A Divorce Attorney Will Fight So You Don't Have To

If you've been ordered to pay child support, you're probably hoping that you never run into problems. After all, the last thing you want to do is end up back in court. If you're lucky, everything will go smoothly. However, now that you're paying child support, it's important to know that problems can arise. In fact, they often do. It's up to you to keep track of things and know what to do to avoid those issues. Here are three things you should do to avoid complications:

Know When Changes are Needed

When you're ordered to pay child support, those orders are given to you in writing. However, that doesn't mean that things can't change. In fact, it's common for situations to change for a variety of reasons. Those changes can result in the need to modify the current child support orders. Some of those reasons might include a change in income, changes in employment status, or even changes in visitation. If you think modifications are in order, you need to consult with an attorney. When it comes to modifications, it's important to know that they usually won't be retroactive. That means they'll take affect based on when the request for modification is filed, not when the actual changes took place.

Never Agree to Out-of-Court Modifications

When the issue of modifications come up, never agree to anything out-of-court. When you do that, you run the risk that you could end up in court on contempt charges. If you and your ex have agreed to certain modifications to the child support orders, you need to hire an attorney and have them take the agreement to court. Your agreement will only be legally binding if the judge signs an order agreeing to the changes. Until the orders are changed by the judge, continue paying child support according to the original orders.

Always Keep Track of Your Payments

When you're ordered to pay child support, it's up to you to keep track of your payments. Accurate record keeping is the only way to make sure you can account for all of your payments if an issue arises. Never pay child support with cash. There's no way to document those payments. Try to set up automatic payments through your bank, and be sure that child support payments are always noted on your account. Setting up your child support payments to be paid automatically through your bank account will provide you a paper trail should you ever need to prove that you've been making on-time payments each month.

Check out a website like http://www.cappolellalaw.com for more information and assistance.