Can child support be lowered if I lost my job?

Answered by ProctorLaw

This is general legal information, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created. Talk with a licensed attorney about your situation.

Short answer: yes, a child support order can be modified when your income drops, and an involuntary layoff is one of the classic reasons. But nothing changes automatically, and the single most important fact is this: Ohio cannot reduce support retroactively. A court modification reaches back only to the date the other parent gets notice of your motion, and a CSEA review only to the first of the month after the agency formally starts the review, which is itself 30 or more days after you ask (R.C. 3119.71, 3119.83, 3119.84). Every month you wait, the old amount keeps accruing as arrears that no judge can later erase. File now, even if you are not sure which path is right.

You have two routes, and you can choose either one.

1. Administrative review through the Summit County CSEA. Any party can ask the CSEA to review an order every 36 months, and sooner for a substantial change such as an involuntary layoff lasting 30 or more consecutive days or an involuntary drop in income of 30 percent or more (Ohio Adm.Code 5101:12-60-05.1). You request it on form JFS 01849 (Ohio Legal Help has a free form assistant). The agency decides within 15 days whether you qualify, gathers both parents' tax returns, pay stubs, and health-insurance costs, runs a new guideline worksheet, and must finish within 180 days (R.C. 3119.60 to 3119.63; Ohio Adm.Code 5101:12-60-05.3). Either parent can object to an administrative hearing and then to the court. It costs nothing to file. Summit County CSEA customer service is (330) 643-2765; the office has been operating from a temporary location on South Main Street during a building renovation, so check the CSEA's website for the current address before you go.

2. Motion to modify in court. You file in the court that issued the order. In Summit County that is the Domestic Relations Division whether you were divorced or never married, since Summit's juvenile court does not handle support cases (R.C. 2301.03(I)); the post-decree motion fee there is currently $240. The court applies the same guideline worksheet. This route is faster if the other parent will not cooperate or you also need to change the parenting schedule.

The legal standard. Ohio recalculates the worksheet with current incomes. If the new number is at least 10 percent higher or lower than the existing order, that by itself is a "substantial change in circumstances" that requires the court to modify (R.C. 3119.79(A)). With a part-time wage replacing a full-time one, you will almost certainly clear the 10 percent threshold.

The fight you need to prepare for: imputed income. The court or CSEA can refuse to use your actual part-time earnings and instead "impute" what you could be earning if it finds you voluntarily unemployed or underemployed (R.C. 3119.01(C)(18)). A layoff is involuntary, but settling into a part-time job without looking for comparable full-time work can be treated as voluntary underemployment. The factors include your prior employment, education and skills, the availability of jobs and prevailing wages in the Akron area, and whether you can actually earn the imputed amount. So: keep a written log of every application, interview, and job-board search; apply for unemployment benefits (they count as income for the worksheet, which is fine); and be ready to explain why the part-time job was the best available option.

While the case is pending. Keep paying as much as you can, in the normal way through the CSEA, not cash to the other parent. Partial payments reduce the arrears and show good faith, and a judge who sees you tried is more likely to set a reasonable repayment schedule for what accumulated. If the arrears are already significant, ask about a payment plan on the back balance at the same time you request the modification.

This is general information, not legal advice. A family law attorney can usually tell you in one conversation whether your numbers clear the 10 percent line and how to protect yourself on the imputed-income issue.

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