposit CS to BM. If you have been paying what the state calculator indicates you will likely not see a significant increase in CS and possibly a reduction for your new child.

Talk to an attorney for advice on filing before or after the birth of your child ..... or both. You will likely not get any credit for an unborn child though IMHO this is not the key reason for filing. The key reason is to counter the possibility of BM going a bit postal when her own children have a half sib not provided by her.

All IMHO of course.

Congratulations on the baby and good luck.

Good advice. In our case my

Good advice.

In our case my DW is the CP. We did not file for an ammendment of CS for 8 years and with the delays due to DickHead running from process servers and otherwise ignoring subpoenas we did not get in front of a judge for modification hearing until 9 years after the original support order.

Between our initial hearing that established the Visitation/Support order DickHead had three more also out-of-wedlock children with two more baby mamas. Even though my DW and I have no children other than SS DickHeads CS went up almost 300%. This of course sounds rediculously unfair to DickHead, but when CS was only $130/mo for 9 years and DickHead was not making a whole lot of money even 9 years after the initial court order the court invoked a much more reasonable level of support. Initially CS was raised form the historical $130/mo to $750/Mo. This was due to DickHead running form process servers, ignoring subpoenas and failing to respond. When he failed to provide his income and other pertinate information the DA contacted us to provide any relevant information. We provided his SSN, his very old tax returns from when my DW and her were dating, his plumber's license number, his employer's contact information and the pay distribution data for plumbers in his county. We also requested that direct payroll withholding of CS be invoked.

He just about busted a nut when the first $750 CS was taken out of his pay check. He hauled butt to the DA's office and immediately filed to have a CS hearing. Ultimately they lowered the new CS award from the $750/mo to $380/mo. Not an insane amount of money but certainly much more reasonable than $130/mo. To he and SpermGrandMa this was a travesty. To SpermGrandPa it was nearly time to stroke out.

Anyway, my point is that even if the NCP is on a quest to out spawn the salmon in the Pac NW CS can and likely will got up in these situations. It certainly did for us.

Best regards,

His income is about $10,000

His income is about $10,000 less. He works as an independent contractor and the years or two before his divorce he was making about $35,000. The year after and every year since the divorce his income is closer to $25,000. I make about $10,000. We currently pay just over $400/month for one child.

I have worked as a paralegal

I have worked as a paralegal for many years. If you wish to modify the child support you will need to wait until the child is here. Some states do not consider a fetus and actual child until birth. Not that your baby isn't a person but courts are not always so polite Depending on your state laws you may be able to go ahead but I sincerely doubt it. In FL, CS is calculated on both biological parent's incomes and the child's expenses such as childcare, medical or even extracurricular activities. Having another child has no bearing on your financial responsibility to the existing child. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: if you pay BM directly for CS and there is no court order for the specified amount, watch out! You should be receiving a receipt from her each month. Be aware the state may calculate your payments differently and if it does go to court the remainder can be back ordered since birth. It is always best to go through CSE for CS, This way the state maintains a record of all payments. I have seen BM take payments directly for years and then claim they did not get anything and if the other parent has no proof they paid, BAM! You owe several thousands in back child support you already paid! And they will ruin your life by freezing accounts, seizing tax returns, garnishing wages, ect. This happened to my friends' husband and they took him for 50k he has already paid and there was nothing that could be done about it and she worked for an attorney! CSE can help you with the modification but they will only do that if there has been a significant change in income or circumstances.

* I am not an attorney and therefore cannot give legal advice. If you require legal advice you should consult an attorney in good standing with your state bar.

We do pay a court ordered

We do pay a court ordered amount based on dh's and bm's incomes at the time of the divorce. In our state there is a cs calculator which takes into account income and # of dependents. We do not pay through the state we pay by check, on the first of the month, with a note "child support month/year" on every check. I guess I was wondering since # of dependents will be going up and income is slightly down if that would have a bearing. The gamble is if BM is making less money, which is possible.

The reality is that BM does not need the money we give her. She's loaded. And, even though its 50/50 custody and BM is the domicary parent, we end up with sd more of the time...daddy's a free babysitter! Basically dh raised sd while BM pursued her career while they were married. The court favored BM because that's what courts do but it's still the same as it ever was:dh raises sd while BM pursues her career. We could really use that $400/Month to improve sd's standard of living in our home.

If she is loaded then she

If she is loaded then she should be paying your husband the CS, not the other way around. Or is he paying because she is the labled the primary parent? Usually in 50/50 placements the higher wage earner pays, period.

Yes, one parent has to be

Yes, one parent has to be considered "primary" and that's BM. At the time of the divorce dh travelled a lot for work. Now he's home and occasionally travels. The co says 50/50 custody and we have sd just over that. Closer to 55/45, although some months in the summer it was more like 60 or 70% of the time.

I guess I'm wondering if it would be worth our time and money to try to get cs modified after the baby comes in April. It's just that so many factors are so different since the divorce, we would like to see what sorts of modifications can be made. For example, can we become primary, can we receive the cs? We have had to ask for temporary public assistance from time to time so will that be a factor? Or will the judge look at us like we are crazy and hand us our asses on a plate?

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