Do You Need to Modify Your Child Support Arrangement?

In California, you must pay court-ordered child support. If you’re not receiving the child support payments the court has ordered your ex to make, or if you need to change your child support payment amount, schedule a consultation at once to meet with a Fresno child support attorney.

Unless divorcing parents compromise and reach a voluntary agreement regarding child support, a court will determine the child support payment amount by using California’s complicated child support guidelines.

These guidelines factor in the parents’ assets, incomes, earning capacities, the number and needs of the children, and the amount of time a parent spends with each child. But what happens if a parent who pays child support loses his or her job and suddenly has no regular income?

How is “Income” Defined in a California Child Support Dispute?

Parents have a duty – and a legal obligation in California – to support their children financially. If you pay child support and you have lost your job or you are seeking to reduce the amount of your child support payments, speak promptly to a Fresno child support lawyer.

The California courts define income as more than earnings. By law, income includes salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, pensions, dividends, workers’ compensation and Social Security benefits, income from rental properties, and income from an annuity or trust.

If you cannot make court-ordered child support payments due to unemployment (or some other substantial change in your life), you can’t just stop making payments. You must contact a Fresno family law attorney who will ask the court on your behalf to modify its child support order.

What Are California’s Child Support Rules?

In a typical case, child support payments in California must be made until a child’s 18th birthday. Payments may extend beyond that date if both parents agree, if the child is physically or mentally handicapped, or until the child’s 19th birthday if the child is still in high school.

Several factors are considered when a court determines the exact child support payment amount, including the state’s child support guidelines, but the California courts will always place a child’s best interests above every other consideration.

Life changes are inevitable. When you get married, for example, you do not anticipate a divorce. When you divorce, you can’t know how your situation may change in the next few years. A court’s child support order may, over time, become impractical or obsolete.

How Are Child Support Orders Modified?

The amount you pay in child support may be modified by a court order after a substantial change in your life, such as losing your job. After meeting with you, your Fresno child support lawyer will prepare the necessary legal paperwork and ask the court to modify its child support order.

The reasons you are requesting a modification of the child support order must be articulated clearly, and your petition to the court must include an income and expense disclosure. If that disclosure is inaccurate or incomplete, your modification request could be delayed or denied.

The most frequent mistake when requesting a child support modification is a failure to include copies of documents like tax returns and pay stubs. Your expenses must be accurately and fully documented. Your lawyer will help you complete the legal paperwork and ensure its accuracy.

If Your Request for a Modification is Challenged

Requested modifications of child support orders are not automatically approved. After the court receives your petition for a modification, the other parent will have the opportunity to respond. If your ex does not believe the modification is necessary or appropriate, you will need a Fresno child support attorney who will advocate for you at a child support modification hearing.

At that hearing, the best interests of the child or children will be the court’s highest priority. The court will review each parent’s financial disclosures and hear testimony from both sides.

After considering the evidence and testimony the parents provide, the court will determine if a modification of the child support order is necessary and, if so, decide on a new payment amount.

When a court-ordered child support arrangement is already in place, private and unofficial agreements between the parents will not carry any legal authority or weight. If you cannot make child support payments after you lose your job, you must ask the court to modify its order.

Have You Fallen Behind on Child Support Payments?

A modification of the court’s child support order can reduce the amount of your child support payments going forward, but it will not reduce the child support amount you owe if you have already fallen behind. The state’s Compromise of Arrears Program (COAP) may be able to help.

Not all California parents who have fallen behind on child support payments will be eligible for assistance through the Compromise of Arrears Program, and any reduction of the amount you owe for child support will depend on your current income and assets.

The Compromise of Arrears Program does not change the child support amount you must pay each month. Only a modification of the court’s child support order does that. Your child support lawyer can advise you regarding COAP and help you prepare the necessary paperwork.

Let The Bains Law Offices Handle Your Child Support Modification Request

If you need to reduce the amount of your child support payments because of unemployment or any other reason, The Bains Law Offices will protect your rights and make sure nothing unnecessarily delays the modification process. We represent parents in Fresno County and throughout the Central Valley region.

Our family law team at The Bains Law Offices has considerable experience helping parents modify child support orders. We also handle adoptions, divorces, child custody disputes, paternity cases, and most other matters of family law.

If you have lost your job in the greater Central Valley area, or if you cannot make your court-ordered child support payments for any other reason, call The Bains Law Offices immediately at 559-282-8924 to schedule an evaluation of your case with no obligation.