You and your child’s other parent may agree to modify the child support terms, but even an agreed-upon modification for child support must be approved by a judge to be legally enforceable.
If you and your ex can’t agree on a change, you must request the court to hold a hearing in which each of you can argue the pros and cons of the proposed modification. As a general rule, the court will not modify an existing order unless the parent proposing the modification can show a change of circumstances. This rule helps prevent the court from becoming overburdened with frequent and repetitive modification requests.
Depending on the circumstances, a modification may be temporary or permanent. Examples of the types of changes that frequently support temporary modification orders are:
- child’s medical emergency
- the payer’s temporary inability to pay (for instance, because of illness or an additional financial burden such as a medical emergency or job loss), or
- temporary economic or medical hardship on the part of the recipient parent.
A permanent modification may be awarded under one of the following circumstances:
- either parent receives additional income from remarriage
- job change of either parent
- cost of living increase
- disability of either parent, or
- needs of the child.
A permanent modification of a child support order will remain in effect until support is no longer required.
Copyright �� 2005 Nolo