Can You Modify Your Original Decree With a New Child in the Picture?
Hi, I’m Tulsa Dads.Law attorney Clint Hastings. I practice here in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I focus on fathers’ rights. Right now, I’m going to answer a question that came from a viewer, and I get this question quite a bit. It is: they have been divorced, and they have a child, and there’s a decree, and they pay child support to the mom of that child.
Then, perhaps a couple of years later, they get remarried, and they have a child with that spouse. The question is, can you go back now and modify your first decree with the original spouse and get credit for the fact that you have children in your house, even if you’re not paying child support on them? And the answer is yes, you can.
Considerations for Modifying Your Decree
You can go back and get what’s called an in-home deduction against your gross income and recalculate the child support with your first spouse. However, it may not be worth it. The deduction is not a lot. It comes off the gross income, not directly off the child support you owe.
I’ve seen a lot of occasions where, when you calculate it all up, it is like a $20 deduction. Sometimes that might be $50 or $100, depending on how high the income both parties have and how large the child support order is. But you need to do the math. It may or may not be worth it, and that’s what we can help you with, for sure.
Consult With Us for Personalized Advice
Call Tulsa child support attorney Clint Hastings at (918) 962-0900. We’d be glad to talk to you about this or any other question and give you an attorney consultation. Thanks.
