Child Support Modification

Child support orders are put in place to meet the needs of the child based on the parents' circumstances at the time of the creation of the order. However, our circumstances, and that of our families, often change, resulting in the need to modify a child support order.

MODIFYING CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS IN FINGER LAKES & CENTRAL NEW YORK

Child support orders are legal orders put forth by a court that require one parent to pay a certain portion of his or her income to the other parent. This is usually done when one parent, who is known as the “custodial” parent cares for the child for a higher percentage of time than the other parent (who is termed the “non-custodial parent' in this situation). The rationale for these payments is to ensure that the parent who bears the larger financial burden related to the costs associated with raising a child is compensated for these costs from the non-custodial parent.

At the time that a child support order is granted by a court, the court will have examined the circumstances of both parents, as well as the needs of the child or children and come up with an appropriate payment structure.

SITUATIONS THAT REQUIRE MODIFYING CHILD SUPPORT IN FINGER LAKES & CENTRAL NEW YORK

However, life circumstances can, and do, change quite often. Many times the payment structure that makes the most sense at the time of the child support order will need to be modified over time. There are many life events which could trigger the need for modification of child support. These include, but are not limited to:

The circumstances of the payor parent change (for example, change in job or career)
The circumstances of the recipient parent change (for example remarrying and therefore experiencing an increase in household income)
The needs of the child change (for example, a child is diagnosed with a physical or mental health condition that will require ongoing care)