• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Question about downward modification

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

F

freefiona

Guest
What is the name of your state? FL

My husband pays his ex child support that is already above guidelines, due to an out-of-court agreement (which has since been ratified by the court). When she took him to court for contempt this week, her attorney said that she'll be filing for a modification since her income has gone down & his has gone up. Even so, he's STILL paying above guidelines. How likely are we to get a downward modification that meets state child support guidelines & is based on the amount of time that we have the child (45%)?of your state?
 


F

freefiona

Guest
Right. I've already used that calculator; I linked to it from the 13th Judicial Circuit Court website. That's how I know that he's paying too much. I'm just afraid a judge will say, "Well, you agreed to this amount when you made less money. Now you make more, so now you owe more..."
 

Zephyr

Senior Member
I don't think they would ORDER him to pay more than the guidelines- that happens by agreement- there are guidelines for a reason
 

nextwife

Senior Member
If ex is taking it to court and saying she no longer wants to be bound by the out of court agreement, then he is certainly free to say:

"OK, let's NOT use the out of court agreement. Instead, we'll use guideline."
 

Gracie3787

Senior Member
freefiona said:
What is the name of your state? FL

My husband pays his ex child support that is already above guidelines, due to an out-of-court agreement (which has since been ratified by the court). When she took him to court for contempt this week, her attorney said that she'll be filing for a modification since her income has gone down & his has gone up. Even so, he's STILL paying above guidelines. How likely are we to get a downward modification that meets state child support guidelines & is based on the amount of time that we have the child (45%)?of your state?
Legally, the original agreement became part of the court order. It can be modified, if the parties do not AGREE on the new amount, the law says that the amount has to be according to the guidelines, it does not matter what the original agreement was.

I don't know if it will result in a decrease or not, you'll need to run the numbers and see, but the new amount will be based on only the state guidelines.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top