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Child support in Michigan is based upon a number of factors including but not limited to the total income of each parent from all sources and the number of overnights the children have with each parent.  This blog is written to briefly address the issue of what you should do with regards to child support in the State of Michigan if you lose your job whether you are the payor or the recipient of the child support.  If you have questions regarding your personal situation, please contact us to schedule a consultation either by clicking on this link or by calling (248) 608-4123.

What Should I Do If I Lose My Job and I Am Paying Child Support?

Child custody, parenting time and child support are always modifiable in Michigan.  This mean that if your employer terminates your employment for any reason, you can file a motion with the court and request that the court at least temporarily decrease your child support until you are able to obtain new employment,.  It is very important to understand that modifications to child support cannot be applied retroactively.  This means that you can only modify the child support payments back to the date you file your motion to modify or reduce your child support.  This means that you must immediately file your motion to reduce the child support with the court or you will still be liable for any support payments that come due before you filed your motion regardless of when you lost your job. 

For instance if you lose your job on January 3 and your next payment is scheduled for February 1 and you file your motion to reduce the child support before February 1, then assuming the court grants the motion the reduced child support amount will be applied on February 1.  If you file the motion after February 1, even if the court grants the motion to reduce the child support it will not apply to the February 1 payment, only the March 1 and subsequent payments.  Failure to immediately file your motion to reduce support will most likely result in an arrearage that at the very least will cause you some financial hardship.

It is also very important to distinguish termination from employment and quitting or voluntarily leaving your employment.  If you quit or voluntarily leave your employment, then court may find that you have what is referred to as the "unexercised ability to earn income" and "impute" income to you for the purposes of determining child support.  This means that while you may be unemployed and no longer earning the income that the court used to calculate child support, you will still have to pay the same amount of support regardless of the fact that you are no longer earning that income.

What Should I Do If I Lose My Job and I Am the Recipient of Child Support?

Basically the same rules apply as above.  If your employer terminates your employment, then you should immediately file a motion with the court to at least temporarily increase your child support until you are able to find substitute employment.  In such instances, the court is usually willing to grant a temporary increase in child support once the motion is filed and the court holds a hearing regarding the matter.  Again, the modification cannot be applied retroactively and if you voluntarily leave your employment, the court most likely will not increase your child support.

This blog is written to broadly address the issue of what you should do if you lose your employment with regards to payment or receipt of child support in the State of Michigan.  If you have specific questions, please contact us to schedule a consultation by clicking on this link.