Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts
Child Support Payments
If a man and woman have already made a written agreement for the amount of child support for the next 4 years (until child is 17) and the man has now changed jobs and his pay has increased, can she take him back to court to modify the child support agreement??
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Child Support Payments
Hi - My name is Len Foy and I am an attorney with Gould & Gould - we have offices in Mass. and NH.
If the increase in pay is "substantial" - then a petition or motion for modification (of child support) may be the answer.
Consultations with me are at no charge - feel free to call my office at (603) 434-3437 if you have any questions.
Regards & Good Luck -
Len Foy
Re: Child Support Payments
The answer should be No. But the family courts in Massachusetts do not necessarily respect agreements and are very arbitrary in their decisions.
Lots will depend on who is the judge, how good your lawyer is, the wording of the agreement, how clear the intentions of the party were. It will also depend on how foreseeable it was that the H would get increases in salary, or that his business would grow.
It will also depend on who drew up the agreement, the H or the wife?
If H & W did not have lawyers when they drew up the agreement there, you will see words like "intention" and "undue influence."
In a nutshell, you are about to enter the world of the Wild West Rodeo Show.
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