Your ex just proudly announced that they got a much-wanted promotion at work. They put it all over social media, but you were not informed personally.
Your children have been receiving support, but it’s fairly low. Your ex’s old job paid much less than the new position, so that affected how much support they paid.
It’s reasonable to feel like you want to receive more in support. After all, if your ex-spouse earns more, then they should be putting more money into your children’s education and other needs. You can ask for a modification of support to seek a higher amount, but before you do that, it may be time to talk to your ex.
Start a conversation about increasing support
Many times, parents are happy to increase support payments if they know that they now have the money to pay more. For example, if they were paying $300 a month before but can now easily afford $400, they may agree to increase the amount of support. Alternatively, you might both agree to add more money to your children’s college funds or to use it in other ways to support your children without modifying your support agreement.
When you breach this topic, it’s helpful to be congratulatory first. A promotion or better job is always a big change. At the same time, you can mention that you’d like to ask for more support, because you’ve always accepted less willingly and without disputes.
Your children do deserve support from both parents. Yes, there will be times when the amount of support they need is more than enough and you don’t feel the need to seek more, but there will be other times when an increase in support would be more than welcome. It is expensive to raise children, and that extra support, even if it’s only $50 or $100 a month, could go a long way towards keeping your children happy and healthy.
Your attorney can help you seek a modification of child support if you agree to increase the support amount or take the case to court if not. You have options to help your children get what they’re due.
