Child support is often an essential topic during divorce because it has a significant effect on the family after finalizing the process. This legal obligation is for the child’s sole benefit, potentially impacting their quality of life and access to other necessities. Child support arrangements also help distribute financial responsibility for the child, allowing both parents to retain involvement as providers.
However, deciding on child support details often happens during the divorce without considering future scenarios that may impact the parents and their financial situations. These developments can be enough to modify the amount of child support. It can be reasonable to ask for a child support amount modification if the following happens:
- Any scenario impacting the parent’s income, such as termination of employment or promotions
- The court granted amendments concerning custody or visitation, potentially affecting child support
- A parent sustained severe injury, leading to long-term disabilities and other impairments
- There are significant changes involving the household, such as new members in the family
- The parent undergoes other life changes, such as serving in the military
These events can be valid reasons to request the amount modification, but there is no guarantee that it will happen. Typically, the requesting party needs to provide supporting documents and other information for the request. After evaluating these details, the court will decide whether to grant the change.
Other options to modify the child support amount
If the child’s parents agree that modifying the support amount is necessary, they can draft an agreement and file it to request the change. However, it might only be viable if the parents are on good terms. If not, seeking other ways to modify the amount aside from the standard process can be challenging. Under these circumstances, it can be helpful to seek legal counsel before filing the request.