Change of Circumstances

[2Mistakes]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MS and LA

I really hope I don't get blasted here, but I'm curious about something, so I'm going to ask it.

I have 3 children from my marriage to my ex-wife, ages 15, 12, and 6. We live in, and all orders are in the state of MS.

I have a daughter from a relationship that occurred after my divorce. She is 4. She and her mother live in, and CS was ordered in the state of LA.

CS was ordered in LA in 2005. At that time, CS was calculated based upon the job I had at the time, making $45,000 per year. Also at that time, my ex-wife and I had joint physical custody of my first 3 children, with an exactly 50/50 time split. By order, neither of us paid child support to the other.

Obviously, some things have changed since 2005. Especially the economy.

When Katrina hit in 2005, I lost my job. (I worked at a casino on the beach, which is no longer there.)

I understand that I could have filed for a downward modification at that time, but I did not for several reasons. With the proceeds I received from my homeowner's insurance, FEMA, and the Hurricane Katrina Homeowner's Grant, coupled with the fact that I did 95% of the repairs myself, I was able to continue paying the amount of the original order. I did not feel that it would have been right to file for a mod just because I "could" when I still had the means to pay the original amount.

In 2006, I got a job making about $41,000 per year. When I ran the numbers through a calculator, it didn't make such a huge difference in the monthly amount that it would have been worth filing for a mod, so I didn't.

Later in 2006, my ex-wife decided that she wanted to move out of state and not have our children anymore, so I was given full physical custody of them, and she pays $300 per month CS total for all 3.

So, I now have custody of my first 3 children. I have them over 95% of the time, as my ex-wife is here, there, and everywhere. She goes 5 or 6 months not seeing them at all (meaning that 100% of their expenses fall on my shoulders, less the $300 she pays), then she might have them a couple of weekends here and there, so sometimes in the summer, then not see them again for another 5 or 6 months. Obviously my financial picture has changed in that aspect since the original LA order in that I had them 50% of the time then, and now have them close to 100% of the time now.

Can that come into play in modifying my LA order now? I guess my thinking is that if things had gone oppositely with my ex-wife, and she had custody and I paid her CS, that amount would be deducted from my income when calculating my LA CS order. While I may not be paying CS in the court ordered form of the word, I pay daily to support them since I now have them almost 100% of the time. Can I get a credit of some sort for that in a LA CS calculation?

Now, onto my income.

In the beginning of 2008, I left my job for a better self-employment opportunity. And for the first 3 or 4 months, it was a better opportunity. I was making just about the same amount as I had been making at my job, but had more time available to be with my family.

Then the local economy really started tanking. I am in the process of doing my taxes, and my gross receipts for 2008 were only $21,000. That's before taxes and business expenses. I don't have a bottom-line figure yet, but my schedule C bottom line is going to be a gain of about $246 for 2008 after expenses.

I also found out that approximately 2 months after leaving my job, my former employer had a massive layoff in my old office, based upon seniority. Well, I was low man on the totem pole there, so I would have been laid off anyways.

I'm trying to ascertain whether I might have grounds for filing for a downward modification of the LA order. If I do, I would think it would be based upon the fact that I now have full physical custody of 3 children that I didn't have custody of at the time of the original order, coupled with my change in income.

Opinions? Questions?

Thanks!

 

[special mom]

Okay, I will venture an answer. LA guidelines DO take other children into consideration.

(2) The legal obligation of a party to support dependents who are not the subject of the action before the court and who are in that party's household.

The 300 that you receive for your 3 will NOT be counted in your gross income.

(d) As used herein, "gross income" does not include:

(i) Child support received, or benefits received from public assistance programs, including Family Independence Temporary Assistance Plan, supplemental security income, food stamps, and general assistance.

Louisiana Child Support Guidelines

So the question is how much do they credit you for the dependents you have... Not sure...

After reading these guidelines I would say you likely have grounds for a downward modification, however, I couldn't find anything regarding how much they will deviate for your 3.

 

[2Mistakes]

So the question is how much do they credit you for the dependents you have... Not sure...

After reading these guidelines I would say you likely have grounds for a downward modification, however, I couldn't find anything regarding how much they will deviate for your 3.

Thanks, special mom. That's where I'm confused as well. I can itemize what it costs me to have my 3 full-time, then divide by 2 (since their mom needs to be 50% responsible.)

Or I can figure up how much child support I would have to pay for them if I did not have custody of them.

I just don't know what would be a resonable way of determining this.

 

[Ohiogal]

Thanks, special mom. That's where I'm confused as well. I can itemize what it costs me to have my 3 full-time, then divide by 2 (since their mom needs to be 50% responsible.)

Or I can figure up how much child support I would have to pay for them if I did not have custody of them.

I just don't know what would be a resonable way of determining this.

Rough guess -- the federal tax exemption per child ... Unless there are any extraordinary expenses for these children in your custody.

 

[2Mistakes]

Rough guess -- the federal tax exemption per child ... Unless there are any extraordinary expenses for these children in your custody.

Thanks, OG. That makes sense. And no, none of the kids have any extraordinary expenses. Unless you count all the make-up and hair crap the 15 year old girl buys.

Actually, she works here at home for that money.

So, the federal tax exemption is $3500 per child, correct? Mutiplied by 3 equals $10,500, divided by 12 is $875 per month.

Now, I do get $300 per month CS from their mom, so I would think that I need to deduct that from the $875 per month, and request credit from the court of $575 per month for the children in my custody. It doesn't seem fair for me to ask for credit for the whole $875, when I do get CS to offset it. Does that sound correct?

 

[special mom]

It sounds reasonable, I would put it in the request for modification and see what happens. While I think it sounds very fair, the courts may have some sort of set amount that they go by. And please don't blast me, but, that is what they do here in MD. I know different state! When MDB's dad went for his modification it was some ridiculously low number. If he hadn't been so nasty about everything I almost would have felt bad for him.

 

[Ohiogal]

Thanks, OG. That makes sense. And no, none of the kids have any extraordinary expenses. Unless you count all the make-up and hair crap the 15 year old girl buys.

Actually, she works here at home for that money.

So, the federal tax exemption is $3500 per child, correct? Mutiplied by 3 equals $10,500, divided by 12 is $875 per month.

Now, I do get $300 per month CS from their mom, so I would think that I need to deduct that from the $875 per month, and request credit from the court of $575 per month for the children in my custody. It doesn't seem fair for me to ask for credit for the whole $875, when I do get CS to offset it. Does that sound correct?

No. Not quite like that. Take your income -- say 35,500 a year. Subtract the 10,500 from that. So your income child support would be based on is 25000. That is a guess.

 

[2Mistakes]

No. Not quite like that. Take your income -- say 35,500 a year. Subtract the 10,500 from that. So your income child support would be based on is 25000. That is a guess.

Oh, I gotcha. Doing it that way actually reduces the CS amount (according to the LA child support calculator at alllaw.com) a little more than trying to do it the way I was doing it.

I found a LA attorney that will do a free telephone consultation for out-of-state prospective clients, so I am going to call him tomorrow and see if I can set one up, and run it all by him. He practices in the parish that our order is in, and I'm sure I'm not the 1st person who has had this situation, so I'm hoping he will have an idea of how the St. Tammany parish judges handle it.

I'll post back after I've talked to him so that other will know as well.