Divorce Grounds

NY Divorce Law - Question Concerning Child Support Change of Circumstance?

When petitioning the court for a change of circumstance due to much lower income and no money in the bank, does the court consider the fact that I own my home without a mortgage? Can they for example, force me to sell my home in order to keep paying the same very high amount? If they do consider the home in their calculations, can you tell me how it works? Thanks in advance.

Public Comments

1. They cannot force you to sell, but they certainly might not lower your responsibilities if the opposite side has good legal representation and says the house is worth so many dollars and is expensive to run. In fact, the others side can counte : when you request downward modification, they can counter your motion with one of their own and request upward modification.
2. They certainly will consider that an asset. So it seems there are two possibilities. 1. They may require you to take a line of credit against the property. 2. They may grant a temporary reduction, but require you to pay the shortage when your situation improves. Sorry...but that's the sort of compromise I've heard of. Good luck.
3. In 20 years of working with fathers, I've never seen the court take personal property into account for anything except child support arrearages. Unless you are renting it out, it isn't earning income and child support is based on earned income. To do so, it would set a precedent that can swing both ways, such as reducing child support when a custodial parent is living with someone and not contributing to the rent or house payment. Now, you do know that under federal Public Law 12, child support enforcement is obligated to represent either parent, upon request, for an increase or decrease in child support. So, go to them first and take witnesses in case they give you a hassle. You could consider taking a female with you and have her ask the initial question about modifying child support. Secondary to that, check with the Clerk of the Court about a form for filing Pro Se. Get a copy of the child support guidelines and worksheet from CSE to determine if you has cause. There needs to be at least a 20% difference in his payment. If you want to learn how to do all this go to Dads House in Yahoo Groups. There's an educational manual in the file section that can teach you what you need to know. The organization it came from is defunct due to attorneys that tried to take it over and make money from it. Take the time to learn what you can and should do. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/DadsHouse/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GiveKidsAChoice/ http://www.glennsacks.com