Largo Child Support Modification Lawyer
A lot can change in a year or two. Changes in life circumstances, health, and employment are common. One in four Americans visited the Emergency Room of a hospital last year, according to Gallup. One in five Americans feared that they would lose their job in the next 12 months, according to another Gallup poll. A fast paced, ever-changing society calls for a system of child support orders that can be modified to reflect these life changes. When the original support modification was created, you may have been working at a high paying job earning a decent, consistent salary. Now, years later, you may have lost that job and have not been able to replace it, contact our Largo child support modification lawyers today.
When a Modification is in Order
Child support is a crucial aid for your child, and goes to support their education, housing, food, clothing, medicine, healthcare, toys, and much more. Raising a child is costly, and single parents who rely on child support have to do it on much less than a household with two parents. As the custodial parent, you know this struggle. It only gets more difficult as circumstances change, such as you or your child coming down with a medical condition, either temporary or permanent, or through the loss of a job. As the parent who pays for child support, you may also be under financial strain to meet your court ordered commitment. Failing to do so could put your driver’s license, your employment, and your professional license at risk. You may need to have an order modified if you are unable to pay to keep from getting in trouble with the law. Modifying a child support order may be necessary in either case—as a custodial parent or as a non custodial parent. Florida family courts may accept a modification for any of the following three most common requests:
- Change in Income: Child support is calculated, in part, by both parents’ incomes and wealth. If the custodial parent or paying parent loses a job, gets demoted, or their hours are cut short for the foreseeable future, a modification may be in order. Or, either parent may have been promoted, gotten a raise, or been hired at a higher paying job. Remember, such a change in income must be substantial and long-lasting.
- Child Care: Daycare is extremely expensive in the U.S., which is still one of the only developed nations that do not provide any type of child care services. Paying for childcare can take half of someone’s full time salary in Florida, and when a mother has to go back to work, she may need to make a modification to adjust for the extra cost of childcare.
- Healthcare Change: If either parent gets sick, or the child gets sick, a support modification may be necessary to pay for the expenses. As the paying parent, their ability to provide becomes diminished. As the child or the custodial parent, their need for extra support increases.
A Largo Child Support Modification Lawyer Can Help
Whether you are the paying parent or the custodial parent, such a substantial and unanticipated change would call for a modification of the child support order, and a Largo attorney with Cairns Law, P.A. can help you take the first steps today. Give us a call at 727-683-1472.
