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May I file a motion to increase child support due to a decrease in my income after a motion was granted to decrease it?
Anonymous2 views3 answers
About a month ago, my ex-husband and I were in court due to his motion filed to decrease child support. The amount went from $1450 to $675 due to the children no longer being in daycare. Since then, my income has decreased by $7700/year due to my demotion at work. I now have to cover the difference in child support along with the difference in my salary. This is a decrease of about $1,000/month. I don't know what to do. He lives with his mom and is about to get married so I don't understand...help!
If the child support is being collected through the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) contact them to see if they can file a Modification of Child Support due to your decrease in pay. If OCSE is not involved, then speak to an attorney about filing for a modification. Unless you file for a modification there is nothing the court can do to change the decision.
IF AND ONLY IF THE ORDER WAS ENTERED LESS THAN A MONTH AGO then you may be able to file a Motion to Alter or Amend due to the new facts (this would expedite the process for you).
If a "material change in circumstances" has occurred since the last court order, then you can file for modification of child support. I like the idea suggested by Attorney Koslow to file a request to amend the order if the order was entered less than 30 days prior. You should review Maryland Rule 2-535, and then discuss this law with an experienced attorney. You must file/serve your Motion To Revise Judgment within 30 days of the judgment. Do not miss the deadline, otherwise, your right pursuant to this MD law will cease.
Any significant change in circumstances entitles any party to file to modify. You should sit down with an attorney for a couple of reasons, notably we can run the guidelines for you with the new info and see what the new amount would be and thus if its worth trying, and also let you get an idea of what the attorney might be able to do. I frankly always can get more than my client would, lots of little tricks and spin we can use. A small monthly change over time can add up so its often worth having help
