Can’t Afford Child Support In The Bronx?

New York law orders fathers (well, mostly fathers) to pay child support for good reasons. Children need to be cared for, and since it takes two to make one, both parents should be responsible for their well-being. On top of those legal obligations, we are raised with social pressures to do whatever we can to provide for children, even sacrificing our own well-being to do so, and to take responsibility for our actions, even for our errors.

As a result, you might very well be feeling guilty (or feeling guilty about not feeling guilty!) about being unable to make those child support payments consistently. But that guilt can be a shackle, one that burdens too many men in the Bronx. You might already be pushing yourself too hard to try to pay, and too many fathers end up facing fines or jail for being unable to, or turn to desperate or even criminal means to pay and care for their own families. You do not need to make their mistakes. The law is meant to have you pay only what you can afford, so there is no shame in standing up for your needs and obligations. By presenting your situation to the Family Court with the help of an attorney, you are not shirking a responsibility; you are responsibly standing up for yourself and those you love.

When Can You Reduce Or Remove Child Support Obligations?

Tough times bring tough decisions. You may have been struggling with child support for years, or have just recently realized how bad your current situation in the Bronx is. But the law recognizes several situations in which it is possible to get child support obligations removed or reduced with the help of an attorney who understands your circumstances.

• Child Is Emancipated
  You only have to pay child support while the child is actually being cared for and looked after by the other parent. If the child legally cuts ties with their other parent, choosing to emancipate themselves financially, your obligations are cut as well. This happens automatically when they turn 21, but can happen earlier, for example, if the child joins the military.

• Custody Arrangement Changes
  If your ex no longer has custody of the child you share, your child support payments may no longer be required. Whether this is because YOU have recovered partial or full custody, or they have lost custody for some other reason, the court needs to be brought up to speed so it can adjust the obligations you owe accordingly.

• A Change In Financial Situations
  While changing incomes are unlikely to be sufficient to get a child support order rescinded, significant enough changes can certainly be cause for a modification. Notably, if either income has changed by 15% or more, you can request a modification accordingly. This opportunity also applies if there has been a more dramatic change, such as the loss of a job, although it will need to be supported by evidence.

• Imprisonment
  We certainly hope you will never have to face the reality of life in prison, but if, for any reason, you are incarcerated, there is one silver lining. Being in prison absolves you of your child support obligations for the duration of your sentence.

Jeffrey Johnson | Helping families and parents through tough times in the Bronx and throughout NYC.

Do you really want to be the kind of guy who gets taken advantage of by a mother in the Bronx with no interest in you other than the money you can bring? Will you let a past mistake keep you from flourishing, or from caring for the family you are trying to build?

You don’t have to be either. With a little help from a family law lawyer like Jeffrey Johnson, you can stand up for your needs and seek a downward modification of your child support obligations.

Just call (718) 981-6650 or tell us about your situation online, and we’ll help you stand up for yourself and your loved ones in these hard times.