A child support order is enforceable and legally binding whether it originated from a divorce or other family law matter. The contracts are illegal if violated, and if one side fails to comply, the other has legal options. You might recall from the original proceedings that the child support laws provide an income-based formula based on a percentage of the monthly income of the noncustodial parent as the basis for the calculation, and the amount varies according to the number of children who need to be supported.
A parental agreement or other situation that would make the guidelines unfair could also impact child support. Contact a divorce lawyer to learn how to modify child support contracts.
How can you modify child support?
Although parents cannot alter the conditions independently, the payor or the recipient may ask the court to modify the child support arrangement. To ensure compliance with all legal requirements and procedural standards, it is essential to get legal advice from a child support modification lawyer. Although every case is different, the fundamental methods are as follows.
- Continue to pay full child support on time.
Before starting the legal procedure, consider your duties under the present child support order. It is illegal to make payments in part, delay payments altogether, or use other tactics until a court approves your motion for modification. Keep up to date and comply with the court’s order to refrain from:
- An enforcement action by the other parent of your child;
- Having to pay solicitors’ expenses, interest, and penalties.
- Determine grounds for altering child support.
A judge can alter the child support obligation for the following basic reasons:
- Both social and personal factors might require an alteration when the judge’s present child support order remains in place for over three years.
- Changing circumstances encountered by the parent or the kid justifies modifying child support.
- Gather proof to back up your assertions.
To file a petition to modify under the three-year rule, you must offer evidence of the difference between the current values and the Texas child support standards at the time of the original judgment.
- Examine your choices for modifying your child support.
Changes in child support are encouraged among parents, but the court still has to approve any new arrangement. Working things out by agreement may be helpful when you have enough data to warrant a revision based on the three-year guideline or a change in circumstances.
Contact your lawye
Your lawyer is prepared to support your requirements whether you want to modify child support or defend a move by your child’s other parent.
