[Steve92]

I have been divorced for 16 years, both of us have remarried and I have 2 additional children with current wife. My ex has no additional children and her financial situation has greatly improved although she only works PT.

What can I expect from the courts on a modification to get support reduced due to;

- I was paying for 2 children (twins) and one is no longer a student (went one semester) and has joined the service. The other child is in school and is part of ROTC and is getting his education paid for 100%. He is also working a PT job. They are both 19 years old.
-I would also like to claim the student on my taxes as my ex has been able to claim both for 16 years.

Would any consideration been given to the fact that my wife was recently laid off but we are still maintaining health benefits through COBRA?

Would the courts impute her salary seeing that my ex has only worked PT for the last 16 years?

There is no stipulation in divorce decree regarding secondary education.

[stevetcg]

You certainly have grounds to revisit the support arrangement. Have your lawyer request a modification hearing. If nothing else, you should not be paying support on the child that is supporting himself.

No consideration should be made about your wife being laid off. Its not her support.

[BillG34]

Do you have a settlement agreement? If so, check your divorce agreement for a definition of "emancipation" of a child. Typically in MA you will see emancipation defined as age 18 unless the child is enrolled full-time in college and principally dependent upon the custodial parent. Also entry into the military service is a standard emancipating event... You may have grounds to have the court find the child/ren "emancipated" within the definition in your agreement or order.

[cdad]

You certainly have grounds to revisit the support arrangement. Have your lawyer request a modification hearing. If nothing else, you should not be paying support on the child that is supporting himself.

No consideration should be made about your wife being laid off. Its not her support.

There may be a variable in here. The consideration becomes the amount being paid to health insurance because it falls under COBRA. In typical situations employers pay for most if not all health insurance costs of a plan. Under COBRA your allowed for a limited time to buy into that plan but also bear the full cost. So it may fall into the calculation depending on the cost of the plan and if that's what they are using to cover the children.