Child Support — Modification of Attorney in Hingham, Massachusetts

How are child support and alimony modified in Massachusetts?

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Both child support and alimony can be modified in Massachusetts upon a material and substantial change in circumstances in one or both of the party’s income, typically, or in their situation. If the guidelines have changed since that initial child support award was set, and under the new guidelines that amount would be different, child support can also be modified under those circumstances. So a typical material change in circumstance to warrant modification of alimony or child support is loss of a job, a disability, some circumstance where it’s typically the person who’s paying the alimony is no longer able to pay the same amount that they have been ordered to pay by the court. So under Massachusetts law, the recipient of alimony can also argue to the court that the alimony payment should be extended past the durational limit that is set by the statue because they continue to need alimony.

But they really have to show good cause for why the alimony should be extended, such as medical need, or, you know, disability. You know, again, a reason why the court should extend the alimony after the durational limit expires. Now, in child support cases, it’s a little different because a child support order can continue to go up as the payor’s income increases. That’s really not so much the case with alimony. With alimony, the recipient of alimony is entitled to theoretically enjoy the lifestyle that was enjoyed by the marriage, but they’re really not entitled to enjoy the lifestyle that they would have enjoyed had they stayed married.

So if after the divorce the paying spouse becomes significantly wealthier, that’s not necessarily going to translate into more alimony for the recipient. But as I said, with child support, it most likely would because it would be in the child’s best interest to be able to share in that increased income of the paying parent, because child support is calculated based on the party’s income, whether they’re paying health insurance, whether they’re paying for child care. Once you run that calculation, if one of those things changes, particularly income, which is going to make the most significant impact on the child support award, if the recipient loses their job or if the recipient gets a better job, you know, one or both parties may seek to modify the child support in those circumstances.

Hingham, MA family law attorney Kimberley Keyes explains how child support and alimony modified in Massachusetts.

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