Hello i am hoping for a little help. My ex husband got out of the military(just didnt want to be in) this last September and is now going to school full time and working part time for 15 an hour at a dealership. Our divorce was non contested and we agreed on 700.00 a month for our one daughter. He now has hired a lawyer to modify his child support since he no longer is in the military telling me i will only be getting just over 200 now. My question is should i get a lawyer now? He sees her once every 6 months but that is far off from what the decree says so idk if i should try and change visitation or what. I have primary physical custody. 

IMO-He has every right to get the lawyer to change is Child support because he is not making the money like he was before. To me with getting a lawyer just to keep the same amount of money is pointless if he can not pay that amount now because he doesnt make that much. and if he is going through a lawyer just to change that part and nothing else shows to me that he is not trying to get out of paying but to say hey can't afford that anymore because of different jobs and this is what I can do now or what they say I have to pay. I would not change visitation just because he changed jobs and so the Child support has to change. To me that is just getting back at him and in the long run he doesnt help out no one. 

Military brat is right. Unfourtuantlly you have to understand you are only entitled to a percentage for child support. I know it is a blow to you finacially if he gets it lowered. But just like everythinh in life i promise you will adjust with time.
If you take away anytime from a child to parent. Then later in life your child will resent you no matter what.
Good luck. But please dont be upset think of it this way, he can only pay what he can afford. And if he is paying thats way beyyer yhan some get whom recieve nothing. 

Child support is based on income. If he is getting an attorney than the state will most likely take over enforcing the child support. They will do a child support worksheet to determine what percentage each parent is responsible for supporting the child. In most states, if you don't work, they will list your income as minimum wage. They will determine what his obligation is, sometimes it will be higher then his income will allow and they will tell him too bad get a second job but I can tell you it will DEFF. not be the 700 a month you agreed on and no judge will uphold that order if he can't afford it. 

And another thing, child support and visitation are two separate issues. You cannot not let him see your child if he isn't paying. I've been in a custody battle for YEARS now and if you get a lawyer and try to get visitation changed right when he is requesting child support be drastically lowered the judge is going to look at you as a vindictive mother. 

Dolls right, two seperate issues. And using one issue to control the other is harsh. I know of a few fathers whom have threwn their hands up all together and walked away. Because they couldnt afford to pay child support in the amount the other parent wanted. So the child suffered. I know i know if they dont ever see the other parent then,they have no clue what they are missing. I hear this all,the,time. But really what might not kick u in the head today will kick u a million times harder when the hormones of that child kick in. And then no matter what u say or do that child resents u.
Try talking to your ex first and come to a new agreement with out courts. See if you can do mediation. That way you dont get upset and he doesnt feel attacked. Maybe u two can work it,out that way. 

In the long run he's shooting himself in the foot by getting a lawyer and having the courts establish child support because they won't be lenient with him because he wants to go to school. The judge will look at it very black and white, he helped to create this child and is responsible in raising her. They won't say "oh you want to go to school? Ok just pay X amount of child support whenever you can". They will establish an order that will be reviewed by the state every few years, the support obligation is subject to increase when the child turns 6, 12, and 16. The older the kid gets the more expensive it is to support her.

Personally, I would let him take it to court then he won't be able to dip out on paying if he decides, again, that he can't afford it. If the state is enforcing your child support then they will go after him if he doesn't pay and some states will suspend your license and even throw you in jail if you don't pay. They will take your tax return and everything. 

Depends wich state your in. Some states require mediation first. And if you refuse mediation it gpes against you.
I hadnt heard of any state doing its own reviews for support. That is on the parent not the state.
I deal with lots of legal issues and i have yet seen any state but ga do that.
the courts do allow for young parents to go back to school. If it is a trade school type. And will lower or suspend support fir six months.
Now that casr happened in tx. And your in ks. But that couple also did mediation. And the mother full supports for 6 months then after that father will assist mother with school. The couple are 20 and 21 by the way. 

I have a child support order set up here in KS and we just got letters last year saying the case was brought up for review and it was our choice weather or not we wanted it done. Basically the letter was saying that if the review is done there is a possibility that the order amount could be lowered. I requested the review because my ex was getting big credits for providing insurance and dental for our kids and also for filing taxes on our son. 3 years ago he filed when he wasn't supposed to so the IRS audited him and he had to pay it back and now cannot file EIC for 10 years. He's also NEVER provided any insurance for our kids. We actually got a letter in the mail Monday saying it was referred to a lawyer to change the order and also bring him to court because he is in arrears over 4,000. He figured since he has been making his regular monthly payments the past year that he was ok to have that negative balance but apparently not. 

Oh, and we never had mediation either. We have to go to mediation to deal with visitation or if either of us move or want the custody agreement changed but we've never had mediation for child support. The state of Kansas enforces it so their lawyers deal with it if there is an issue that the courts need to address. 

Arkansas has a tea program wich collects your cs for you. Dont do it, dont let state collect. They always mess up.
Anyways they make one or other pay back if you recieve it.
If you can get your support on your own do it. Otherwise for example ok, if you get state help they base on your income. Then you marry, what ever they gave you they try and collect back if they cant get from other parent.
Also, some states are requiring dna now. Wich i love. Because, a woman knows she is the mother. But man can deny. Males both people accountable. 

...I feel like I'm constantly disagreeing with you tmmundy2 but I've never seen the state come after the mother if she's collecting state benefits. 8 years ago when I first split from my ex we left with NOTHING, I was approved for medical for the kids and food stamps and he was obligated to pay that back to the state of Kansas. Even when I worked I was never ordered to pay it, that was 8 years ago and he JUST paid that back less than 3 months ago.
You are right about the state messing up, it also takes FOREVER for them to enforce your order if he isn't paying. There are loopholes to paying and these guys figure them out real quick and your child support can be tied up for years! 

