Top ten reasons why your New Jersey child support calculations are wrong

 

1. You didn't have an attorney

When you go to court without an attorney, it seems like anything that can go wrong, will. Not that getting a New Jersey child support attorney will make everything work in your favor, but your chances of success will go up dramatically. Attorneys know how to get things done the right way, spot mistakes and put the fear of appeal into judges. They also don't take anything from hearing officers who think that they know everything.

2. The wrong numbers were used from the start

There's an old say, “garbage in, garbage out”. If you start with the wrong numbers, you will always have wrong numbers in your case until they are fixed.

3. Its been a long time since they were calculated

Besides all of the circumstances that may have changed in your life, the child support guidelines themselves have changed in New Jersey. Thus, if your calculations are outdated, so is your child support.

4. Visitation is not taken into account

Visitation impacts child support. Sometimes, this is not taken into account. Other times, the change in visitation has not resulted in a change in child support. As a result, the child support calculation is wrong.

5. As income changes, so should child support

Income changes throughout the years. For many of us, it keeps going up. In this economy however, it goes down to zero for some. Regardless, the change in income for both parties will impact the child support calculation.

6. New children

New children by either party should impact the child support calculations. If you have not gone back to court to account for this, then the child support amount is wrong.

7. Termination of alimony

Alimony is used to calculated child support. When it ends, child support needs to be recalculated. Otherwise, it will be likely be way off for quite some time.

8. Children away at college

You shouldn't have to pay for a child to live at college and at home at the same time since it is physically impossible. A motion must be filed to correct this double payment.

9 Union dues are not accounted for

Union dues are often over looked. Sometimes people do not have a union job when child support is first calculated but they later get a union job. Other people leave a union job for a non-union job. Either way, union dues should be accounted for in calculating child support.

10. Mandatory retirement contributions

Closely related to the issue of union dues is the issue of mandatory retirement contributions. Voluntary contributions do not have to be taken into account but mandatory contributions must be. Again, changes in jobs usually impact this issue.

While there are other issues that can impact child support calculations, those are my top ten that I have seen in my practice. One not mentioned is when there is no court order and the child support amount is just whatever the parties agree to. Of course, this number will clearly be off in one side's favor or the other.

Jef Henninger, Esq. Is a New Jersey family law attorney with a concentration on divorce and child support related issues. For more information visit

http://www.newbrunswickdivorceattorney.com