SPARC Forums

i have a 5yr old son and his mom has me on child support for 325 a month. i dont have a job so i have no way of paying what should i do or what can i do

Did you just lose your job? Pay something each month , even if it $25. Go to court and ask for a downward modification in child support. You will have to prove their is a reason for change (you just lost your job..). You need to show the court you are actively looking for work. Bring a list of places you called or sent resumes to each week. They may lower it for a while until you get a job.

This situation has also happened to me. 

I was laid off and had to wait 60 days to get a hearing to get my support lowered while paying the full amount.  The overstressed county female employee decided that I had not looked for ENOUGH jobs so she left my support as is based on a 140k salary when I am on unemployment and make about 7% of that now!   

I have appealed but I must keep paying the full amount or go to jail until I can appeal to the master another 60 days or so  I am through all my savings and just cashed in my IRA to help make end meet - when that runs out I am at my wits end and unsure what I will do.

I was only applying to jobs I thought I would really get and there is not many out there these days.  Don't make the same mistake apply to everything at all income levels  and DOCUMENT each one or else

I agree.  I got into trouble with the court when I testified that I had not applied for nurse practitioner openings.  I replied that I didn't have a master's in nursing and was told that that was a poor excuse by the judge.  You can't be a nurse practitioner in Oregon without a master's degree.  From that point on, I applied for every single job, even if I was not qualified.  It was a small sense of satisfaction when I applied to be the judge's court assistant (not qualified).  I'm personally glad that I was able to waste someone's time on my useless application.  This was in a county in which there were NO nursing vacancies for quite some time, which doesn't happen often.  The funny thing was that I was willing to stipulate to a nurse's wage but not to a nurse practitioner's.  I'm glad that I won that argument finally.
Apply for everything.  Leave no stone unturned.  You never know where a door will open.  I got a job once by volunteering to work flu shot clinics.  I was hired the next day at two high schools in their medical office.  Amazing, at the time.

edited to add: some other poster stated that the courts are reluctant to change support orders with the economy as bad as it is.  The belief was that a new job would appear, making the modification moot.  I don't know if this is true or not; might it be in your area? 
Good luck to you.  You shouldn't have to go through all this.  Is BM of a mindset to help you out while you are unemployed?

Quote from: swing88 on Jun 17, 2009, 05:02:30 PM
i have a 5yr old son and his mom has me on child support for 325 a month. i dont have a job so i have no way of paying what should i do or what can i do

Why don't you have a job?