I live in Cobb County and was divorced in 2000. My attorney didn't do the discovery I had requested in regard to my ex's income. Therefore, child support was based on inaccurate and low income. I was told that it cost several thousand dollars to request a child support increase which I am entitled to every two years. Does anyone have any experience with this in Cobb that can tell me what it cost and what the experience is like in light of the new laws? My divorce took three years of litigation and a jury trial that was very traumatic. Even thinking about going back to court with my ex scares me.
Go to the website www.ocse.dhr.georgia.gov - see what you can fing on there.
First of all, You are not "entitled" to a child support increase every two years! You only qualify for an increase if there is a change of circumstances which generally means that the child support worksheet shows a larger payment. The new law and worksheet looks at both incomes and who is paying for other items such as health insurance, etc. As to the cost, "several thousand" dollars is correct. I suggest you type "ga child support worksheet" into google and see how you come out and if it looks like a substantial increase is calculated, then schedule a consultation with an attorney.
The state of Ga will review and possibly modify your case for about $100.00. The only requirement is that your order be more than 3 years old and not already have been modified. You need to file with the Office of Child Support Services in the county your order is from (sounds like Cobb, which is near DFCS, by the civic center). There's really no need to pay an attorney all that money. You can look at their website (try starting at ga.gov and then look for the above named agency) you will need to apply but you can do that online and then you will need to submit all the required docs to them. What you are needing is called a rev/mod (review and modification) they have access to DOL (Department of Labor, Etc) so he cannot hide his income unless he is self employed. That website also has a worksheet where you can plug in all the info you know and it will show you what it expects your child support to be. Good Luck!
