After a divorce, situations can change. Either parent may start struggling to pay child support due to changes in financial stability. The other parent may also have a financial opportunity to start paying higher child support payments. Even if child support has already been settled by the court, you are allowed to legally request a child support modification.
Many questions surround this topic. One of them is under what circumstances a child support payments be modified. Does it matter which of the parents request this modification?
Involuntary Income Reduction
Certain unavoidable financial situations may demand a change in the child support arrangement. Circumstances such as loss of a primary source of income, disability, or bankruptcy may deter a parent from meeting their obligations and make child support payments.
The parent may seek to make an adjustment or request additional aid to meet the current support amount. However, the reasons leading to the loss in income should be legitimate and justifiable.
Substantial Increase In Income
The custodial parent, or the parent with physical custody, may ask for a child support modification if he or she discovers that the parent responsible for child support payments has recorded a substantial increase in income. The custodial parent may consider petitioning for an increase in child support payments. In such a case, it would be smart to proceed with the advice of a family law attorney.
Increased Responsibilities
As children grow, so do their needs increase. They may be put into private education, participate in extracurricular activities, go for regular dental check-ups, and much more. The custodial parent might consider going to court to request for additional child support payments owing to the increase in costs associated with growing kids.
Growing Families
When a parent responsible for paying child support payments remarries or bears other children, his or her responsibilities tend to increase. Depending on the financial power, he or she may want to adjust the amounts paid to child support citing the reason that there are more obligations to cater for. The parent will present other kids for the child support modification request.
Changes in Parenting Plan
If parents switch roles as a long-term arrangement, there may be the need to request child support modification. For instance, if a child starts living with the parent paying child support, on a long-term basis, it would cost that parent more money to see that the child’s responsibilities are catered for. Therefore, it would be prudent to seek an adjustment or request to pay less for child support.
At Drexler Law, we understand that child support adjustment can be an unsettling process. Our seasoned family law attorneys can guide you through the journey in court when petitioning for a child support modification.
If you are in this situation, contact us at (719) 259-0050 and let us address your child support concerns.
