Recalculation of support

[Otto Mann]

Hello - in state of Virginia. I have had support recalculated several times previously. Each time we were in court for other reasons AND I had an attorney and the number crunching was done out of court and written into the new court order. This time it's only to recalculate support and I have no attorney. Do I have to do anything other than file for the recalculation? I'm wondering what the procedure is. Do I appear at court with financial documentation....submit it to the judge....and the judge does the calculating?

[ocean]

Depends on the state and how they calculate but yes. You ask for the modification and they will ask you to fill out a form of your financial info and last years taxes or reent paystub. You go before a judge and tell them why you need the modification and they will calculate. If you can come up with a number you both agree on you go in and let them know you agreed and they usually just enter it as an order.
Good luck!

[Otto Mann]

Thanx for the response. So WHO is responsible for writing up a court order (no attorneys involved)?

[gemini3]

Do you make your payments through DCSE?  If so, you can go to them for the modification and possibly avoid court.  Your ex-spouse can choose to appeal their modification through the court if she disagrees.

If you go to court, here's how it usually works:

1.  You file for the modification, and state on the petition your reasons for the requested change.

2.  You go to court and before your case is heard both parties will give a representative of the court their financial information.  They will use that information to calculate the support amount based on VA State guidelines.

3.  You will go before the judge and tell him why you are requesting the change.  The other side will have the opportunity to rebutt.

4.  The judge will either approve or deny the request.  If the request is approved the new amount will be ordered based on the financial information previously given.

[mistoffolees]

>Do you make your payments through DCSE?  If so, you can go to
>them for the modification and possibly avoid court.  Your
>ex-spouse can choose to appeal their modification through the
>court if she disagrees.
>

How does that work? I know DCSE has a lot of power, but the power to change a judge's ruling?

Can you lay out the specific steps for this?

Thx.

[gemini3]

No, you're right, they cannot change a judges ruling.  The only way this would work is if DCSE calculated the support.  A judges ruling supercedes DCSE calculations.

That's what happened with me anyway.  DCSE set an amount, I appealed it through them and won, then my ex appealed their ruling through the court.  She lost, but she lost because a support amount had been agreed to as part of our divorce decree, and there was no reason to change it.  (No one's income had changed since then.)

[mistoffolees]

>No, you're right, they cannot change a judges ruling.  The
>only way this would work is if DCSE calculated the support.  A
>judges ruling supercedes DCSE calculations.


That makes a LITTLE more sense, but not much. I would never accept a support figure that had been calculated without having a judge approve it. No matter what you're paying, if it hasn't been ordered by the court, you run the risk of the court telling you later that it's not enough - and ordering retroactive payments.

The only way to be safe is to make sure you have a valid court order and following it to the letter.