child support after became unemployed

[iwmi]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA

I have lost my job, which is not my fault, and have applied the unemployment benefits last week. I was told it may be token 3 weeks for the approval. I have no idea on how much the compensation will be received.
Questions about the child support.
my ex-wife demands me to continue making the payment of the amount from the settlement made about a year ago. It was an uncontested divorce and no attorney was used.
The amounts for the both are based on the both monthly incomes by using the child support worksheet. Now I have lost my income and wait for the unemployment compensation being awarded. She asks me to pay the full amount no matter what, eg even having a little or no unemployment compensations.

What should I response to her? Should I go the court to file the modifications of the divorce settlement before the unemployment compensation awarded?

 

[TheGeekess]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA

I have lost my job, which is not my fault, and have applied the unemployment benefits last week. I was told it may be token 3 weeks for the approval. I have no idea on how much the compensation will be received.
Questions about the child support.
my ex-wife demands me to continue making the payment of the amount from the settlement made about a year ago. It was an uncontested divorce and no attorney was used.
The amounts for the both are based on the both monthly incomes by using the child support worksheet. Now I have lost my income and wait for the unemployment compensation being awarded. She asks me to pay the full amount no matter what, eg even having a little or no unemployment compensations.

What should I response to her? Should I go the court to file the modifications of the divorce settlement before the unemployment compensation awarded?

If it's court ordered, then you continue paying the amount the court ordered until the court order is changed. And it's going to take longer than 3 weeks to get a court order changed.

Self-help legal resources


For those who want to consider filing an action in court on their own, below is a list of resources. These sites have forms and instructions, which include forms for legitimation and visitation.

www.fultonfamilydivision.com This is the site of the Fulton County Superior Court Family Division's Family Law Information Center. Any resident of the State of Georgia can visit the center in person at its location. The address is 185 Central Avenue, Atlanta, Ga. 30303. The phone is 404-335-2789. One can receive a free, brief legal consultation with an attorney by calling and making an appointment. However, a non-custodial parent must follow the guidelines of the county with legal jurisdiction over his/her particular legal issues.

www.co.dekalb.ga.us/dekalbflic This is the site of DeKalb County Superior Court's Family Law Information Center. Any DeKalb resident or person with a family law issue related to DeKalb County can visit the center at its location at 120 West Trinity Place, Decatur, Ga. 30030. The phone is 404-687-3990. Brief, legal consultations with an attorney are available for $10 by calling and making an appointment.

http://sca.cobbcountyga.gov/familylaw_workshop.htm This is the site of the Cobb County Superior Court Family Law Workshop. Any Cobb resident or person with a family law issue related to Cobb County can visit the center at 30 Waddell Street, Marietta, Ga. 30090. The phone is 770-528-1812. The workshop is free of charge and provides answers to basic questions about divorce, paternity/legitimation, contempt, and modification cases.

http://production.albany.ga.us/law_library/LL_forms_family_law.htm This is the site of the Dougherty County Superior Court Law Library. Any Dougherty resident or person with a family law issue related to Dougherty County can visit the center at its location at 225 Pine Avenue, Room 212, Albany, Ga. 31702. The phone is 229-431-2133. The library manager, who is an attorney, is available to provide assistance with conducting research, finding appropriate materials and possible legal resources, suggesting self-help resources, and answering legal reference questions in person or by e-mail. However, the library manager is not permitted to give legal advice or interpret specific legal situations.

www.hallcounty.org/judicial/jud_FLIC&GAL.asp This is the site of the Hall and Dawson County Superior Court Family Law Information Center. Any Hall or Dawson resident or person with a family law issue related to Hall or Dawson Counties can visit the center at its location at 225 Green Street, S.E., Gainesville, Ga. 30501. The phone is 770-531-2463. Brief, legal consultations with an attorney are available at no cost in Dawson County. However, a financial qualification is required for attorney consultations in Hall County.

http://www.appfamilylawcenter.org/ This is the site of the Appalachian Family Law Information Center serving Fannin, Gilmer, and Pickens counties. Any Fannin, Gilmer or Pickens resident or person with a family law issue related to these counties can visit the center at its location at 1 Broad Street, Suite 102 A, Ellijay, Ga. 30540. The phone is 706-299-1444. Brief, legal consultations with an attorney are available by appointment for income-qualified individuals.

www.LegalAid-Ga.org This site is a project of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, the Georgia Legal Services Program and the Pro Bono Project of the State Bar of Georgia. It is a guide to free legal information and services including the topics of legitimation, visitation, and custody.

A list of the Georgia Superior Court Clerks for every county is on this web site: www.gsccca.org.

http://tinyurl.com/2ue6rdk


Child Support guidelines/calculators here: http://tinyurl.com/2fan2sw

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA

I have lost my job, which is not my fault, and have applied the unemployment benefits last week. I was told it may be token 3 weeks for the approval. I have no idea on how much the compensation will be received.
Questions about the child support.
my ex-wife demands me to continue making the payment of the amount from the settlement made about a year ago. It was an uncontested divorce and no attorney was used.
The amounts for the both are based on the both monthly incomes by using the child support worksheet. Now I have lost my income and wait for the unemployment compensation being awarded. She asks me to pay the full amount no matter what, eg even having a little or no unemployment compensations.

What should I response to her? Should I go the court to file the modifications of the divorce settlement before the unemployment compensation awarded?

While you may have just lost your job, that's no guarantee that you will remain unemployed for an extended period of time. You should expect to continue paying your child support obligation while you wait for your unemployment benefits to kick in.

If you do remain unemployed for longer than expected, then you should proceed to request a modification of your support obligation from the courts. It really does no good to file now for the modification, because you don't know yet if you will be approved for unemployment benefits, or at what amount - you will need those figures for your modification petition. Plus, the court may need to see what efforts you are making to become re-employed before granting a modification.

During the time while you wait for the hearing, you should still make every attempt to continue paying the ordered support amount, or as much as is humanly possible. That way, once you appear in court, you can show that you paid what you could and did not just stop paying altogether. That will also lessen any potential arrears that may accrue until such time as your income gets back to normal or your support obligation is modified by the court.