Modifying or Changing a Support Order

If there is a change in your income or there are other circumstances that affect your ability to pay your child support, you should go back to court immediately and file a petition for modification. The petition for modification is filed with the court that originally issued the child support order.

After the petition for modification is filed, a hearing date will be set. At the hearing you will have to present information, including documents about your change in income or other changes, to the judge or hearing examiner. Based on the new information, the court may change your order. If it does, the change will go back to the date that you filed the petition. You will also get credit for whatever you have paid since then. That is why you should ask for a modification immediately when you have a change in income. It is also why you should keep paying as much as you can.

Remember that only the court can change the amount you owe. Until it does, under the law you still owe the amount of support in the original court order. If you do not keep paying that amount until it is changed, steps will be taken to collect that amount from you. If you cannot pay all that you are supposed to, you should keep paying as much as you can until the court changes the amount. The worst thing you can do is not pay anything at all.


Failing to Pay Child Support

The child support enforcement agency keeps track of the money you owe. Amounts you owe that you have not paid are called arrears. If you have arrears, the agency will take steps to collect that money. These steps include:

Taking your tax refund

Taking lottery winnings

Taking your bank accounts

Suspending your driver's license

Notifying credit reporting agencies about your debt

Sentenced to time in jail

You will get a notice in the mail before any of these things happen. The notice will tell you exactly what you have to do to stop these consequences from happening. For example, if you get a notice that your driver's license is going to be suspended, you can keep your license by making an arrangement with the agency to pay what you owe.

If you try to avoid being found, the child support enforcement agency will use many ways to find you, even if you go to another state. All states have child support enforcement agencies, and they all work together to find people who are not paying child support. Once you are found, enforcement actions will begin to collect all the money you owe.