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Recalculation of child support

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sudofdisk

Member
What is the name of your state? Colorado


Currently I have full physical custody of our two children (age 18 and 15)

Mom pays a reduced amount of child support that was agreed to in mediation.

Soon our 18 year old will be turning 19 and no longer subject to child support in the state of Colorado.

Does my acceptance of reduced amount of child support prevent me from asking for the full legal amount for our one remaining child once I refile because our daughter turns 19?
 


stealth2

Under the Radar Member
What is the name of your state? Colorado


Currently I have full physical custody of our two children (age 18 and 15)

Mom pays a reduced amount of child support that was agreed to in mediation.

Soon our 18 year old will be turning 19 and no longer subject to child support in the state of Colorado.

Does my acceptance of reduced amount of child support prevent me from asking for the full legal amount for our one remaining child once I refile because our daughter turns 19?
You can certainly file for a recalculation of support.

ETA: In your shoes? I would first run the numbers to see how much the CS would change by modifying to remove the elder and going to guideline support for the younger, vs leaving sleeping dogs lie.
 
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LdiJ

Senior Member
You can certainly file for a recalculation of support.

ETA: In your shoes? I would first run the numbers to see how much the CS would change by modifying to remove the elder and going to guideline support for the younger, vs leaving sleeping dogs lie.
I agree with this. Child support will not automatically reduce when your older child turns 19. So its not absolutely necessary to do a recalculation. Therefore if child support would stay pretty much the same, or not change much, then for the sake of civil co-parenting you might not want to mess with it.

If you google "online child support calculator Colorado" you should find the official calculator for your state.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What is the name of your state? Colorado


Currently I have full physical custody of our two children (age 18 and 15)
Just a minor quibble here: You do not have "custody" (parental responsibility in CO) of the 18 year old. She is no longer a "child" subject to custody orders. (https://codes.findlaw.com/co/title-14-domestic-matters/co-rev-st-sect-14-13-102.html : "(2) “Child” means an individual who has not attained eighteen years of age.") Child support continues until 19 or the end of the month that she graduates high school, whichever occurs later, except it absolutely ends once the child turns 21. There are other events that can also end it sooner. (http://www.lpdirect.net/casb/crs/14-10-115.html)
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I agree with this. Child support will not automatically reduce when your older child turns 19. So its not absolutely necessary to do a recalculation. Therefore if child support would stay pretty much the same, or not change much, then for the sake of civil co-parenting you might not want to mess with it.

If you google "online child support calculator Colorado" you should find the official calculator for your state.
Without knowing the wording of the order, you can't know for sure if child support will automatically be reduced. If child support is ordered as "x" for child 1 and "y" for child 2, then child support will automatically be reduced by "x" when child 1 is no longer eligible due to age.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Without knowing the wording of the order, you can't know for sure if child support will automatically be reduced. If child support is ordered as "x" for child 1 and "y" for child 2, then child support will automatically be reduced by "x" when child 1 is no longer eligible due to age.
While its technically possible for a child support order to read that way, it is extremely usual for an order to do so. The reason for that is that the state child support obligations are not a flat amount per child. The amount for child one is the highest, with the amount for a second child to be lower, the third child even lower than that, etc. Therefore, a judge would have to sign off on deviating from the guidelines. That doesn't happen very often, nor do people's attorneys even encourage that.
 

sudofdisk

Member
You can certainly file for a recalculation of support.

ETA: In your shoes? I would first run the numbers to see how much the CS would change by modifying to remove the elder and going to guideline support for the younger, vs leaving sleeping dogs lie.
Right now she pays $80 a month for both "children". According to the guideline spreadsheet provided here:
https://www.courts.state.co.us/Forms/Forms_List.cfm?Form_Type_ID=94

For one child she would be paying $341 a month.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
While its technically possible for a child support order to read that way, it is extremely usual for an order to do so. The reason for that is that the state child support obligations are not a flat amount per child. The amount for child one is the highest, with the amount for a second child to be lower, the third child even lower than that, etc. Therefore, a judge would have to sign off on deviating from the guidelines. That doesn't happen very often, nor do people's attorneys even encourage that.
Yet, a deviation is exactly what has occurred in this case, so the frequency of it occurring is irrelevant. Besides, I seriously doubt you have any experience with what occurs in Colorado.

Having said that: The OP has come back and explained things more fully and, by coincidence, his order reads as a flat amount for both children, so you were (again, by coincidence), correct.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Right now she pays $80 a month for both "children". According to the guideline spreadsheet provided here:
https://www.courts.state.co.us/Forms/Forms_List.cfm?Form_Type_ID=94

For one child she would be paying $341 a month.


Ok, then it would definitely be worth it, dollar wise, to ask for a recalculation. The question is, can she honestly pay the increased amount? If she cannot, for all practical purposes, then she may quit her job and/or try to find some other way to support herself to avoid paying you that much. It could also cause some resentments with the children (maybe not but maybe) and it could certainly cause hostility between you and mom.

How long have you actually had custody of the children? That might have an impact.

I would maybe consider trying to work out a different agreement with mom first.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney

zddoodah

Active Member
Currently I have full physical custody of our two children (age 18 and 15)
You can't have physical custody of an adult child.

