child support modification without lawyers

[soundofmusicgirl]

Has anyone done a child support modification without lawyers? In this case it is for paying a little more child support. We have a court order but my husbands income will change a couple of times over the next 2-3 years and we do not want to pay the big bucks for a lawyer every time a change needs to be made.
How have you dealt with this in the past?
Husband tried to just put more money on his child support account with Family and welfare but they send him a check back with the "extra" money he paid.
What is the easiest and cheapest way to pay a little more child support for a few months before it changes to less again?

[livednlearned]

Are you looking at your state's calculators to determine the difference (and whether there even needs to be a modification)?

[worriedStepmom]

These rules change by jurisdiction.

In my state, once child support is set, it only changes after a child support modification review.  There are criteria for the review (can only happen every 3 years unless the amount should go up or down by X%). 

The modification reviews can be triggered by either parent.  In our state, this can be done by going to the Office of the Attorney General (which is in charge of collecting the cs) and filing a form.  It's fairly easy and doesn't cost anything.

Other jurisdictions may work differently.  I haven't requested a review of my child support since my divorce was final 7 years ago (although I might soon), and I'm fairly sure my ex has gotten raises or promotions since then.  I don't need the extra money, so I haven't done the review.

Unless the rules are very different in your area, a change in income for a few months is likely not enough to qualify for a child support increase ... but many kudos to your husband for trying.  It's rare to see that.

[kells76]

Hi SOMG;

Nice to hear from you again 

Is there a concern that the kids' mom will try to "nail" your DH if she ever finds out that he earned a little more for a few months? Is this a situation where he's trying to cover his legal bases?

If so, I wonder how it'd go if you phoned a lawyer, described the situation over the phone, and got ~15 min of feedback on either Yes you do need to pay more CS to cover your bases (and here's the legal way to do it without getting the check sent back), or No she's got nothing to ding you with if the income increase is temporary. Could be worth a shot just so you guys can breathe a sigh of relief knowing you're covered.

All the best;

kells76

[ForeverDad]

And just sending her extra money marked as CS outside the ordered CS process probably isn't an answer either.  The risk is that anything sent outside the child support process could be viewed by the court as a Gift, even if the payment is clearly identified as for CS.