How do I change child support in my court order?

You or your partner may need to change your child support order because of changes to your situation. For example:

• The payor parent loses their job and can no longer pay the child support ordered.
• The payor parent makes more money and the other parent wants them to pay more child support.
• Your child finishes school, marries, or moves out on their own.
• Your child is working full-time.
• Your child is living with the other parent or a different person.
• There are new special or extraordinary expenses.

A change in the income of the parent receiving support is generally not a reason to change the court order. This is because that parent’s income is usually not taken into account when deciding how much child support should be paid.

Your court order may deal with these kinds of situations. For example, it might say that child support ends when your child gets their degree or diploma.

If your court order does not say what should happen if there are changes to your situation, you and your partner can agree to change your court order. If you can’t agree, you can get help from a family law professional or go to court and ask a judge to decide.