How Does Job Loss Affect Child Support?

Losing a job can be an extremely stressful, emotionally trying experience, especially if you have custody or your children or pay child support. If you are responsible for paying child support and have recently become unemployed, you may be wondering how you will meet your support responsibility.

Here’s an overview of what you should know.

Job loss when paying child support

Even if you are unemployed, you are still required to pay child support. If you miss any of your payments due to an inability to pay, you will still be required to make those payments eventually, and possibly with interest. You could also face a potential contempt of court charge, which could result in fines or jail time in severe circumstances.

Therefore, if you become unemployed, you should immediately file for unemployment benefits if eligible. The unemployment office will automatically deduct child support from unemployment benefits.

But if you are not eligible for benefits, you should work with the family court and the other parent. You may be able to modify your child support arrangement at least temporarily to lower the amount you pay to reflect your new earning circumstances. But if you take a new job, you should expect to have a slight increase in your child support payments over a period of time to make up for the payments you had to miss.

Remember: child support is the right of the child, not the recipient parent. You will not be able to entirely avoid this obligation if you are tasked with paying it.

For more information about factors affecting child support arrangements, contact an experienced Long Island divorce lawyer at Bryan L. Salamone & Associates.