Divorce typically brings a great deal of changes with it. However, a divorce finally being in the rearview mirror for a person certainly doesn’t mean their life suddenly won’t be changing much. There are all sorts of non-divorce-related life-changing circumstances a person could encounter following a divorce.
Some of these circumstances could greatly alter a person’s ability to meet obligations they were assigned in the divorce, such as child support obligations. One option that may be available to a divorced parent who is worried that a recent change in their life might create problems when it comes to meeting child support obligations is to request a modification to their child support order.
When a person encounters a change that they feel could have child-support-related implications for them, among the things that can have big impacts are how quickly they look into what options are available to them and pursue such options. One reason for this is that, the longer a person waits to respond to such a change, the more time the change could have to create problems for them regarding making child support payments. Such problems could expose them to serious legal consequences. Also, child support modifications generally are not retroactive. So, if such a modification is ultimately made, how soon it is made can have big implications.
Another thing that can have major impacts when a person is looking into the possibility of pursuing a child support modification is what guidance they have. Here in California there are various rules regarding:
- What types of changes a modification can be granted for.
- What sorts of information a person has to provide when requesting a modification.
- The process of pursuing a modification.
A person not having strong guidance on these rules as they navigate the process of requesting a modification could lead to them making mistakes which could endanger their overall goals.
So, what a person does and what help and guidance they turn to can matter considerably when they experience life changes that they worry could impact their ability to make child support payments.
Source: FindLaw, “California Child Support Modification,” Accessed June 22, 2017
