Child support serves an important purpose. It allows a parent with the primary responsibility of raising a child to receive much needed financial support to meet the child’s needs.
The amount of child support paid is based on several factors. After considering these factors, a court determines an amount it feels is appropriate for taking care of the child, while allowing the parent paying child support to remain financially stable.
However, life is unexpected, and a change in your circumstances may cause you to need a change in your child support order, whether you are the one paying or the one receiving the support.
How you can request a modification
You have the right under California law to request a modification of your child support order. You can do this by requesting your local child support office to review your case or by filing a petition for modification with your local county court.
Asking for a modification of your order should only be done if you have had a substantial change in your life circumstances and can show why the current child support amount is no longer feasible.
While there are many things that could be considered a substantial change in circumstances, a court may be more likely to consider changing your order if the amount would increase or decrease by at least 20%, or around $50.
Next steps after requesting a modification
After your modification request is entered, you are required to submit a new income and expense declaration. The information you submit will allow the court to determine if a change in your order is appropriate.
Therefore, if the change to your circumstances will not result in a major change in your order, you may be better off saving yourself the time and hassle of requesting a change, only to have the court not grant it.
Knowing if you should request a change in your order can be difficult. Child support attorneys have experience with reviewing individual situations and advising on the best choice.