How Do You Modify Child Support?
Child support can be modified in two ways:
- By mutual agreement of the parties
- By a court order.
To modify child support, the requesting party will have to prove to the court that a substantial change in circumstance occurred after the original order was put in place. An example of a change in circumstance could be a substantial increase or change in the child’s needs such as medical expenses or possibly a substantial increase in schooling, activities, or necessities.
There are typically three situations in which a court will consider modifying child custody.
- There has been at least 20% change in the parent’s gross income.
This could be either by one of the parents getting a significant raise, or a loss of employment by one of the parents. - Three years have passed since the original order was put in place, and so it’s time to revisit that custody order to make sure that the orders that were put in place three years ago are still working in your family’s situation today.
- A change in custody.
For example at the time of the original order maybe the parents were sharing joint physical custody, and now that custody order has changed to one parent having primary custody. In this situation the primary custodian will be entitled to receive additional child support.
For more information regarding Child Support or other topics involving Divorce, check out our Family Law Blog or Family Law Playlist on our Youtube Page.
If you are thinking about modifying your child support order, contact our office to schedule a consultation to discuss your specific situation further. You can reach our office at info@ljlawlv.com, (702) 998-1188, or schedule a consultation online.