When child support payments are determined, during the divorce process, the incomes and assets of each person are analyzed along with the number of children being supported, potential future earnings, and the amount of time the children spend with each of their parents. The payments are designed to ensure the kids have what they need when it comes to housing, clothes, healthcare, food, and other items that require financial resources.
There are times when circumstances change in the years following the dissolution of a marriage. If you believe more financial support is necessary to provide the standard of living your kids need to thrive, there may be the possibility of a support increase. Particularly if your ex-spouse has experienced an income increase.
How Support Payments Are Determined
Support payments are not an automatic part of a divorce settlement when parents end a marriage. After all there are plenty of situations in which parents are sharing custody and the income of each parent is about the same. But support payments will likely be ordered if one of the parents is a primary caregiver and physical custody is not equally divided.
Additionally, if one parent has an income that is substantially higher than the income of the other, that could also lead to child support payments. Because of this, it may be possible to seek a modification and have your child support payments increased if your spouse is now earning a lot more money than they were when a child support payment amount was originally awarded.
Healthcare Expenses and Fixed Fees
There are also situations in which not only the income of the parent paying support has increased but the needs of the parent receiving the funds have increased as well. For example, medical expenses can put a lot of strain on a family budget.
Some of the expenses that could be used to strengthen your argument for increased support:
- Childcare expenses have increased.
- Medical costs are more than the primary custodian can afford.
- Added extracurricular activities or tuition expenses.
- Agreed upon standard of living can’t be maintained on current support amount.
Creating a list of specific budgetary items can be helpful. So if you are seeking more for extracurriculars, list the amount of money being spent on sports, summer camps, school tuition, and music lessons.
If you live in the Tampa area and believe your spouse should be paying you more in child support, reach out to a Tampa family lawyer. Attorneys who work on divorce cases and child support modification filings every day understand what is possible.
Have circumstances changed and you need more money to support your family?
