A previous post here talked about how child support disputes can emerge when one parent is not earning an income. Usually, the other parent will not be able to help but feel a bit jealous and annoyed, since a parent who does not make income does not have to pay as much child support. On the other hand, the other parent may feel he is doing his absolute best to pay support and shouldn’t be held responsible for not being able to find a job despite efforts to do so.
These sorts of cases often require legal representation, especially since one side will sometimes try to convince a judge that, despite this state’s child support guidelines, the unemployed parent should have to pay additional support that could put a real financial pinch on that parent. This usually will entail the custodial parent trying to convince the judge that a parent’s unemployment is a problem of that parent’s own making and should not be an excuse for not paying support.
Our law office represents both those who pay support and those who receive support. In this respect, we are experienced at arguing our clients’ cases when there is reason to believe that the other parent is voluntarily unemployed and thus could pay additional child support.
Making an effective argument will often involve a careful and thorough investigation, as well as a deliberate organization of an argument. Our office is also available to help a well-intentioned parent, who happens to be hard on his luck, to present evidence that his unemployment is anything but voluntary and should be given due consideration in a child support calculation.