QUESTION

I am about to lose my income, how do I ammend my divorce decree?

Asked on Feb 26th, 2013 on Divorce - Texas
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I have made over 20K in payments to my ex-wife last year. I am going to lose my full time job and will not have sustainable income after April 1. How can I get the decree changed so I can reduce or eliminate payments while I get a new job or career started?
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International Mediation Attorney serving Plano, TX
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In order to change current child support order, you must file a Motion to Modify Child Support with the Court of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction. Until you file, child support will continue at the current rate.  In order to have child support modified, you must then meet the requirements under the Texas Family Code.  Whether or not you qualify for a modification of child support is a fact/factor dependent question.
Answered on Feb 27th, 2013 at 5:05 PM

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Children Attorney serving Fort Worth, TX at The Law Office of Zoe Meigs, P.C.
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Sorry to hear about your upcoming loss of job. In order to seek a change in your child support obligation you must obtain a court order changing the support amount.  The court will not make that change until you have lost the job, and the court will want to see what unemployment benefits you may receive.  The best route is to hire an attorney now who will be able to file a pleading requesting child support modification as soon as you no longer have your full time job.  Your ex will need to be served and if she does not agree to the modification, you will need to have a hearing in front of the judge. The Attorney General of the State of Texas has a Child Support Division that employs attorneys to help establish and modify child support among other things.  You should contact the Office of the Attorney General first to see if they will help you. The support obligation will not be lowered to zero.  The minimum you will be required to pay will be based on minimum wage for a forty hour work week.  At least that is what the Tarrant County TX courts have been doing for unemployed persons.  If, however, you have some income from a part-time or side job, that will also be included in figuring support.  As mentioned above, if you receive unemployment compensation that will be included. If you do not file a suit with the court requesting that your support be modified and follow through with all the right legal steps and obtain a court order, your support obligation will continue to add up at the current rate.  You won't be able to fix it after the fact, so it is good that you are starting now to plan to deal with this.  
Answered on Feb 26th, 2013 at 8:29 PM

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