When your marriage ends, the court will order you to pay child support for your children. To have an easy time you need to do several things:
Get an attorney
This is important as you need someone by your side who will represent you in court and safeguard your financial interests so that you don’t pay more child support than necessary.
The attorney will also ensure that you get enough time with your children.
For the best experience, hire experienced child support lawyers that know what they are doing. Don’t get divorce or child support advice from Google or your friend in the office—work with an expert that knows what they are doing.
Don’t involve the kids.
When going through a divorce, it’s normal to be bitter, and you might be tempted to drag the kids with you so that they can understand the sacrifices you are making and how their other parent isn’t contributing enough. You shouldn’t do this.
Let the kids be kids, and don’t let them even know the amount of money you have agreed on their child support.
Pay child support on time.
For your kids to continue leading a good life and avoid being on the wrong side of the law, always pay your child support on time.
You might have friends that might advise you to stop paying child support, but you shouldn’t do this as it comes with plenty of repercussions such as garnished checks, loss of driver’s license, forfeited tax returns, and even jail time.
Don’t strain yourself too much.
As much as you should pay your child support on time, you shouldn’t strain yourself if the situation doesn’t allow it. For example, if you get demoted, or your business isn’t doing too well, don’t strain yourself by making the payments.
Instead, talk to your attorney and file a petition in court to get the child support payments reduced. If you have enough proof that you aren’t making as much money as you used to, the court won’t have a problem with you paying less child support payments.
Some people make side handshake deals with their partners when things get thick, but you shouldn’t do this. Go to court and let everyone know what is going on.
Keep the relevant records.
Whenever you make a payment, keep the receipts with you. You also should keep the records of the clothes bought, doctor visits made, and anything paid for.
The reason for this is to have proof of the payments, should you need to renegotiate your child support payments.
You also have proof should your ex-spouse say that you don’t make the agreed amounts.
Let your ex-spouse know what is going on.
Most people often hide their financial situations from their ex-spouses because they don’t want them to know what is happening. They are often secretive when their financial situation is in their favor. So, they will hide when they get a promotion or bonus.
This is wrong as it’s a matter of time before your ex knows about it and presents the issue in court.
To avoid paying back child support when the additional income is revealed in court, let your ex-spouse know about it beforehand and ask them what they would like you to do with the amount.
Due to your transparency, your spouse might even ask you to keep the amount without paying for child support.
Other than your ex-partner, the other people you should notify about your situation are your divorce lawyers Fairfax VA.