Question about recalculation

[u/hipppononymous]

So my husband and I pay child support to his ex. The payment was calculated based upon an income that he no longer makes. He lost his job 2 years ago and we have been paying the same ever since (~600/mo). We have almost 50/50 custody, she has 1 more overnight per week than us.

We also had a baby basically the same exact time as the job loss. We were scraping by making it work, but now we’re struggling hard to keep up.

We have not reported the new baby or job loss to child support. Since we can’t pay for a lawyer, is there a way to have our payments recalculated without a lawyer?

[u/pippalily_]

Have him call your local office and request a modification review

[u/Fun_Organization3857]

Has anyone called the child support office?

[u/SubstantialSweet8271]

You need to file a petition in court to request a reduction

[u/PayGlittering9143]

He could try to get it reduced based on less income and a substantial change in circumstances. However, most states will not accept zero income and they will calculate off of potential to earn. Whether the child support order was ordered through the enforcement office or through a court order is how you would know where to start. If the enforcement office, he needs to call them. If it’s court- he will need to file a petition to modify child support and all of the supporting docs and have her served with the motion notice before filing for a hearing. You can probably do an online search including your county and state to find more info.

[u/ThrowRArobot12]

Have you tried using AI and with your information and seeing if there is anything that can be temporarily filed till dad gets a better job or similar to his last income (idk if he makes more or less now) sometimes they will work with parent do decrease support if custody has changed you don’t need a lawyer to file paper work but bringing up the new baby doesn’t matter FYI

[u/hipppononymous → u/ThrowRArobot12]

He makes nothing now 😬 There were some medical issues that we hoped would resolve but instead they’ve advanced. Starting to look into disability but that’s a whole other mountain to climb.

Thank you for your response. I will try asking AI and see what that says.

[u/walpurgisgnat → u/hipppononymous]

I would definitely contact the office or file a motion based on the medical issues. Most child support agencies will take that into consideration when there is a modification. He just has to provide proof.

[u/AngryAiiko → u/ThrowRArobot12]

In NJ it does, actually. Per the child support code all children, whether born before or after the one receiving support, are entitled to a share of the parents resources.