[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.kraayeveld.com\/blog\/how-does-unemployment-affect-child-support-and-spousal-support\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.kraayeveld.com\/blog\/how-does-unemployment-affect-child-support-and-spousal-support\/","headline":"How Does Unemployment Affect Child and Spousal Support?","name":"How Does Unemployment Affect Child and Spousal Support?","description":"Michigan\u2019s Approach to Support Calculations During Unemployment Not surprisingly, unemployment is on the rise. If you recently became unemployed or your income decreased, will your child or spousal support be reduced? Most\u00a0Michigan family law attorneys\u00a0will answer \u201cyes\u201d; we would want to be more careful and say \u201cmaybe\u201d. Of course, we\u2019ll explain why our answer is […]","datePublished":"2020-11-02","dateModified":"2025-09-15","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.kraayeveld.com\/blog\/author\/james-kraayeveld\/#Person","name":"James Kraayeveld","url":"https:\/\/www.kraayeveld.com\/blog\/author\/james-kraayeveld\/","identifier":29,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f327c36375f93cacc1f5818cbd6ca5f9c1c362ddf86682a8d1f0adac2b1f6198?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f327c36375f93cacc1f5818cbd6ca5f9c1c362ddf86682a8d1f0adac2b1f6198?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Kraayeveld Family Law","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.kraayeveld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Kraayeveld-Logo.svg","url":"https:\/\/www.kraayeveld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Kraayeveld-Logo.svg","width":0,"height":0}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.kraayeveld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/unemployment-affects-child-support-and-alimony.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.kraayeveld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/unemployment-affects-child-support-and-alimony.jpg","height":667,"width":1000},"url":"https:\/\/www.kraayeveld.com\/blog\/how-does-unemployment-affect-child-support-and-spousal-support\/","about":["Alimony","Child Support"],"wordCount":397,"articleBody":"Michigan\u2019s Approach to Support Calculations During UnemploymentNot surprisingly, unemployment is on the rise. If you recently became unemployed or your income decreased, will your child or spousal support be reduced? Most\u00a0Michigan family law attorneys\u00a0will answer \u201cyes\u201d; we would want to be more careful and say \u201cmaybe\u201d. Of course, we\u2019ll explain why our answer is more hesitant than others.Child Support Might Not Change Because It Could Depend on Your Actions.We continue to be surprised how many payors of support believe that their\u00a0child support\u00a0will automatically decrease when they lose their job.\u00a0Payors of support believe that when the Friend of the Court no longer can garnish their wages, they will also stop the child support obligation.\u00a0Unfortunately, this belief is drastically wrong.\u00a0You must file a Motion and obtain a court order to change the amount of support.\u00a0If you don\u2019t, your support will not change, and you will owe a lot of arrearages or back child support.Spousal Support Will Not Change if It is Non Modifiable.Spouses have the option of agreeing to non-modifiable support.\u00a0Before you request to change spousal support, read the terms of your Judgment and\u00a0spousal support\u00a0order.Alimony Might Not Change Because You Have Seasonable Employment.If your income changes from year to year, your support order may be based on the average income for the past three years. Even if your income decreased due to Covid-19, if your average income for the past three years is the same, your support order may not decrease.Support Might Not Change Because It Was a Short Term Lay Off.When child support is calculated, the court will review your annual income.\u00a0If you were laid off for a few weeks, your overall annual income may not have changed enough to reach the threshold to have your support order change.Next Steps\u2026If you are unemployed, your best option is to contact a Grand Rapids family law or\u00a0divorce attorney immediately to have your income and current support order(s) reviewed.Next, you should keep track of all your efforts to find new employment.\u00a0We will likely need to show to the judge that you tried to find similar employment.Lastly and most importantly, start this process right away.\u00a0Child or spousal support will not be amended retroactively.\u00a0We look forward to hearing from you!"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.kraayeveld.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Does Unemployment Affect Child and Spousal Support?","item":"https:\/\/www.kraayeveld.com\/blog\/how-does-unemployment-affect-child-support-and-spousal-support\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]