CHANGING A CHILD SUPPORT ORDER
Life
may have changed since the court ordered child support for your child and you
may need to change the order. There are 4 things it is important to know about
changing a child support order. The court can only modify the order after 3
kinds of changes:
-
certain expenses for taking care of your child
have changed; or
-
a parent’s health insurance choices have
changed.
-
It does
not matter if you pay child support or you get child support. If either
parent’s life has changed in any of these 3 ways, you can ask the court to
modify the order. You have a right to
get the order changed if:
-
the Child Support Guidelines say the amount of
child support should be different from the amount in the order; or
-
a parent’s health insurance choices have
changed.
-
If the
court changes the order, the change only goes back to the time you “served” the
other parent with the complaint. It is important to file a complaint to modify
as soon as you know you need to change the order.
What
can I ask the court to change in the order?
You can
ask the court to change:
-
each parent’s share of routine medical and
dental expenses over $250 each year;
-
each parent’s share of unexpected medical and
dental expenses;
-
each parent’s share of other child-related
expenses like educational or summer camp expense;
-
which parent pays child support;
-
which parent provides health insurance;
-
when the order ends – See Ending a child support
order.
When
can I get the child support order changed?
You can
ask the court to change the child support order if there has been some kind of
change in one or both parents’ finances or a change in health insurance
choices. The financial change must be:
-
the income of one or both parents,
-
expenses for caring for your child if
-
your child moves or your child’s health changes
dramatically.
-
the amount that either parent pays for child
care, health insurance, dental insurance, or
vision
insurance.
Some of
the changes that can cause a parent’s income to go up or down are:
-
losing a job,
-
going on unemployment,
-
going on welfare,
-
getting a job that pays more money,
-
getting fewer hours at work,
-
getting injured or going on disability, or
-
going to prison.
-
When
does the court have to change a child support order?
When
you file a complaint to modify a child support order, the court must change the
child support order if:
-
the Child Support Guidelines say the amount of
child support should be different from the amount in the order; or
-
the child needs health insurance, and one of the
parents cannot get health insurance anymore or
-
one of the parents can now get health insurance.
If the court changes my child support order, how far back does it go?
If the
court changes your child support order, the new order only goes back to the
date the Complaint for Modification was “served”. The “served” date is the date
that the other parent gets the summons and complaint about the case.
The new
order does not go back to the date that your job or health care changed.
You cannot change the amount of money you get or money you
owe before the “served” date.
For example:
-
You pay child support but you lose your job on
July 12th.
-
You file a Complaint for Modification on August
20th.
-
The other parent gets the Summons (official
notice) and Complaint on August 24th.
-
The court changes your child support order on
September 18th. The court decides that you should pay less money.
-
You pay less money starting on August 24th, not
on July 12th.
Please remember that this answer is provided in the spirit
of public education, not as legal advice. If you require legal advice for a
particular situation, you should consult an attorney.
All the Best
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