Overseas NCP needs reduction in CA

[Overseas NCP]

What is the name of your state? The Third World by way of California

I am writing from far away and hope someone can take a moment from their busy work load to provide a detailed answer.
I am a non-custodial parent currently paying $254/month in child support directly to CSS (the child is one year old and resides in SoCal).
My income for the past year has been below U.S. poverty level ($470/month), and the three years prior at or near minimum wage. I have not received any local, state or federal aid or assistance in this time.
The reason for my current low wage is because I work in a third-world country, and will continue to do so for the next four years.
Can you please tell me if I am eligible for a low-income allowance and deduction in my current support payments? (The CSS calculator shows possibly $108/month, or $57 after allowance).
If so, exactly how would I process this request remotely from overseas? (Retaining a family-law lawyer or having a friend/relative obtain the paper work is not an option). Filing and hearing?
Thank you all in advance for your help and consideration.

 

[Shay-Pari'e]

What is the name of your state? The Third World by way of California

I am writing from far away and hope someone can take a moment from their busy work load to provide a detailed answer.
I am a non-custodial parent currently paying $254/month in child support directly to CSS (the child is one year old and resides in SoCal).
My income for the past year has been below U.S. poverty level ($470/month), and the three years prior at or near minimum wage. I have not received any local, state or federal aid or assistance in this time.
The reason for my current low wage is because I work in a third-world country, and will continue to do so for the next four years.
Can you please tell me if I am eligible for a low-income allowance and deduction in my current support payments? (The CSS calculator shows possibly $108/month, or $57 after allowance).
If so, exactly how would I process this request remotely from overseas? (Retaining a family-law lawyer or having a friend/relative obtain the paper work is not an option). Filing and hearing?
Thank you all in advance for your help and consideration.

Are you in the military? You speak of "Allowance". If you are, then your pay has increased being over seas.

 

[stealth2]

Part of your problem is going to be that this is apparently a voluntary decrease in income - the court won't generally modify in a situation like that.

 

[nextwife]

Actually, Stealth, he's been overseas a long time. We don't know that he hasn't been working for the Peace Corps or some other program overseas that he was already contracted to work for BEFORE mom became pregnant. He may even been residing overseas, and only visiting home when mom became pregnant.

 

[stealth2]

My income for the past year has been below U.S. poverty level ($470/month), and the three years prior at or near minimum wage.

This would indicate, to me, that he has only gone abroad in the past year - and previously to that was working for minimum wage. There IS an existing support order that appears to be based on a higher income than he has now. If he chose to go abroad, regardless how noble the cause may be - and earn less money - that is a voluntary decrease in income and he may have no recourse.

 

[nextwife]

Are you in the military? You speak of "Allowance". If you are, then your pay has increased being over seas.

There are many other ways a person residing overseas may get an "allowance". My sis has done a lot of international environment work & research under various grants, etc, and does get an allowance while there, because the pay sometimes stinks.

 

[Overseas NCP]

Stealth 2 and nextwife, thank you for you replies. To answer your questions (sorry it takes so long; I am in another time zone): I have only been overseas for one year, and my coming here was entirely voluntary. I am not in the military at all, but rather the opposite - working as an educator. The "allowance" I was asking of referred to the Low Income Allowance that the CSS calculator indicates. My salary here is average for an impoverished country, in that it allows me to pay for living expenses, but it does not leave anything for my debts back home such as child support. It is discouraging but helpful to know that my voluntary decrease in income might not be grounds for a modification, and before I go through all the filing and paper work, I'd like to know what exactly a request for modification will entail, what with me being overseas. Is it so complicated and messy that it can only be done in person? There is no way I can attend a hearing, yet I don't want to go through all the effort just so a judge can toss out my request for not being there.

 

[LdiJ]

Stealth 2 and nextwife, thank you for you replies. To answer your questions (sorry it takes so long; I am in another time zone): I have only been overseas for one year, and my coming here was entirely voluntary. I am not in the military at all, but rather the opposite - working as an educator. The "allowance" I was asking of referred to the Low Income Allowance that the CSS calculator indicates. My salary here is average for an impoverished country, in that it allows me to pay for living expenses, but it does not leave anything for my debts back home such as child support. It is discouraging but helpful to know that my voluntary decrease in income might not be grounds for a modification, and before I go through all the filing and paper work, I'd like to know what exactly a request for modification will entail, what with me being overseas. Is it so complicated and messy that it can only be done in person? There is no way I can attend a hearing, yet I don't want to go through all the effort just so a judge can toss out my request for not being there.

Realistically, if everything about your situation is voluntary, the odds are that you are still going to be racking up arrearages back home...and that a judge isn't going to let you off the hook. Your children's needs don't diminish simply because you chose to take a voluntary assignment overseas for basically subsitance income.

 

[stealth2]

In all honesty, the likelihood of a judge granting a downward modification under those circumstances is slim to none. The amount you pay now is already on the paltry side and likely covers only a fraction of the child's needs. Once you have the responsibility of a child to support, you don't get to make certain choices - going halfway around the world (regardless how noble the cause) to do humanitarian work included unless you have other resources to provide for the child.

I'm not even going to get into how this choice of yours leaves little to no opportunity for your child to get to know you - his/her father.