tel. 651/210-9409

I represent clients primarily in the Twin Cities seven-county metro area. Contact me for more information.

• Roseville (MN)
• Ramsey County
• Arden Hills
• Columbia Heights
• Falcon Heights
• Fridley
• Hennepin County
• Little Canada
• Maplewood
• Minneapolis
• Mounds View
• New Brighton
• North Oaks
• Shoreview
• St. Anthony Village
• St. Paul
• Vadnais Heights
• Washington County
• White Bear
• Woodbury

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Child Support

After issuing an order for child support money, temporary or permanent, or for the appointment of trustees to receive property awarded child support, the court has authority to modify the amount and terms of payment of the support money in the order.

The court is also able to modify the apportionment and payment of the principal and income of the property that is held in trust.

A parent or the public authority also may bring a motion for contempt of court if the obligor is in arrears in supportpayments.

Modification

The terms of an order forchild support may be modified after the parent proves one or more of the following, any of which operate to make the terms of the decree or order unreasonable and unfair:

1. substantially increased or decreased gross income of an obligor or obligee;
2. substantially increased or decreased need of an obligor or obligee or their children;
3. receipt of assistance under the AFDC;
4. a change in the cost of living for either parent;
5. extraordinary medical expenses of the child;
6. a change in the availability of appropriate health care coverage or a substantial increase or decrease in health care coverage costs;
7. the addition of work-related or education-related child care expenses of the obligee or a substantial increase or decrease in existing work-related or education-related child care expenses;
8. on the emancipation of a child.

The court will assume that there is a substantial change in circumstances. The terms of a current support order are unreasonable and unfair if any of the following are true, unless the parent can show otherwise:

1. the application of the child support guidelines to the current circumstances of the parents results in a calculated court order that is at least 20 percent and at least $75 per month higher or lower than the current support order or, if the current support order is less than $75, it results in a calculated court order that is at least 20 percent per month higher or lower;
2. the medical support provisions of the order are not enforceable by the public authority or the obligee;
3. health coverage is not available to the child for whom the order is established by the parent ordered to provide;
4. the existing support obligation is in the form of a statement of percentage and not a specific dollar amount;
5. the gross income of an obligor or obligee has decreased by at least 20 percent through no fault or choice of the parent; or
6. a foreign deviation was granted and the child no longer resides in a foreign country or the factor is otherwise no longer applicable.

A child support order is not presumed to be modifiable only because an obligor or obligee becomes responsible for the support of an additional nonjoint child. A support order may be modifiable because of a new responsibility.

The court will not consider the financial circumstances of each parent's spouse and will not consider compensation received by a parent for employment in excess of a 40-hour work week if all of the following are true:

1. the excess employment began after entry of the existing support order;
2. the excess employment is voluntary and not a condition of employment;
3. the excess employment is in the nature of additional, part-time employment, or overtime employment where compensation is by the hour or fraction of an hour;
4. the parent's compensation structure has not been changed for the purpose of affecting a support obligation;
5. in the case of an obligor, current child support payments are at least equal to the guideline;
6. in the case of an obligor who is in arrears in child support payments, net income from excess employment is used to pay the arrearages until the arrearages are paid in full.

A support order modification may be made retroactive only to a period when the petitioning parent has a motion for modification pending. However, the retroactivity may be only from the date of service of notice of the motion on the responding parent and on the public authority, if necessary.

Except for an award of occupancy of the homestead, all divisions of real property and personal property are final. Property division can be revoked or modified only when the court finds conditions that justify reopening a judgment. The court can impose a lien or charge on the divided property at any time while the property, or subsequently acquired property, is owned by one or both of the parents for payment of maintenance or support money. The court may sequester the property instead.

The court is not required to hold an evidentiary hearing on a motion for modification of child support.

With some exceptions, an enactment, amendment, or repeal of a law does not create a de jure substantial change in the circumstances for purposes of modifying a child support order.

For the first modification under the income-shares method of calculation, the modification of basic support may be limited if the amount of the full variance would create hardship for either the obligor or the obligee.

Child Support on Death of Obligor

Unless previously agreed to in writing or expressly stated in the court's order, provisions for the support of a child are not terminated by the death of a parent who is obligated to support the child. When a parent who is obligated to pay support dies, the amount of support may be modified, revoked, or converted to a lump sum payment, depending on the circumstances.

Automatic Termination of Support

When a child turns age 18, gets married, or becomes emancipated in another manner, then child support obligation of a specific amount per child terminates automatically and without any action needed by the obligor.

With two or more children, a child support obligation that is not a specific amount per child continues in the full amount until the emancipation of the last child for whose benefit the order was made, or until further order of the court.

After the child emancipates, the obligor may request a modification of the child support order if there are still minor children covered by the order. The child support obligation is calculated based on the income of the parents at the time modification is requested.

Child Care Exception

Child care support is based on the actual child care expenses incurred by the custodial parent. The court can decrease the amount of the child care based on a decrease in the actual child care expenses.