Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

In a ruling yesterday, I was ordered to pay a certain amount of child support. I have been given 50/50 custody, but the child support order was based on my working 20 hours of overtime each week at my job based on my last years tax return, and also my National Guard pay, or which I have since retired out of. The purpose of working all the overtime last year, and retiring out of the National Guard, was to be prepared to take my son 50% of the time. Now I'm locked into a situation where because of amount of support I will have to pay, I cannot take my son 50% of the time, because I will have to work to make the support payment. I would have been fine if the judge had computed child support based on a 40 hour work week. In effect, he's ordering me to work 60 hours a week? Do I have any recourse? This is ridiculous.


Asked on 9/05/13, 7:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
James Thomas Kinder Law Office of James Thomas Kinder

Good afternoon and thank you for posting your question.

My first question to you would be: "When was the hearing held and how long did it take for the Order of the Court to be issued?" Sometimes there can be quite a lag time in between both, and circumstances change during that time period.

If your cirucmstances have changed since the time of the hearing, then I would suggest you file for a Modification of the Child Support Order alleging a material chnage in circumstancesbetween the date of the hearing and the date of the order. It appears as though the order was based upon information YOU provided to the Court. You may wish to consult with a Family Law Attorney to discuss your options. Your options, of course, would be dependednt on numerous factors -- too numerous to list here. I hope this helps. Best of luck to you.

Read more
Answered on 9/19/13, 10:58 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in Massachusetts