Incomes and circumstances change. The child support order that was initially issued in your case may have been suitable at one point, but may require modification down the road. If you and your ex-spouse are on friendly enough terms, you can discuss the matter and attempt to work out an agreement. However, you will still need to present your modification to the the court.
If you cannot agree, you can file a motion to modify. A judge will review several factors to determine whether the changes are substantial enough to warrant an increase or decrease of the child support payments.
Requesting Child Support Modification
If you ultimately take your child support modification case to court, you will have the burden to prove the change in circumstances that occurred since the support order was issued. These changes must be substantial and generally involuntary.
Here are some common examples:
- Your children’s needs changed and may have special or different educational needs.
- One parent has a new job with greater income or received a substantial raise.
- One parent involuntarily receives a pay cut or becomes unemployed.
- One parent is responsible for the care of a new child.
- One parent developed a disability.
- One parent became incarcerated.
- There is a substantial change in the amount of time each parent spends with the children.
- There are major changes in some of the factors the court considered when the order was first issued.
If the petitioning parent is trying to lower child support payments due to job loss and the judge finds that the loss was intentional, the law will allow the court to impute that parent’s income. Therefore, the judge may base payments on what the parent could earn, or has demonstrated an ability to earn, rather than on current income.
Reach Out to Our Knowledgeable Family Law Team for the Representation You Deserve
If you wish to modify your child support payments, you will need to retain the skilled legal counsel of a knowledgeable family law attorney. At Nichols Dixon PLLC, our experienced family law team is committed to helping clients navigate difficult matters and will help you achieve the best possible results for your case. You can rely on us to provide compassionate and skilled legal support.
Call our law office today at (405) 294-1511 to set up an initial consultation with one of our attorneys to discuss your case.
