Debunking More Child Support Myths: Part Three
If you haven’t read them yet, check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our Debunking Child Support Myths Series. In this Part 3, we’re covering several more child support myths. This week the theme is more of a Catch-All, a lot of topics from all over the place. If you have a myth you want us to explore, email us at cvillarreal@derrlaw.com. Now, on to the debunking!
Myth 1: MY EX AGREED NOT TO ASK ME FOR MORE SUPPORT.
Child support is always open to change following a change in circumstances of the parents to ensure the child’s needs are met. This is why the Court cannot honor any agreement that prevents a request for more child support. It may not always be in the child’s best interests.
Some examples of changes that might prompt a change in child support include changes in :
- child’s placement schedule
- a parent’s employment or income, and
- the cost of health insurance for a child.
Myth 2: Myth #10: I WILL NEVER PAY CHILD SUPPORT BECAUSE MY EX GOT MORE THAN HALF OF THE PROPERTY.
As explained above, child support payment cannot be included in any deal with other financial assets. The Court will not honor them. A parent may ask the court for support if there are financial changes. For example, because of a layoff, a parent may need more support to avoid eviction.
Property division in a court agreement is also final, and cannot be changed. Thus even if a Court did allow such an agreement (which they will not), you’d be unable to change property division to enforce it.
Myth 3: If I lose my job and can’t pay my support I don’t have to pay.
When your income changes or your employment changes you have to change your order. Court’s can not go back in time and change an order – even if there is a good reason (your income or employment status changes). You must work on changing the current order to be in align with your current financial circumstances immediately.
There’s a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to child support. By Attorney Cassel Villarreal.
Lisa Derr
Lisa Derr is an experienced Divorce and Family Mediator with three offices in east central Wisconsin. She started the family mediation practice in 1995. Lisa earned her BA in psychology from the University of Wisconsin in 1984 in four years despite a serious car accident that involved a 2-month hospital stay. She began practicing law in 1987. For the first 8 years of her career, Lisa litigated personal injury and divorce cases. But she was frustrated with the tremendous financial and emotional cost of divorce trials. Contested hearings inhibited reconciliation and healing for thewhole family. She started the Beaver Dam divorce mediation practice in 1995 and with her partner, Cassel Villarreal, expanded to Oshkosh and West Bend ten years later.