Can a Child Support Order be Changed?

October 9, 2009 By

Child support may be modified after one of three circumstances occur. In RI, child support is based on the parties income and available resources support and that information, along with some other factors such as daycare costs, medical insurance costs, or the number of other minor children a party is responsible for, is what is plugged into the “guidelines” to calculate child support. There are three general events that can occur that will trigger the ability to review and modify child support.

Opening the Door

If there is a “significant change in circumstances” as it related to the factors set above, then the courts will “open the door” to a review. Notice that part one is to open the door for a review. Whether there is a change after the review is the second part. What constitutes a significant change in circumstances is up to the judge, but can safely be assumed to include changes in income by 10% up or down, changes in the number or minor children, or other changes in the variables used to originally calculate the support order.

There are two other ways to “open the door” for the right to review child support, and technically, they are “significant changes in circumstances” as first described above. First, by statute, the courts will consider there to be a change in circumstances automatically if it has been more that five years since the existing child support order was entered. The other method or opening the door to a review occurs automatically every time Child Support Guidelines are updated, which occurs every five years or so.

Recalculating Support

(Try our RI Child Support Calculator)

Now that the door is open for review, the courts will recalculate support based on all the factors set out at the beginning of this topic to come up with the new support order. Generally, is you get this far there will be a change, however, it court be very small.

Example: Bob and Lisa have two children and have been divorced for two years. Bob is paying child support to Lisa per the “guidelines.” Lisa has another child with her new husband, and Lisa gets a pay raise of 20%. Bob files for a change in support. Both the new child and the pay raise constitute a significant change in circumstances. The door is open, but the support only changes by 50 cents per week. In this case the pay raise would by itself reduce Bob’s support obligation, but when calculating support, Lisa now gets a deduction from her new income for her new child, balancing out the change.

Don P. Moyer, 401 461-7800, Moyer Divorce Law

Filed Under: All Family Court, Child Support, Modification Tagged With:

What Are the Grounds for Divorce?

October 2, 2009 By

The two most common grounds for divorce in Rhode Island are “Irreconcilable Differences” and “Living Separate and Apart for the Space of Three Years”. The other, older, grounds for divorce are as follows:

(1) Impotency;

(2) Adultery;

(3) Extreme cruelty;

(4) Willful desertion for five (5) years of either of the parties, or for willful desertion for a shorter period of time in the discretion of the court;

(5) Continued drunkenness;

(6) The habitual, excessive, and intemperate use of opium, morphine, or chloral;

(7) Neglect and refusal, for the period of at least one year next before the filing of the petition, on the part of the husband to provide necessaries for the subsistence of his wife, the husband being of sufficient ability; and

(8) Any other gross misbehavior and wickedness, in either of the parties, repugnant to and in violation of the marriage covenant.

If you need a family law lawyer who can help you navigate through these often complex divorce law issues, call Don P. Moyer, 401 461-7800, to get started. Moyer Divorce Law.

Filed Under: All Family Court, Divorce, Fault Issues Tagged With:

What Does the Court Consider When Dividing Assets in Divorce?

October 1, 2009 By

The Family Courts in Rhode Island consider certain factors set out in R.I.G.L. 15-5-16.1 which specifically deals with this question. The factors are as follows:

(1) The length of the marriage;

(2) The conduct of the parties during the marriage;

(3) The contribution of each of the parties during the marriage in the acquisition, preservation, or appreciation in value of their respective estates;

(4) The contribution and services of either party as a homemaker;

(5) The health and age of the parties;

(6) The amount and sources of income of each of the parties;

(7) The occupation and employability of each of the parties;

(8) The opportunity of each party for future acquisition of capital assets and income;

(9) The contribution by one party to the education, training, licensure, business, or increased earning power of the other;

(10) The need of the custodial parent to occupy or own the marital residence and to use or own its household effects taking into account the best interests of the children of the marriage;

(11) Either party’s wasteful dissipation of assets or any transfer or encumbrance of assets made in contemplation of divorce without fair consideration; and

(12) Any factor which the court shall expressly find to be just and proper.

The court will weigh these factors and make its decision.

Don P. Moyer, 401 461-7800, Moyer Divorce Law

Filed Under: All Family Court, Asset & Debt Division, Divorce Tagged With:
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