If you currently pay child support following your divorce, one of the things you should know is that you may have to pay more if your job begins to pay you more. Whether you’ve received a large bonus and are now on a bonus structure at work or you had a major promotion, you could be on the hook for a larger proportion of your income when you pay support.
If you have a large increase in your income, the other parent can seek a child support modification to request a larger share. You can also report the changes if you want to make sure your support payments keep up with changes in your income.
Child support can change to reflect your income
In many cases, child support can be changed to reflect your income. How much it will change will depend on a few different factors such as how many children you have, how much your income has fluctuated, your child’s needs and your necessities.
Should you start paying more child support right away?
Sometimes, people who pay child support can come to an agreement with the other parent without involving the court, but this isn’t usually the way you should handle an increase in pay. It is better if you are able to go to the court to discuss the modification. Sometimes, the court may agree that an increase isn’t necessary or may be satisfied with an increase that you and the other parent agree to.
Generally speaking, you shouldn’t ever make changes to your child support payments until those changes are supported by the legal changes in your support order. If you want to pay more before then, you can, but it isn’t an obligation.
What should you do if your pay went up but you can’t afford more?
If the other parent takes you to court, make sure you have evidence of your new pay along with the expenses you currently have to handle. You could ask to have the support amount stay the same or be reduced if you have expenses that you cannot reduce or that negatively influence the true value of your earnings.