Can I Stop Paying Child Support if I Lose My Job?
Losing your job when you have child support to pay can be really scary. You want your kids to be cared for, but you might be scared about how you will be able to afford to pay your child support each month and take care of yourself. The law is aware that these things can happen, and there are allowances that are made to ensure that you are not asked to provide child support payments if you do not have a job.
What Happens if I Can’t Make Child Support Payments After Losing Job?
In most states, you will need to reach out to the courts and ask for a modification of your divorce order now that you have lost your job. This can take some time, so there are other things that you will need to do in the meantime since you will be missing child support payments. The more proactive that you can be, the better since missed child support payments can really add up over time and will be required to be paid back later unless you can never work again.
You will have to first show that your working situation has changed in a significant way. If you still have income from another job, as well as the job that you have lost, you will still be asked to pay child support in most cases. However, if you have no income at all, you cannot be compelled to pay child support until you again have employment.
You will need to attempt to pay your child support if you can until the court can change your court-ordered child support, but you should reach out to your lawyer for guidance. Your lawyer can help you to navigate this process, and they can help explain to you what your options are now that you have lost your job. If you have found another job and were only unemployed for a few months, you will likely have to catch up on the missed child support payments through wage garnishment going forward.
If you are never able to work again due to an injury or another change of circumstances, you will need to make sure that your child support agreement is changed to reflect this permanent alteration in your employment status. Wage garnishment is one of the most common ways to collect child support payments, and if you are not working, you cannot be forced to pay back child support through this means.
Child Support Orders Must be Changed if you Can No Longer Work
If you have found yourself in a situation where you cannot pay child support any longer, you need to be sure that you reach out to your lawyer right away. The more child support payments that you miss while you are out of work, the more money you will have to pay back through wage garnishment over time. The team at Jabro Law Group can help you to modify your child support orders if you are no longer able to work.
