Legal Question in Family Law in California
I have a question regarding the process for recalculating my spousal and child support obligation. I am self-employed with a fluctuating income (and since the economic downturn, a declining income); During mediation, my former spouse insisted on an average of the last three years net income to calculate the amount of support I owed (two of those years being pre-economic downturn). The divorce agreement went into effect on January 1st. Sense then, my income has continued to be an average of $3,000 less per month than the amount we calculated the support agreement from. The result is that I have been scraping to honor my support obligation, but am falling behind on my tax withholding. I already have a significant back tax problem (to the tune of 90 grand) that I am working with a tax attorney to resolve, but just did the math for my upcoming estimated tax payment and found that I am $4,500 shy of where I should be. Am I able to get my support obligation recalculated based on a more current financial picture? If so, how would I initiate that process. (I should add that we collaboratively mediated the current Marital Settlement Agreement, so I have not personally dealth with the court to date.)
2 Answers from Attorneys
If support is modifiable as defined in your settlement agreement, the appropriate step is to return to court on a motion to request a downward modification of the support. Its very important that you meet with a skilled family law attorney to review your financial situation to determine if returning to court would be in your best interests.
The prior answer is correct. Your next step should be to meet with a family law attorney to review the settlement agreement and your facts to determine whether a downward modification of support is available.
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