Georgia parents who wait every month on child support or alimony payments may need to practice patience, according to a recent report. A couple may have the financial arrangements settled in court during divorce proceedings, but circumstances sometimes vary, making a change in those agreed upon child support or alimony payments inevitable. Learning to be flexible will help during those times of change.
The report suggested that the person who will receive the payment take steps to try and live as though he or she was never paid. Sometimes that is not possible but if it is, being able to put some in savings is a good idea. A person can never predict when there will be a problem and this precaution will help when one arises.
A frequent situation is payments being made late. A longer period of time, such as a month or more, may require a court action such as wage garnishment. A shorter late payment period is where putting aside some in earlier months comes in handy.
Other actions affect child support, as well. When income is raised or lowered by at least 10 percent for a fairly long length of time, that will impact the amount of support received. The change in the length of time a child lives with one parent or the loss of a job would be cause to make legal alterations of the original support agreement as well. For Georgia parents who are divorced and facing any of these situations, staying open to small changes can save big headaches as time goes by.
Source: gazette.com, “IT’S YOUR MONEY: Flexibility is key with child support and alimony,” Linda Leitz, July 20, 2013