When Can You Modify A Child Support Obligation? Once a child support obligation has been established it can only be modified if there has been a permanent and substantial  change of circumstances that warrants the modification of support. When child support is modified it can be either increased or decreased. Whether a change in circumstances has […]

Hague Convention and UCCJEA By: Sheryl Seiden, Esq. and Kaitlyn McCracken, Esq.[1] The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the “Hague Convention”) and the UCCJEA address related, but distinct, inquiries. The Hague Convention is a treaty, not a custody statute, and its inquiry is intentionally narrow. In cases brought under the […]

Itemizing a Child’s Needs When the child support guidelines are inapplicable because a family’s net income exceeds the threshold of the Child Support Guidelines, a budget for the child or children must be created to specifically delineate their expenses so a court can evaluate the specific needs of the child or children.  This budget should include expenses […]

N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.23a: A Prohibition Against the Retroactive Modification of Child Support N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.23a prohibits the retroactive modification of a child support obligation beyond the filing date of a motion to modify the obligation. That is, this statute prevents the court from decreasing child support based on a modification that happened in the past. If an obligor finds out […]

Understanding Child Support Worksheets: Sole Parenting Worksheet Versus Shared Parenting Worksheet In New Jersey, the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines (“the guidelines”) must be used as a rebuttable presumption to establish and modify child support orders. R. 5:6A. The guidelines are a calculation performed on worksheets, which provide the Court with the appropriate level of […]