Can I get alimony or more child support after our divorce is final?
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Can I get alimony or more child support after our divorce is final?
My husband and I divorced 5 months ago. We have 2 small children. At the time he was not making much money from his insurance job, since it is all commission. We set child support at $300 a month. Last year, before we divorced, his father passed away. He left my husband a rather large inheritance. Since then, he has bought new car after new car and is renting a large house. He still only pays me $300 a month and exactly half of their childcare. I did not try to get alimony, since at the time, I felt sorry for him. Circumstances have changed, and I feel that he should pay more money to me for our children, who live with me. My children and I also live with my parents, since when we got divorced, I was not working to take care of our kids, and now have a low paying job and cannot yet afford a place of my own. I am paying off a large amount of our credit card debt from our marriage, while he is out buying new cars. Is there anything I can do? $300 a month is not cutting it.
Asked on June 5, 2012 under Family Law, Illinois
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
You can request a modification of alimony and a modification of child support. Changed circumstances such as a change in income would be grounds for requesting a modification of alimony and a modification of child support.
Check with the court clerk on the court forms you need to file to request a modification of alimony and child support because the forms vary from state to state. You would need an Order to Show Cause (court form) in which you would request modifications of alimony and child support. You will also need a supporting declaration (your statement signed under penalty of perjury stating the facts in support of your request for modifications of child support and alimony). File the documents with the court with an attached proof of service. The proof of service verifies the date of mailing your documents to your ex-husband. You can use a court form proof of service or you can write your own. If you write your own proof of service, it just says that you are over eighteen and the attached documents were sent via first class mail unless stated otherwise to ___________ (name and address of your ex-husband) on __________ (date). You sign and date at the bottom. The date you sign should be the same as the date of mailing and the same date you file your documents with the court. When you file an Order to Show Cause with the court, the court schedules a date for a hearing on these issues.
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