Child support payments are based on income. If he makes more money than you, he pays you support based on a percentage of his income. It is possible that they can lower his support payments, but based upon his history of non-payment, this will probably not happen. If he wants to change his support payments, he will have to show how much money he makes. If he does not have tax returns or W2s, the court can allow him to show his income in other ways. If he is being paid under the table to avoid paying support out of his income tax return, then he will most likely not be able to show his income. It is very unlikely that his support payments will be lowered, based on the information that you have given.

Anytime someone request a child support modification they have to provide the child support enforcement agency, or the court tax returns and pay stubs. Most states use the income shares model to determine child support. If you state uses this model, both you and your ex will have to provide tax returns and pay stubs.

I am curious as to how you know your ex has not made a support payment for his other child in three years? If he is court ordered to pay child support and has not paid it, his wages should be garnished and his tax returns should be intercepted. Are you certain this has not happened?

I can tell you that the child support obligation to you can be lowered, if he does owe child support to another child. Even if you can prove he isn't paying his other child support obligation, I would assume that the courts would see to it that he did, which would still reduce your payments in the end. I can't see how providing that information to the court would help your case. Unless, he is not court ordered to pay support for the other child, and that support has been determined through a private agreement in which the mother is not perusing him to pay the support.

Thank you both for taking the time to answer my question. I do believe that my ex is going to have a hard time showing proof of income. In the past he has brought in letters written by his boss, who also happens to be his best friend, stating that he was working for him. This has been the only proof of income provided in years, and I believe these are just written to keep him out of jail at the time. To answer your question IMO, I know he has not made any support payments for the other child because the mother of the child has told me so and I believe her. We have developed a friendship over the last few yrs. Though the father of our children chose not to be in their lives, our children are siblings and we believe they should have a relationship with one another. There is no private agreement between my ex and her, she is having just as hard a time trying to get support as me, maybe a little more so .

Thanks for answering my question ja_foust.

If you are right, and your ex is going to have a hard time showing proof of income, it may be that nothing changes regarding the amount of child support you receive. In the end, it really comes down to how hard the other mother peruses the fact that she is not receiving support and weather or not the father can provide financial documents.

Best of luck to you.

The tax return is the usual proof of income document, but other evidence would suffice instead.

The fact that he hasn't paid on the other support order doesn't mean that he doesn't owe the money. But it does indicate that perhaps the other mother is waiving her right to child support, or has decided that because of changed circumstances in her life, such as remarriage to a steadily employed husband, that she doesn't need the support payments.

These are facts that have to be discovered so that a truthful evaluation of circumstances can be made regarding the father's income and obligations, versus your income and expenses, then comparing those figures with the percentage of time your child spends with you, versus with him.

You have to find out what's up with that other support obligation in order to have it taken off the expense tabulation for the father's listing of his financial obligations. Evidence of the other mother's remarriage might be sufficient for your court to ignore the father's contentions that those preexisting support payments should count toward his ongoing expenses, thereby reducing his obligation to you.