Can't pay court ordered CS

[CDAN99]

Hi everyone.
I had lost my job and have been struggling trying to find a new job. The court ordered me to pay an outrageous and arbitrary CS amount when I had no income. Now that I found a new full-time temp job, the judge refuses to lower the CS award according to the guidelines. I am earning much less than I used to through no fault of my own. I am also afraid that I will be found in contempt of court again if I don't pay the full CS amount. This is an impossible task to do. I have extraordinary travel expenses to work, combined with taxes removed from my pay, and a higher than guideline CS order leaves me with pocket money or nothing to live on depending on the week. This temp job has no benefits and involves risks associated with construction.

My question is this: Since my travel expenses to and from work amount to 33% gross income, what should I do?

1. Should I quit my job and find something closer to home? I will probably earn less but I am certain that the judge will still refuse to give me a CS downward mod. based on my wages.

2. Can my extraordinary travel expenses be excluded from my gross income or when calculating disposable income for the purpose of calculating CS? Apparently the court chooses to ignore the reality and they are making CS impossible to pay in full because of this.

3. Is there a way I can get the court to follow the CS guidelines so that I am able to pay some of my living expenses?

Apparently the judge thinks that I can survive having practically all my income taken from me. I have reached the point of basically giving up trying pay so much. It is not worth the construction related risks to continue this way.

[DadsCrushed]

I would file a Motion for Modification of Child Support and state the circumstances. Most states allow for a change of 25% or more to be the basis for changed circumstances for such a filing. If you make more than the CS tables for your state the judge can deviate from the CS table. Barring that they are to adhere to the tables. I would not quit my job because then the ex can come at you for voluntary destitution and that will not play well in the court. Certain expenses (health care, insurance, etc.) can be deducted however I do not believe that travel expenses would apply. You will need to check the family law code for that.

[CDAN99]

Thanks for the reply. I have done everything you already stated. The problem is that I had filed for a CS mod. months ago. The Judge already granted me a temp. CS mod. in the Spring which I was coerced to accept even though I couldn't afford it. This effectively eliminated the daycare costs which I had been needlessly paying for many, many, many years. This is something that should have been eliminated years ago.

I am earning only 1/3 my original wages with my CS order based well above the guidelines. This is a recipe for failure by anyone's standards.

The court is delaying my CS downward requests every time I go to court. Too many months have passed and I still have not received a CS mod. based on the guidelines. The state is also screwing me by wrongfully withholding my earned benefits while at the same time holding me ransom in family court. I am being choked by the same state that complains I am not paying enough in CS. The reality is that the state needs to be sued. But how?

Anyway, I am just trying to survive day-to-day knowing I will be in contempt of court soon and threatened with jail time for something outside of my control which I cannot afford.