A recent trend of child support delinquencies is increasing. This trend is to be expected, especially when you consider the current state of the economy and the ever increasing unemployment rates in our country. Not all “deadbeat Dads,” as the article calls them, are intentionally avoiding paying their support payments. A large portion of these individuals are men that had high paying jobs when they got divorced, but now that they’ve been laid off, they find themselves unable to keep up with the support they are legally obligated to pay.

The article explains that if the client can afford to hire an attorney, they can go to court and ask a judge to reduce child support payments. Most reduction requests are worked out through the courts and mothers often understand when dads truly are struggling. Since many custody/visitation requests are handled through mediation which affect the amount of the child support obligation, the type of relationship the ex-spouses have can be extremely important in modifying child support. Cooperation and understanding can become valuable assets in the modification/reduction of child support payments.

The State of California sets guidelines to help determine how much child support should be paid. These guidelines use your whole income — wages, government benefits, investment income, self employment income and other types of income, regardless of whether it is taxed or not. Once they’ve been set, child support payments can be modified to account for changes in custody, changes in either parent’s finances, or changes in the children’s needs.

Wallin & Klarich represents custodial and non-custodial spouses in all areas of child support law. With sixteen attorneys in five Southern California counties, we can be there when you need us, wherever you are. For a consultation with an experienced California child support lawyer, call us at 1-888-749-7428 or fill out the online consultation form to the right.

Source:http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/091409/new_492939444.shtml