In some situations, a parent my find that their current child support order is not meeting the needs of their child and in others, parents may feel unable to meet their current child support obligations. In either situation, it is helpful for parents in those circumstances to know how they may be able to modify their child support.
Modifying child support
There are several circumstances when a child support order may be modified including:
- There has been a substantial change in circumstances – when there has been a substantial change in circumstances for the cost of raising the child or in the parent’s income, it may be possible to request a child support modification.
- Three years has passed since the last child support order was entered, modified or adjusted – after three years has passed since the last child support order was entered, modified or adjusted, either parent can request a child support modification.
- There has been an involuntary change of either parent’s income, upward or downward by 15%, since the last child support order was entered, modified or adjusted – if the paying parent has experienced a decrease in their income by 15% or more, and are seeking higher paying work, they may be able to request a child support modification.
The child support modification process can be important to both parents collecting child support and parents who are paying child support. For that reason, it is helpful for both parents to be familiar with when they can ask, and might receive, a child support modification through the family law process.