When a second family is formed, do the child support obligations change?
Support payors who remarry want to reduce their payments because they have new obligations. When the support recipient remarries, the payor wants to reduce the payment because there is a new wage earner in the recipient's household.
However, the basic answer is that there is no change in the amount of the payment.
The payor who remarries knew of the existing obligation when they entered into their new relationship. Therefore, even if children are born into the second marriage, that is not a basis to have payments for the older children of the first marriage reduced. Further, just because the new spouse earns a large salary, that is not a basis to have the child support payments increased.
If the recipient of payments remarries, the payor often believes there should be a reduction because this new spouse who now lives with the payor's children will help support their children. The new spouse has no legal obligation to do so and even if the recipient now lives in a palace, the natural parents have the obligation to support their children.
Therefore, remarriage by the divorced parents does not change their financial obligations to their children and all parties should keep this in mind before entering into new relationships. Do not rely upon courts to provide relief if you have taken on more obligations than you can comfortably handle.
Harold I. Guberman, JD
GubysLaw@aol.com
http://www.stepfamilyresourcesoflongisland.com/
A collaboration of independent practitioners committed to addressing the concerns of families dealing with issues related to being in a stepfamily.
