Noncustodial parents are required to pay child support to ensure that their children are properly cared for and to prevent them from becoming a burden on the state. Child support is calculated in Connecticut using a formula that takes the incomes of both parents into account, but there are situations where the amount that noncustodial parents are required to pay each month may be modified.
Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal that only about 45% of the 5.8 million custodial parents in the United States who are due child support receive the full amount each month. Media stories often portray noncustodial parents who do not meet their child support responsibilities as deadbeats, but many of them simply do not have the money to pay and do not know that they can petition the court for relief. Custodial parents can also seek to have child support awards modified when the financial situations of noncustodial parents improve.
The rules in Connecticut allow for child support awards to be modified when the incomes of the parents involved have changed enough to make the monthly current payment at least 15% higher or lower than the amount required by the guidelines. Modifications are generally ordered when one of the parents involved loses their job, is demoted or accepts a new position with a higher salary.
Experienced family law attorneys may help noncustodial parents who are unable to make their child support payments by filing a motion for modification and advocating on their behalf in court. Attorneys may also seek to enforce child support orders when noncustodial parents have the ability to pay but fail to do so. When noncustodial parents move to another state or take an off-the-books job to avoid their financial responsibilities, attorneys might ask investigators to use skip tracing techniques to locate them.
Source: State of Connecticut, Judicial Branch, Child Support