CS Mod Req by NCP when in arrears FLORIA

[newwifefl]

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

Hello All,

Have a question. My husband has a few months of arrears on his CS from last year when he was laid off and not working for 4 months. He should have filed with the court to modify while not working, but did not as he thought he had a job within a few weeks...and then it fell through and dragged on longer than he thought etc.

Anyway, now he has had a significant salary reduction at his current job of about 30% due to the economy. Better than a layoff at the moment. He would like to file a motion to have CS modified based on his new salary. I've heard chatter that if the NCP is in arrears, they are likely to not get what they are asking for. I'm expecting that worst case scenario he would have his CS modified to his current income, which is about $500 per month less than he is paying now....but in addition to the judge is likely to assess arrearages on top of it so that he is still paying about the same CS amount. Does that sound like the likely outcome? THANKS ALL!

 

[Gracie3787]

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

Hello All,

Have a question. My husband has a few months of arrears on his CS from last year when he was laid off and not working for 4 months. He should have filed with the court to modify while not working, but did not as he thought he had a job within a few weeks...and then it fell through and dragged on longer than he thought etc.

Anyway, now he has had a significant salary reduction at his current job of about 30% due to the economy. Better than a layoff at the moment. He would like to file a motion to have CS modified based on his new salary. I've heard chatter that if the NCP is in arrears, they are likely to not get what they are asking for. I'm expecting that worst case scenario he would have his CS modified to his current income, which is about $500 per month less than he is paying now....but in addition to the judge is likely to assess arrearages on top of it so that he is still paying about the same CS amount. Does that sound like the likely outcome? THANKS ALL!

The current support will be set by the guidelines. Then, depending on his income and the amount of the arrears, the Judge would probably add a little extra each week for the arrears. Typically, IF the Judge is a good one, the arrears payments will be anywhere from 5% to 10% of what the current support is. For example, if the current support is $100.00 per week, the added arrears payment would likely be $10.00 per week.

However, I have seen Judges who will order excessive amounts for arrears payments, one even added 98% of the current support, simply because he knew the NCP could not afford to pay it, or to file an appeal.

The best thing to do will be for him to get a quick consult with a local attorney who will know what your particular Judge is likely to order.

 

[LdiJ]

The current support will be set by the guidelines. Then, depending on his income and the amount of the arrears, the Judge would probably add a little extra each week for the arrears. Typically, IF the Judge is a good one, the arrears payments will be anywhere from 5% to 10% of what the current support is. For example, if the current support is $100.00 per week, the added arrears payment would likely be $10.00 per week.

However, I have seen Judges who will order excessive amounts for arrears payments, one even added 98% of the current support, simply because he knew the NCP could not afford to pay it, or to file an appeal.

The best thing to do will be for him to get a quick consult with a local attorney who will know what your particular Judge is likely to order.

While I agree that judges frequently order small arrearage payments in addition to current support, that often is not in the best interest of the ncp.

When the arrearage payments are small they often do not cover the interest on the arrearage, therefore the balance either never goes down or goes down so slowly that it takes many years to pay off arrearages, and the ncp ends up paying double or triple (or more) the amount, due to interest.

 

[Gracie3787]

While I agree that judges frequently order small arrearage payments in addition to current support, that often is not in the best interest of the ncp.

When the arrearage payments are small they often do not cover the interest on the arrearage, therefore the balance either never goes down or goes down so slowly that it takes many years to pay off arrearages, and the ncp ends up paying double or triple (or more) the amount, due to interest.

Actually, the best case scenario for a NCP would be for the order to be small arrears payments. There is no law stating that a NCP cannot make additional, voluntary payments on top of that.

A small amount protects a NCP from having to pay more than they can afford, plus alot of NCP's are caught off guard when they find out that thier tax refunds are intercepted, or thier bank accounts are levied even though they are paying the court ordered amount, no matter how large or small that amount is.

Of course, this is regarding NCPs who are struggling just to survive, for the ones who have large incomes, the arrears payments should be larger.