For many single parents, paying the bills and making ends meet are a struggle. When you factor in court-ordered child support, your money has to stretch even farther.
Although you and your Durham divorce lawyer pored over your financial information to help figure out how much child support you’d have to pay, you’re not alone if your circumstances have changed drastically since then.
Is it Possible to Change Your Child Support in North Carolina?
Every case is unique, and only your lawyer can give you legal advice that corresponds to yours. While it is possible to change the amount you pay in child support, you’ll need your ex to give his or her consent or you’ll need a judge to review the case. Either way, you will still need to go to court to change your child support so that it can be made official.
Budgeting for Child Support
In some cases, a simple rearrangement of your household budget can make child support more bearable. However, it’s not always possible; rather than taking a second job just to meet your child support obligations, you may need to ask your lawyer to revisit your case.
If you think rearranging your budget might do the trick, make two lists:
- List your fixed expenses (those that never change). Your mortgage or rent payment, car and insurance payments, and your utility bills are all examples of bills you need to pay. Once you’re finished with those, highlight expenses that you may be able to cut out; if you have the deluxe satellite package, for example, you might be able to switch to a more basic package.
- List the things you spend money on that you don’t really need. For some people, that list will include a weekly guys’ night out, new clothing or subscription services that aren’t necessities. Try to think of small things, such as weekly car washes or your daily upscale coffee (both of which can be handled at home).
If you stop spending money on items from your second list and you have room in your budget for child support, that’s fantastic; if not, you’ll need to move to the items you highlighted on your first list. That may mean choosing a more restrictive monthly phone plan, shopping with coupons or starting a car pool to work.
Budgeting can be uncomfortable, and you may feel like you’re unfairly saddled with too much child support. There’s nothing wrong with calling your attorney and asking him or her to revisit your case to alleviate a tough financial situation.
