On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Child Support on Monday, July 29, 2013.
There are cases where a judge will have to make changes to a prior family law ruling. For example, a modification could end up being necessary for an existing child support order — due to an increase or decrease in income — or a child custody arrangement could need to be updated.
Take for example the recent case between basketball star Steve Nash and his ex-wife. The two have three children together and have been divorced since 2011. However, an appellate court said a judge will need to reconsider how much Nash pays in child support and if he should be paying beyond the kids’ “basic needs.”
In addition to the possibility of higher child support payments for the basketball star, the appellate court also upheld an earlier judge’s order that bans Nash and his ex-wife from saying negative things about each other through social media. This came after his ex-wife made a nasty comment on Twitter after their divorce was finalized. This is something both had agreed to as part of their joint custody agreement.
In general, this case goes to show that changes can sometimes be ordered after a divorce settlement is reached. While in this case the court is talking about the possibility of increasing the child support amount, in other cases a modification can end up being a decrease in the amount owed. A typical reason for a decrease would be when financial circumstances change, like when a lay-off leads to a new job with a lower income.
Any time there is the possibility of a modification, an attorney should be contacted. This attorney can help walk a father through the process.
Source: USA Today, “Steve Nash might pay more child support,” July 23, 2013
