Contesting a Motion to Modify Child Support

Today was my day back in the black-hole we call Family Court.  While it was a miserable experience, as always... it was another opportunity to learn a little more that I can share with you.

My ex and I were scheduled for a hearing today on a number of things, one of which was a Motion that he filed to Modify his Child Support.  While the hearing was postponed (no surprise there), I have some great pointers to share, should you find yourself in a similar situation.

Here's the scenario:  My ex was employed full time and the child support he was ordered to pay was set up to be deducted from his paycheck and submitted through the State of Illinois.  A couple months ago he claimed that he was laid off from his job, filed for unemployment and went to the courthouse and filed a Motion to Modify (reduce) Child Support.

Normally, this might make sense, if he really got laid off. HOWEVER, he didn't.  I discovered this by making a simple phone call to his employer on the day I received his Motion.  I identified myself and asked to talk to the person in charge of payroll.  I stated that I had received notice that my ex was no longer employed and needed to verify that information to confirm that the company would not be withholding child support payments.  They informed me that my ex was still employed but had refused to show up for work.  Wow...

I was in court when the Motion went before the Judge, I simply stated that I was contesting the Motion due to the fact that my ex's employer had stated that he was still employed and voluntarily not showing up for work.  The Judge set the Motion for hearing.  This means that my ex now had to prove his case to the Judge proving that he was no longer employed, BY NO FAULT OF HIS OWN.  If he could do this and show a significant change in his circumstances, the Judge would most likely rule in his favor and modify child support to 20% of his unemployment compensation (if this were to be done... ask the Judge to set a status date and mandate that the non-custodial parent prove that he is seeking employment and report back to the court on the status date with proof of his job search.  By doing this, if he finds employment, you'll have the opportunity to verify this at the status date and increase the support.)

But, considering the present situation, I am on a mission to prevent that from happening.  In Illinois, voluntary job loss is not grounds for reducing child support, especially if it not done in good faith.  If I can prove that my ex did NOT act in good faith and voluntarily left his position, the Judge SHOULD refuse to allow the reduction in child support.

Step one... get witnesses!  My best chance of proving that he deceived the Court seemed to be by having his employer present in court to tell the Judge that he was still employed and wasn't showing up on the job. Even though I can tell the Judge what they told me on the phone, it's hearsay and they must be in court to tell him themselves.  Simple stuff, subpoena them.

Here's a link to the McHenry County Court Subpoena form for witnesses:  Subpoena    Complete this online, print and it's ready to be served.  You can serve this by certified mail, hand delivery or by visiting the County Sheriff and having them serve it.   In my situation, I made a very nice phone call to the employer, explaining my situation and my need for their testimony. Fortunately, they were sympathetic (not to mention the fact that they weren't very happy with him either for his refusal to come to work).  You are required to pay witnesses a witness fee and mileage allowance.  I searched high and low to find out what that amount is supposed to be, even the courthouse had no idea! So I mailed a $50 check (they were having to drive about 70 miles) along with the subpoena via certified mail.   NOTE:  Be very careful and very specific in the information you put in your subpoena.  Don't let your hard work get rejected because of a silly typo or technicality.  Proof read carefully!!  Be sure you are requesting the testimony of the right person (in my case, the office manager who was responsible for payroll and maintained employee files), and make sure you are specific in requesting them to bring vital information "all payroll records, employee correspondence, proof of termination or proof of job assignments", etc.

As I said, my hearing was scheduled for today and guess what?  My witness showed up!  Of course, now my ex is scared (as he should be) and he pleaded with the Judge to continue his hearing  for his Motion to Modify Child Support so he can go find a lawyer.  Hmmmm.... so instead of just paying the child support he owes (and he only is responsible for child support for 8 more months), he's going to pay a lawyer about $2500+ to try to help him reduce it?  So, in an effort to try to save about $200 a month for the next 8 months  he will now pay an attorney over $300 a month for 8 months instead.  Am I the only one seeing the problem here? Wouldn't a good attorney point this out?   Right... they'll take his case!  So I continue the battle to effectively and intelligently represent myself....  Charge!

In my next blog... this is going to get more interesting.  As I know of my ex and I hear from so many women, what about the money for sidejobs, etc that they are making and not claiming?  It's not easy to prove, but I have a few ideas!

As always, your comments and questions are welcome!  I'm sure there are many parents out there with tough lessons learned... sharing them makes us all that much smarter and more prepared!