A family situation that involves a child support order does not have to be a difficult one. Even if you have trouble getting along with the other parent, you need to make the effort to avoid fighting and other communication issues when around the children. Many people often wonder if they can change the amount of their child support order. Yes, you can, under certain circumstances.
If you have lost your job, been demoted or had your hours reduced at work; you can file to have the child support order modified. This is one of the most common reasons for modification of an order. Why? The person paying the order will have trouble sticking with the amount they were ordered to pay if they have lost their job or their hours were cut at work.
Did you suffer a serious injury or illness? For example, were you diagnosed with cancer or are you disabled from an injury on the job? If so, you can request to have the child support order modified so the payment amount is lowered. You will need to focus a lot of your resources on fighting the disease or rehabbing your injury.
On the other end of things, the person receiving the child support can ask for a modification to increase the amount if you were promoted at work or if you inherited a large sum of money.
Modifying a child support order can only be done by the court. You cannot simply tell the other parent you have to reduce the amount you are paying. At the same time, the other parent cannot simply tell you to pay more. If the court does not modify the order, stick to the original terms