Does my acceptance of reduced amount of child support prevent me from asking for the full legal amount for our one remaining child once I refile because our daughter turns 19?
No. Doesn't mean you'll get it, but nothing prevents you from asking.

ithout knowing the wording of the order, you can't know for sure if child support will automatically be reduced. If child support is ordered as "x" for child 1 and "y" for child 2, then child support will automatically be reduced by "x" when child 1 is no longer eligible due to age.
While its technically possible for a child support order to read that way, it is extremely usual for an order to do so.
I agree with "Zigner" and disagree that this would be "extremely unusual." I won't speak in absolutisms, but I can't recall ever seeing a child support order that didn't allocate the total support between the children who are the subject of the orde (although my experience is not in Colorado). Typically, the highest amount is allocated to the youngest child (although, as noted, this is a moot point for the OP).
 

sudofdisk

Member
Ok, then it would definitely be worth it, dollar wise, to ask for a recalculation. The question is, can she honestly pay the increased amount? If she cannot, for all practical purposes, then she may quit her job and/or try to find some other way to support herself to avoid paying you that much. It could also cause some resentments with the children (maybe not but maybe) and it could certainly cause hostility between you and mom.

How long have you actually had custody of the children? That might have an impact.

I would maybe consider trying to work out a different agreement with mom first.
It is complicated (I am sure it always is).

Currently she does not work (she never has), the $341 figure was made assuming she worked minimum wage which, I understand it, is an assumption Colorado makes as a minimum figure for income. When we made the current agreement (about two years ago) my son (15 now) had suffered trauma in the form of abuse while in mom's care and without getting into too much detail we agreed in mediation that he would go from 50/50 to every other Thursday-Sunday with mom and the rest of the time with me. We also agreed that she and he would go to therapeutic visitation at least one hour a week and potentially more as decided by his therapist and the provider of the therapeutic visitation. It was also agreed upon that in six months we would review the situation and see if it would be appropriate to modify parenting time based heavily on the advice of his therapist and the provider of the therapeutic visitation. Our daughter (16 at that time) was to be with me full time. I agreed to a lesser amount of child support to avoid court and she was claiming financial hardship as her husband had recently lost his job.

At this point the co-parenting situation went from neutral to her being openly hostile.

In that time she did not engage at all in therapeutic visitation and the relationship between him and his mother worsened to the point that he asked me if he could not go to his mother's house.

So at the six month mark we agreed to a modification of our parenting plan that had her parenting time set at one hour of therapeutic visitation with our son minimum, more at the discretion of the provider of the therapeutic visitation and his therapist. This was around March of 2019.

She hasn't seen him since and has exchanged a couple of text messages with him. He is hurt and feels abandoned by her.

So I don't think it would cause resentment from him and I don't think she could be more hostile at me. Currently the 18 year old no longer lives in my home. I have asked mom if she wants to modify child support but she does not because she knows that it will increase if we go by the guidelines and she also know that I no longer have incentive to agree to less. I have been giving my daughter half of the child support mom pays because I am not sure what else to do, I already feel like I am not doing the right thing by accepting it while she doesn't live here.

Once she turns 19 I feel like I have to modify support because our current documentation has no provision for her aging out of support.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
It is complicated (I am sure it always is).

Currently she does not work (she never has), the $341 figure was made assuming she worked minimum wage which, I understand it, is an assumption Colorado makes as a minimum figure for income. When we made the current agreement (about two years ago) my son (15 now) had suffered trauma in the form of abuse while in mom's care and without getting into too much detail we agreed in mediation that he would go from 50/50 to every other Thursday-Sunday with mom and the rest of the time with me. We also agreed that she and he would go to therapeutic visitation at least one hour a week and potentially more as decided by his therapist and the provider of the therapeutic visitation. It was also agreed upon that in six months we would review the situation and see if it would be appropriate to modify parenting time based heavily on the advice of his therapist and the provider of the therapeutic visitation. Our daughter (16 at that time) was to be with me full time. I agreed to a lesser amount of child support to avoid court and she was claiming financial hardship as her husband had recently lost his job.

At this point the co-parenting situation went from neutral to her being openly hostile.

In that time she did not engage at all in therapeutic visitation and the relationship between him and his mother worsened to the point that he asked me if he could not go to his mother's house.

So at the six month mark we agreed to a modification of our parenting plan that had her parenting time set at one hour of therapeutic visitation with our son minimum, more at the discretion of the provider of the therapeutic visitation and his therapist. This was around March of 2019.

She hasn't seen him since and has exchanged a couple of text messages with him. He is hurt and feels abandoned by her.

So I don't think it would cause resentment from him and I don't think she could be more hostile at me. Currently the 18 year old no longer lives in my home. I have asked mom if she wants to modify child support but she does not because she knows that it will increase if we go by the guidelines and she also know that I no longer have incentive to agree to less. I have been giving my daughter half of the child support mom pays because I am not sure what else to do, I already feel like I am not doing the right thing by accepting it while she doesn't live here.

Once she turns 19 I feel like I have to modify support because our current documentation has no provision for her aging out of support.
Well, just remember that since mom doesn't work, you really have no solid enforcement method to collect support from her if she decides not to pay (or her husband refuses to pay it for her) other than filing for contempt and potentially sending her to jail until she pays a purge. It sounds like the relationship between you and she and possibly she and your son has deteriorated to the point where it might not make any difference, hostility wise, if she ends up jailed. So there may be little to no reason not to go for it.
 

sudofdisk

Member
Well, just remember that since mom doesn't work, you really have no solid enforcement method to collect support from her if she decides not to pay (or her husband refuses to pay it for her) other than filing for contempt and potentially sending her to jail until she pays a purge. It sounds like the relationship between you and she and possibly she and your son has deteriorated to the point where it might not make any difference, hostility wise, if she ends up jailed. So there may be little to no reason not to go for it.
I don't see putting her in jail over it, but could I get a judgement against her in case she ever works and garnish child support in arrears?
 
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Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I don't see putting her in jail over it, but could I get a judgement against her in case she ever works and garnish child support in arrears.
No need for a separate "judgement" - that's what a child support order is.
 

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