With the economy as sluggish as it has been the past few years, many Alabama residents have had their share of financial challenges. The reach of these financial troubles seems nearly unlimited. In the context of family law, such challenges may pose problems in meeting monthly child support payments.

In cases where an individual has trouble meeting child support payments, that person may petition the court for a modification of child support. If the other party agrees to the change, or the judge orders the change, payments may be lowered. Until that happens, however, parents with child support obligations should continue to make their monthly payments as best as they can.

While an agreement with the other party is optimal, requests for modification often ignite a child support dispute. When going to a judge, the party requesting modification must document the change in circumstances leading to the request, such as a loss of job or medical disability, which occurred after the initial child support order was entered in the case.

The other party, of course, may have another side to the story. For instance, a former University of Kentucky basketball star recently made news when he requested lower child support payments. The man, who had recently served as an agriculture commissioner, sought lower payments due to the fact that he had since lost an election, and thus did not have a job.

The attorney for the spouse disagreed, arguing the man had ample opportunity to obtain employment in his previous field of work. The man claimed he had interviewed unsuccessfully for a number of jobs, but had to rely on a significantly lower monthly income until he could find a new job. Ultimately, a judge will decide the child support dispute.

Source: NECN.com, “Judge considering Farmer’s child support case,” Sep. 14, 2012