self-employment / CS

[littlebit]

I have been employed by the same company for 20 years.  I pay child support diligantly.  I am in Alabama.

I would like to start my own business and have been researching it for a couple of years.  I will have to quit my job to make it successful.  

We will be relying on my wife's income for the first couple of years when the new business will be barely breaking even.  She makes half of my current salary.

1)  Is this an acceptable thing to do in regards to the CS order?

2)  Should we expect the CS amount to stay the same, or change to an amount based on my wife's salary, or change to an amount based on my self-employed income?

Thank You.

[socrateaser]

>1)  Is this an acceptable thing to do in regards to the CS
>order?

You are free to work however and wherever you wish. But the court can refuse to lower your support obligation, if it determines that your earning capacity is greater than your actual income.

>2)  Should we expect the CS amount to stay the same, or change
>to an amount based on my wife's salary, or change to an amount
>based on my self-employed income?

Stay the same, unless you can show that the child(ren) who is the beneficiariy of your support will very likely benefit from your increased income.

The two well-known cases in this area are from CA, one where the father asked to have his support lowered while he started his new business, and the court refused, stating that he had no experience as a self-employed person, and there was no reasonable likelihood of a benefit to the kids. In the other case, the father was a military pilot who was allowed a lower obligation while he changed to a commercial pilot, because there was an extremely high likelihood of his increased earnings and the children benefiting from it.