Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
Can I have my child support lowered or dropped?
The mom and I have shared custody, we both alternate claiming taxes, and our child is starting school this year so we had to come to an agreement as to where she will go. I had my lawyer draw up a draft for her. I was being the reasonable one and my lawyer also said that I was giving up alot just to make peace, also my lawyer is a fill in judge in the same court that the mom and I have to go to, so I tend to take her advise. My lawyer added to the draft that the mom would not re-file for more support because we had just been for that a year ago which it would not go up anyway because I am still overpaying according to the last court ordered child support. Mom stated that she wanted to be able to claim our child on taxes every year, and i disagreed. then she offered to drop the support if i let her file every year. I agreed, then she changed her mind the next day but I have her on tape saying she dosen't want support. Could I use it in court against her to get the support lowered. The court does allow recorded conversations. She has said it to me more than 20 times that she dosen't want support but when it is brought up in court she dosen't follow through. I have not brought the tapes to court because I haven't pushed the issue.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Can I have my child support lowered or dropped?
Getting your tape recordings into evidence would likely be tricky under the circumstances you've described. Further, they (and other evidence of her desire for support or lack thereof) are likely irrelevant. The state will not allow parents to conspire against their children when it comes to support. You can tinker with the Guideline a bit, but you cannot do much more.
Re: Can I have my child support lowered or dropped?
What the mother allegedly stated whether on tape or not as to her preferences for child support is irrelevant regarding your support obligation which relates to the best interests of the subject child(ren) rather than the mother.
What counts in terms of how much support you should be paying is what the Virginia Child Support Guidelines found at Va. Code Sec. 20-108.2 say your obligation should be after factoring in to the calculations the relevant information required for this determination.
This is what counts and what the court will rely on in making a determination regarding your support obligation and not the yammerings of the mother which apparently change from month to month.
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