You and the other parent of your child have been reasonable with each other over time. With small fluctuates in either party’s income, you usually left the child support order as-is unless it was going to have a negative impact on either one of your abilities to live comfortably.
Now, you’re questioning if you should take the other parent back to court because of seeing them spending a lot more money than usual. All this time, you may have thought you were doing them a favor not asking for more, but seeing them have more spending money than you and noticing that your child is sometimes going without things you’d like them to have is making you upset.
If you want to clear the air, it may be time to go back to court
One of the better ways to find out exactly what the other person is earning and how much support they should be paying is by going back to court through seeking a child support modification. It’s appropriate to seek a modification in a few different circumstances, such as if the other person gets a raise or if your child needs more support that you can’t provide yourself. If you lose your job or lose hours, you might also ask the other parent to cover more.
It can also be appropriate to go back to court if the other parent claims one income but seems to have much more. You might first try talking to them about how much they’ve seemingly been spending and how they’ve been able to afford those items. If they don’t want to discuss their finances, then you could talk to your attorney about seeking out more information or taking them back to court.
Collect evidence of the other person’s spending to support your reason for returning to court and asking for a support modification. Once the other person knows that you’re willing to return to court, they may be willing to discuss the situation with you honestly or may be able to explain exactly how they’re affording big-ticket items while paying lower support than you think is adequate.