How to Reduce Child Support
If you are a divorced or separated parent who has been asked to pay child support, then you may find yourself in a difficult situation.
All too often, courts demand child support at a rate which places significant financial strain on the paying parent. And even if child support payments are initially reasonable, changes in circumstances may lead to a previous level of child support becoming untenable.
Let’s be clear: California law states that you have a legal obligation to support your children financially and pay for their upbringing. And we think that most loving parents would agree that this obligation is a moral as well as a legal one.
However, you DO NOT deserve to have your life ruined by being forced to pay an exorbitant or unrealistic amount of child support, and you should not let anyone convince you that you do. Child support is supposed to be a fair arrangement that works for the betterment of all parties involved, not a bludgeon by which the family court and one parent ruthlessly beat the other.
If child support becomes an undue burden, there are ways to reduce it. In fact, it is fairly common for child support payments to fluctuate over time as circumstances change. And in this article we will explain how you can do that.
An Ounce of Prevention: Make Sure the Initial Child Support Order Is Reasonable
While it is possible to modify a child support order after it has been finalized, the most important steps you can take to decrease your child support burden occur much earlier.
During the initial family court proceedings surrounding the divorce or separation, you and the child’s other parent will attempt to negotiate a reasonable amount of child support. If you cannot agree, then the decision will go to the judge, who will usually base the amount off of the California child support guidelines.
These guidelines are somewhat complex, and there are a lot of potential deductions. If you want to ensure that your child support payments are reasonable, then you will need to take advantage of as many of these deductions as you can. A good family law attorney can help with this.
Not only that, but a family law attorney can put you in a stronger negotiating position during these initial proceedings so that you can ensure you are not being intimidated or taken advantage of.
Once the initial order is finalized, it can still be modified, but your ability to do this will be a lot more limited. So it’s better to come out the gate strong rather than try to get an order modified later. An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound (or more) of cure.
Modifying a Child Support Order
What You Must Prove: A Material Change in Circumstances
Let’s say that the order has been finalized but you still want to modify it. What’s the next step?
Once your child support order has been issued by the family court, then the court must approve any subsequent request for modification of child support. Generally, in order to do this, you must show that a material change in circumstances has occurred since the child support order.
There are a few different events which constitute a material change in circumstances:
- Your income decreases. This applies whether you lose your job or merely suffer a decrease in pay. Whichever is the case, a decrease in income will allow you to petition for a modification. You will also be able to do so if you experience an injury, illness, or disability which hinders your ability to work.
- The other parent’s income increases. Changes in circumstances don’t just involve your income. If you find out that the other parent’s income has increased, then you can ask for your rate of child support to be lowered. After all, if the other parent found out that you were earning a higher income, they would likely not be shy about asking that you pay more in child support, and this works both ways!
- Your amount of parenting time increases. Child support is typically paid to the parent with primary custody by the noncustodial parent, on the assumption that the custodial parent is already financially supporting the child on a daily basis. But if this changes and the child starts to spend more time in your care, then you can petition for a decrease proportionate to this increase in time.
- You have more children. You have a legal duty to care for all of your children, and if you have a new child with a different partner, then this will reduce the amount of child support that you owe to your current child or children. Of course, your overall child support obligation will go up, so having more children isn’t a good way to reduce your financial burden!
- You were incarcerated in jail or prison, for any reason other than failure to pay child support or domestic violence. Once you are freed, however, the payments will start up again at their previous rate unless you petition for a more permanent change.
- There has been a change in the child’s needs. It is common for a child’s specific needs to fluctuate. This can often lead to an increase in child support, but if there is a decrease in the child’s need (for instance, if your child starts attending a less expensive school) then you should not hesitate to ask for a modification.
Limitations
Even with a material change in circumstances, you will not necessarily be allowed to modify child support.
For one thing, the change must be significant. Generally, this means that the modification must be either at least 20% of the current order or at least $50.
For another, if you experience a voluntary drop in income, whether because you are voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the courts will calculate your child support from your imputed income, which is what you would be earning if you were working to your full capacity, rather than your actual income.
Proving a Chance in Circumstances
In order for the court to acknowledge a change in circumstances, you must provide evidence of that change.