Oh i am sorry. I didnt think we were disagreeing. I am sorry i honestly didnt want to hurt your feelings in anyway.
in a lot of ways we were agreeing, just using diff wording. I do apologize if i hurt,your feelings at all. 

lol no no no I didn't want you to be like "this b**** is commenting everytime I post and saying I'm wrong" 

Oh no haha i really enjoy when someone else yalks and has there own views. I really enjoyed talking with you. 

lol well good! :) 

Anytime either parent wants to try and have something changed, both parties need attorneys. Mainly to protect your rights. They will do a complete financial picture of both parents and determine the correct amount of child support. It might not be $700, but it will be quite a bit more than $200. Protect your interests! 

both parties do not need attornies. In fact, if he has an attorney that is representing a child support case and she doesn't, his attorney is basically representing both of them! When there is a party in a case that isn't represented the attorney handling the case has a special set of rules to follow that they normally wouldn't if both parties had attornies...I only know this bc after three years in a custody and child support battle I fired my attorney and he emailed me all the state laws and guidelines the father's attorney now had to follow and if she didn't then I could report her to Moral State Board. 

Thanks for your responses. I never said he needs to pay 700 or that i don't think it should be lowered to his income but was just asking if i should get a lawyer or just go ahead and fight it myself. I am sure the state will lower it but in the same token how much they lower it is where i am going to get pissy. Getting 700 a month for 4 years and then him up and saying he just wants to get out of the military move to saint louis and go to school full time... My daughter still needs to be provided for. And me taking time seeing her away from him....not happening!! In fact i offered to pay the asshat 400 back(so 300 a month) if he would commit to seeing her 1 weekend a month! I have never held her from him infact i waste more energy trying to push her on him because she cares for him so much but his priorities are not of her. If he has enough money to go pay a lawyer thousands of dollars but not enough money to pay me child support...come on really. So i might as well fight back, my daughter is entitled to a father and if he doesn't want to buck up and be one then he can pay up. I would also like to know if they can count his GI bill in income..for hime saying he only makes 1000 income a month now working part time sounds awfully pitiful but he gets his 1500 a month from GI bill...now I KNOW that is non taxable yada yada BUT depending on the courts they count BAH and the GI bill gives you BAH and no they may not be able to take directly from his GI bill but i would like to know if they can at least count it in his income and take a larger percentage from his gross 1,000 since it is all disposable. 

if he doesn't put it on the worksheet it is worth bringing up to the judge. Just remember you are walking a thin line here. If he gets an attorney they are going to paint him into this veteran that served his time and is now trying to better his future by going to collage and he can only do so much. If you walk in there with the slightest of an attitude the lawyer and judge will eat you alive! I'm only telling you this because I've been living through it for almost 4 years now. My personal advice to you would be if he has a lawyer then you should look into getting a lawyer to. If he's filing in STL then the child support order will be established there, where he lives which means if there are issues in the future you will be responsible to travel to STL from wherever you live and also retain an attorney from STL. If you live in KS and are staying in KS I would suggest contacting Child Support Enforcement and getting the ball rolling to establish a child support order here. If he has to travel 6 hours for court he is most likely not going to try to go back and forth for every little issue, which has been my experience since my ex lives in Ohio and I am here in Kansas.
When my husband was stationed to Knox my ex tried the stunt of filing a motion thinking I wouldn't show up and he would get what he wanted but I had an attorney retained here and he was the one that didn't end up showing up!

No one was accusing you of anything just trying to show you everything to expect...bottom line is it doesn't matter what you think he should pay for child support or what you're used to getting. The state has guidelines set up and everyone has to follow them and all they are interested in is the black and white matters not that he just "decided to leave the army and go to school". I can tell you, if you get an order through KS, if he is making the money you say than most likely your order will be around $202 a month for your daughter. That can change a bit, either higher or lower, based on who files taxes on her and who provides medical and dental for her. 

I was looking on google and found this


TA, GI Bill, ACF and other educational benefits are NOT considered income.
Just like BAH, BAS, FSA is not considered income.
These are incentives and supplements designed to make the average salary of today's soldier more attractive to the public.
They cannot be held against you in cases of child support, taxable income, mandatory disclosure in bank or loan requests, etc...
You'd be amazed at how many soldiers (current and former) I get in my office every month asking these questions. lol. 

In PA they count BAH and BAS as part of your income. The mediator for my husband during their child support meeting said that is was part of his income, because it's basically rent and food for your family, which would include his daughter if she lived with us.

Fortunately his ex told them she didn't want it included, because she saw 700/month as too much for child support. Thankfully the two are very civil and work together cost wise on a lot of things, so she lowered it a lot. 

Fortunately his ex told them she didn't want it included, because she saw 700/month as too much for child support. Thankfully the two are very civil and work together cost wise on a lot of things, so she lowered it a lot

Bravo. That is what happens when 2 mature adults make child support about the children and not about the relationship between the parents. I have seen people try to break the back of the parent who is paying because they want revenge. All that will happen is that person will get frustrated, think their best isn't good enough, and then give up on paying completely. It's sad. 

Doll is right- The GI Bill is not income and wont be counted as one. Because not all Soldier's get the GI Bill. and some have it and dont even know about it. It is one of those things if you sign up for the military or reenlist and put it in your contract then you have it. 

Our child support already goes through the state. It gets collected by Missouri and then Kansas sends it to me. I took care of that a long time ago to make sure all pay,nets were recorded. I am just not looking forward to driving to Missouri for all of this now:/