Have you recently settled a divorce with your former spouse and now are owed child support due to the court judgement? If so, there are some things that you should keep in mind about how child support works so that you do not make mistakes along the way.
Always Accept Payments In Dollars
When you have expenses for a child, it can be very tempting to accept support payments in methods other than cash. For example, you may have some home improvements that need to be made that you aren't capable of doing yourself. Your child's other parent may be able to do the handiwork for you instead of providing child support, which will save you money since you won't have to hire a professional and save them the cash since they won't have to pay child support. Know that a family court won't recognize this form of trade as a child support payment. If there is ever a dispute in the future about missing payments, a judge will see this trade as a missed payment.
Always Request Documented Payments
It is important that every child support payment is documented so that there is no dispute about when payments were made. The best way to do this is by requesting that each payment is made with a check. A check helps put a date on when the payment was received, how much money was given, and when you deposited the money in your account. If your former spouse is trying to backdate a check to make it look like they paid on time, you can reject the check and have them write a new one.
As the person receiving the child support payment, you'll need to avoid any potential cash payments that are made to you. Accepting cash may seem easier and prevent an unnecessary trip to the bank, but the documentation can help avoid any potential questions about payments down the road if they come up.
Always Go Through Family Court To Make Payment Adjustments
Changes in child support cannot simply be mutually decided between you and your former spouse. It is something that you must make a formal appeal for and have a judge make a final decision on. This is to ensure that you are receiving a child support payment that the court sees as fair and to guard against one person taking advantage of the other's generosity.
Reach out to a child support lawyer if you need help going to court to modify your child support payment.
Share8 August 2019
Are you going through a divorce? Do you have kids? If so, do you know how to handle the many struggles you will face when it comes to your kids? Even if you and your spouse can get through the divorce while agreeing on the custody arrangements, there will be struggles that you may not have planned for. For example, who will handle the educational, medical or other decisions about the kids? Is it something that you will decide together, or will one parent make the decision and the other one agree? My site contains several tips that can help you plan for the struggles you will go through in the future and make the situation a little easier for your entire family.