As a family law attorney, I often get asked how to modify a child support obligation. Whether one party thinks they are paying too much, or the other party thinks they are getting too little, it’s common for one or both parties to want to revisit the issue of child support.
As you can imagine, there is no one size fits all answer to this question. However, there is a basic framework that governs child support modification, and it can help you answer that question. My goal with this article is to explain that framework and give you a better idea as to how child support can be modified.
How Is Child Support Calculated?
An important question to address right off the bat is how child support gets calculated. Presumably, if you understand how child support gets calculated in the first place it will be easier to figure out how to change it. Unfortunately, determining support can be complicated because there are strict statutory guidelines that need to be followed. For all the nitty gritty details, I’d like to direct you to my article on how child support gets calculated.
For those who just want the basics, the main thing to realize is that there are two main variables that determine your child support obligation here in Florida:
- How much money you are making.
- How many overnight stays each child has with you every year.
If you change either of those variables in a meaningful way, you could be eligible for a change in your child support payment.
The Legal Standard for Modifying Child Support
The legal standard for changing child support is “a substantial change in circumstances.” It is important that the substantial change is material (i.e., it’s a good size change that actually has an effect on the situation) and unforeseen. This substantial change really could be any number of things. Maybe a spouse loses a job, or gets a better job, or takes on greater responsibility with one or more of the children. Maybe there has been a change in benefits one spouse is getting from their job and they put the children under their health insurance plan. Or perhaps the change is that child support was incorrectly calculated in the past. It really depends on your specific situation. Keep in mind that the substantial change in circumstances needs change the child support amount by at least 15% or $50.
The bottom line is that there has to be some substantial change in either the amount of money you are making or the amount of time you are spending with your children. Reducing the amount of money you make (potentially) lowers your child support obligation. Increasing the amount of time you spend with your children (in the form of overnight visits) also reduces your child support obligation. On the flip side, reducing the time you spend and increasing the amount of money you make generally increases your child support obligation.
Changing Child Support – the Mechanics
Child support is modified by filing a Petition to Modify Child Support. If you have already divorced your spouse this could be a supplemental petition that tacks onto your divorce case, or it could be an entirely new action. Either way, in the petition you would outline basic facts of the case and then launch into why the court should modify your child support (the substantial change in circumstances).
The petition is basically a mini lawsuit and it needs to be served on the other party by either a sheriff or private process server. Once the petition has been served the next step is typically to schedule a hearing. Depending on the details of your petition (and the specific facts of your case) you may need to do things like, produce new income records, or propose a new parenting plan. If it’s a case I’m involved in, I work with the other party and their attorney. If the case involves the Department of Revenue (DOR) I get in touch with the Attorney General’s office and work on getting the case resolved with them.
Once these issues have been addressed and the necessary legal legwork has been completed, it’s time to schedule a hearing on the petition. Because the rules of child support are so rigid and formulaic, if you have done your homework the hearing is often the easy part. At the hearing the court will go through the petition and supporting documents and ultimately (if everything goes well) issues an order modifying the child support. If your child support is being deducted through an income deduction order, the IDO will be modified. The court will also calculate any child support credits or arrears.
Florida Child Support Modification – Final Thoughts
I hope my overview on child support modification was helpful and gave you an appreciation for the legal standards and how support obligations actually get modified. As a family law attorney in Venice Florida I help individuals throughout Sarasota County and the surrounding area understand their child support obligations and modify them as necessary. If you have questions about your child support payment, I encourage you to give me a call at (941) 882-4367 so we can discuss your specific case.
