Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey

Re: Is it legal to decrease support on your own

What he is doing is "legal" in the sense that it does not violate any criminal laws. However, assuming that you have Court Ordered child support, his decrease would be a violation of that Court Order and may subject him to penalties by a Judge. If my assumption is wrong, and you do not have a Court Order, but rather payments were being made voluntarily, without any formal writing, his decrease may be perfectly legitimate. The bottom line is that whether or not he is doing something appropriate would depend on what agreements you have reached and/or whether there is a Court Order controlling the issues. Keep in mind that this advice is based purely on the little bit of information that you have given to me. There certainly may be other factors that would change my opinion. Further, no one can rely on advice from an attorney who has not been retained. Since it appears that you have not retained an attorney, you may want to contact a Family Law attorney (either me or someone else) to discuss your matter in more detail. Only then

will you be able to rely on the advice. If you call me, mention Law Guru and your first one hour consultation will be free. Good luck! Rob Gleaner

Re: Is it legal to decrease support on your own

Whether it is legal depends on many factors,including whether you have a current Court Order? If you do, then he is in violation of the Court Order. However, child support in New Jersey is calculated according to Child Support Guidelines, and he may be entitled to reduce his support (because he probably paid additional support for day care), but only with the permission of the Court (if you have a court order). I would need more information to give you a complete answer, so please feel free to call my office to schedule a free consultation. Good luck.

Re: Is it legal to decrease support on your own

If you are in northern NJ, please contact me.