How Can Inheritance Affect Child Support?

When courts work to determine child support obligations, one of the first factors they look at is the income levels of each parent. However, if one of the children or parents are expected to receive an inheritance at some point soon, the expected amount could have an impact on child support responsibilities or payment received by each parent. For people putting together their estate plan, this could potentially have an impact on the way you distribute inheritance.

In general, any time a person suddenly comes into more money or has an increase in the amount of money they make at work, they will need to revise their child support arrangements to reflect these changes. An inheritance is one of those situations that people either paying or receiving child support will need to report to the court system.

However, just because a person petitions for an increase in child support does not mean they will be successful. Let’s say, for instance, that you are leaving a large inheritance to your son, who is currently responsible for making child support payments. Your son’s ex-wife could petition the courts for an increase in child support payment amounts because your son has suddenly come into money, but she will still need to provide proof that they have a greater need for additional income. Child support payments cannot give a person a higher standard of living than they had during a marriage.

If you have any questions about how your estate planning efforts could be affected by your heirs’ divorces or child support issues (or vice versa), contact a skilled Tampa estate planning attorney at Philip A. Baumann, P.A.