Have you ever made a promise or agreement that you later came to regret? Or, perhaps the agreement served a useful purpose in the past, but now your circumstances have changed so dramatically that the agreement is more of a hindrance than a help.
When it comes to child support agreements, this kind of circumstance happens all the time. It could be that the child support paying parent suffers a temporary job loss. Or, perhaps the needs of the child change and the receiving parent requires more money to make financial ends meet. Fortunately, if you need to change your child support decree — and you have a viable reason for such a change — you can pursue a child support modification in court.
How do I modify my child support orders?
To modify your child support orders — even if the other parent has agreed to the modification — you must gain approval from the court by submitting a request for a modification. It’s important to note that child support modifications will receive court approval on a whim. Generally, parents must prove that there is a need for the modification due to a significant change in circumstances.
What kinds of circumstances result in child support modifications?
Your child support modification — if the court grants it — will be temporary or permanent:
Temporary modifications: Viable reasons for a temporary child support modification may include a medical emergency experienced by the child, a parent’s temporary loss of job or a parent’s temporary medical emergency. In these cases, the situation will pass, and, therefore, the modification will only be for a limited amount of time.
Permanent modifications: Viable reasons for a permanent child support modification may include the parent’s change in employment and experiences an increase or decrease in income, if one parent remarries and experiences an increase or decrease in income, or if one of the parents or child becomes permanently disabled or if the child’s financial needs change permanently.
Learn more about child support modification
Parents can save a lot of time and headache when they do their homework to fully understand the delicate process of requesting a child support modification. The more you know about this legal topic, the better you’ll be able to evaluate whether you have a viable reason to request a modification.