The monthly child support obligation is, for many parties in a divorce, child custody, or family law case, a very important issue, as child support orders will generally continue until the parties’ youngest child emancipates. However, in most situations a child support order can always be modified if there has been a change in circumstances.

When a family law, divorce, or child custody case has been closed, either party can usually reopen the case to request to modify the child support order for future payments. (A party can usually request to modify the parenting time or decision-making provisions in a case as well.) Modification requests are usually made in the form of a written motion to modify.

When a party has filed a request to modify child support in a case, the parties are typically required to serve financial disclosures to each other and attend mediation, and if no agreement is reached, the requesting party would have to set the case for a hearing with a judge or magistrate.

If the parties’ incomes or other circumstances justify a modification of child support, any modification could be applied to each payment that was incurred since the date the motion was filed. In some situations, a change in support could be backdated to a date in the past when the physical care of the child or children occurred. The specific effective date of a modification would depend on the specific circumstances of the particular case. If you have further questions about a potential modification of child support on your case, don’t hesitate to contact us today.