One of the most unexpected consequences of a divorce, for many people, is a new relationship that leads to marriage for one or both of the former spouses. Most people are so focused on the drama and bureaucracy of their divorce they fail to consider the possibility that their former spouse will seek out a new partner.
Aside from the often unpredictable emotional reaction to a new marriage, many people also wonder how a new marriage affects child support, and whether it makes a Greeley, CO child support modification possible. The short answer that any experienced attorney will tell you is: No.
No Bearing
In fact, the Colorado courts have been very clear that a new marriage has zero impact on child support orders. Even if the new spouse brings a sizable fortune into the marriage of one of the spouses, this by itself has no impact—all that matters is the income of the spouse, whether a custodial or non-custodial spouse, and how that income affects the calculation of shared support. If the father earns $60,000 and the mother $40,000, their split of support remains 60%/40% even if the father’s new wife earns $100,000 herself.
The sole exception generally recognized by the courts is if the new spouse makes payments to the parent that could be considered income. If the father’s new wife pays him $10,000 a year for any reason, the court may consider this his income and re-calibrate his share of support.
New children also have no bearing on support and cannot be cited as a reason for modifying an existing support order. The court does not consider a parents’ obligation changed simply because they have an additional child. In general, modifying support orders requires more reason than this.