Child support

Were these orders made in New York? If so his first order should be based on his adjusted gross income (AGI), which is his gross income less any amounts paid for FICA (Social Security). The computation of the 2nd order uses the same figure less the amount of the child support directed in the first order. Ir is not just his base pay that is taken into consideration, but I don't know what benefits he is receiving in addition to his base pay. He can file a modification petiton and indicate that he cannot provide for himself, but the court may not be very receptive to this as your children came later and the court looks at his responsiblity to his earlier family as being his first responsiblity. I would suggest that he speak with an attorney who is familiar with interstate child support, as you indicate there are at least 2 states involved. These matters are governed by the Uniform Child Support Act (UIFSA) and they can be very complicated. Someone who is unfamiliar with this statute may not advise you correctly, so please advise anyone you consult with that this is an interstate matter. They will need to know the dates of the orders and where the orders came from. If you cannot afford to do so, I will try to give you the basics of UIFSA. This does not mean that i have created an attorney client relationship by giving you this information. First, if the orders are from another state, you cannot change them in New York. You can file a petition to modify by going to your child support enforcement unit in Watertown (Jefferson County), and tell them that you need to file an interstate modification petition in the state that the order came from. I am assuming that the mother still resides in that state. If she does not then they will need to file a petition in the state where she now resides. The petition will be sent to their state and scheduled in their court. Your husband will be allowed to appear by telephone. He may have to go to the court in Jefferson County or elsewhere to appear by telephone. His location when he appears by telephone will be controlled by the Judge in the court the petition is heard in. He should be able to appear for all of the court proceedings by telephone. He will need to have his proof available when the matter is scheduled for trial. One ground that he may be able to get the 2nd order modified under would be if the court did not take into account what he was paying on the first order when it directed he pay. I don't know enough about your case to advise you on that. He will need proof of all of his expenses, proof of his pay (and possibly yours although that should not be used to calculate his support obligation, it can be used to determine his expenses). Good luck. Thank him for me for his service to this country.