The evidence you must provide will vary depending on the reasons why you are requesting a modification. If you are trying to prove a change in income, then you will need to provide the court with records of your income and expenses. If you are trying to prove a change in parenting time, then you will need to provide a schedule showing the amount of time the child provides with each parent.
The stronger your evidence is, the more likely you will be to obtain the requested modification. To make the strongest possible case to the court, your best bet is to have a family lawyer backing you up.
The Process of Modifying a Child Support Order
To actually go about changing a child support order, you will have to file a request for modification with the court. This is a fairly involved process with several necessary bureaucratic hurdles, and it is better to discuss these hurdles in detail with someone familiar with your situation, but here is a brief outline of how the process works.
First, you must contact either the family court or the local child support agency handling your case. Going through the court is often quicker, and you can do this even if a local child support agency is involved.
If you file with the court, you will have to fill out a number of forms, including:
- A Request for Order (FL-300); and
- Either an Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150) or a Financial Statement (Simplified) (FL-155).
The FL-150 is more complicated than the FL-155, and must generally be used if you are self-employed or if you have any unusual sources of income. While the simplified FL-155 can be done on your own, the more complicated form will require legal help, either from an attorney or a family law facilitator.
Once the forms have been filled out, you must:
- Make copies of the original for both yourself and the other parent;
- File your forms with the court and obtain a court date;
- Serve the other parent and local child support agency, if applicable, with your papers; and
- File either a Proof of Service by Mail (FL-335) or a Proof of Personal Service (FL-330).
There may be additional steps to take after the court hearing as well. A child support agent or attorney can often walk you through the steps.
What If My Order Was Above the Guidelines?
As we mentioned, child support in California is determined by a set of guidelines which take into account various factors such as parents’ income, parenting time, and the number of children. However, these guidelines are not hard-and-fast rules, and the child support order may be higher or lower, if the parents agree to it or if the court believes that it would be in the child’s best interest.
So, how does a child support order above the guidelines impact your ability to modify child support?
The answer is not much. According to state law, even if the level of child support you were ordered to pay was above the legal guidelines, you must still show that there has been a material change in circumstances in order to obtain a reduction.
The interesting (and, many would say, unfair) part of this is that there is no such requirement on the flip side. If you are paying an amount below the child support guidelines, then the other parent can, in many cases, file a petition to raise the level of child support up to the guidelines without showing a material change in circumstances.
That is why it is so important to negotiate for a favorable amount before the order is finalized, particularly if you are the one paying the child support.
Things to Keep in Mind
Be Careful About Asking for Modifications
Before asking for a child support modification, you should be certain that it is actually in your best interest. To do this, you must take into account the full scope of the situation.
For instance, let’s say that you are trying to get a decrease in child support because your income decreased. But when you ask the family court for a modification, they find that there is a countervailing factor which offsets this, such as a decrease in the amount of time which you spend with the child.
If this occurs, then instead of getting your amount of child support lowered, you might actually see it go up!
That’s why, before asking for a modification, you should consider as many factors as you can, just so that you can be certain (or at least fairly certain) that it’s the right move to make. In order to do this accurately, you should ideally know about the other parent’s income and financial situation as well as your own.
Don’t Waste Time
If you are certain that the change of circumstances is in your favor, then you can’t procrastinate. You must petition for a modification right away.
That’s because modifications in child support cannot be granted retroactively.
For instance, let’s say that you lose your job and then wait six months to ask for a modification. Even if your modification is granted, then the court will not give you any sort of credit for the support you paid between the change of circumstances and the granting of the modification. You will still owe support at the same rate for the previous six months.
So remember, time is of the essence when asking for a modification!
Don’t Go Rogue
It can be frustrating and difficult to navigate the family court system. So frustrating and difficult, in fact, that many parents are tempted to simply stop paying, or pay less, rather than go through the process of asking for a modification.
This isn’t a good idea; the family court system is powerful and the law takes an extremely punitive attitude toward parents who do not pay the required amount of child support. At worst, you could be found in contempt of court, which may result in jail time. The court may also extract the required amount from you via liens and wage garnishment.
Disobeying the court system is not a good plan. This does not, however, change the fact that the process can be difficult and often unfair. The proper way to rectify this is not to go rogue but to seek the strongest possible legal representation that you can, in order to fight the system effectively and ensure that your rights are respected.
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