Many people are either out of work, or at a reduced level and either are not paying child support or are finding it impossible to pay child support. If you cannot pay, you need to file a Complaint for Modification. If you are not receiving child support, you need to file a Complaint for Contempt. Since the Courts are closed to the public, the need to be able to file the paperwork is essential and if you mail it in and it's not done correctly, it will not be accepted as a filing in the Court. Email me or call me to go over your questions on this. In troubled times, get some professional advice.
There are new child support guidelines that have several important changes for parents: "The Task Force recommended a number of clarifications and changes. Some are minor, while others represent new or modified provisions. The most significant include: Increasing the minimum support order to $25 per week; Removing the parenting time/child support calculation that was inserted into the 2013 guidelines; Including a capped adjustment in the child support calculation for child care and health care costs; Addressing child support for children between the ages of 18 and 23; and Including provisions related to parental contribution to post-secondary educational expenses Extensive information about all of the provisions of the child support guidelines can be found in the commentary that is included in the guidelines. Additional information on the quadrennial review of the child support guidelines can be found on the court website here: http://www.mass.gov/courts/selfhelp/family/child-support-guidelines.html. "These child support guidelines shall take effect on September 15, 2017 and shall be applied to all child support orders and judgments entered as of the effective date. In recognition of the priority of the interests of the children of the Commonwealth, these guidelines are formulated to be used by all of the justices of the Trial Court. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that these guidelines apply in all cases establishing or modifying a child support order, regardless of whether the parents of the child are married or unmarried, the order is temporary or final, or the Court is deciding whether to approve an agreement for child support. There shall ...