A furlough can stop your paycheck overnight. It does not stop your support order. In a video recorded during the fall 2025 federal shutdown, Carla L. Hartley, managing partner of Hartley Vojtik Law Group, explained why furloughed parents and former spouses who “wait and see” can end up owing thousands in back support, and the one step that protects them. Here is that advice, with the rules in California and Texas.
Key Takeaways
- A furlough does not pause or reduce a child support or spousal support order. Only a new court order does.
- In both California and Texas, a reduction usually can reach back only to around the date you filed (California) or the date the other side was served or appeared (Texas). It does not reach back to the day your furlough started.
- If your income has dropped, file and serve a request to modify promptly, even if you expect to go back to work soon.
Does a furlough pause my child support or spousal support?
No. A furlough, whether from a government shutdown or a private employer, does not change your court order. Support keeps accruing at the ordered amount until a judge signs a new order, even if nobody is collecting it right now.
Federal law requires every state to treat each child support installment as a judgment once it comes due. It also bars states from retroactively modifying those installments, except back to the date notice of a modification request was given (42 U.S.C. §666(a)(9), often called the Bradley Amendment). California and Texas both follow this rule. Informal deals don’t change it either: as we explain in our post on handshake agreements to skip payments, the parent who agreed to wait is still legally owed the money.
If the child support agency says it won’t collect during my furlough, am I off the hook?
No. When an agency abates or defers collection, it is only choosing not to enforce for a while. Your obligation itself does not change, and every missed month is still added to what you owe.
Carla said in the video that some child support agencies had offered to stop collecting while furloughs were in progress. Her warning:
“Abatement, deferral — those are abating collections, not dismissing or modifying or vacating the order for the months of the furlough. … It’s deferring collections; it’s not deferring the actual accruing arrearages.” — Carla L. Hartley
In California, child support is enforced by local child support agencies under the Department of Child Support Services. In Texas, it is enforced by the Office of the Attorney General’s Child Support Division. If an agency tells you it is pausing collection, get that in writing and ask exactly what it covers.
Can child support be lowered retroactively after a furlough?
Only back to a date tied to your court filing, never to the first day of your furlough. That is why the timing of your filing matters more than anything else.
California law
A California support order cannot be modified for amounts that came due before you filed your request to modify (Cal. Fam. Code §3651(c)(1)). A new order can be made retroactive to the filing date or any later date (§3653(a)). When the change is based on unemployment, the order generally must reach back to the later of the date the other party was served or the date you became unemployed, unless the court finds good cause not to and states its reasons (§3653(b)). Spousal support orders in a divorce or legal separation follow the same filing-date principle (§4333).
Texas law
A Texas child support order can be modified only for payments that come due after the earlier of the date the other party is served or the date they appear in the modification case (Tex. Fam. Code §156.401(b)). Texas has no open-ended alimony like California’s. Court-ordered spousal maintenance exists only in limited circumstances under Chapter 8 of the Family Code. A change to maintenance applies only to payments that come due after the motion to modify is filed (§8.057(c)). Contractual alimony in an agreed divorce decree generally follows the terms of the agreement.
What the math looks like
Carla used a simple example in the video. Say you owe $1,000 a month and are furloughed for October, November, and December, and you don’t file anything. When you go back to work in January, you owe $3,000 in arrears. If the furlough drags on for eight or nine months, or becomes a permanent layoff, you can owe $8,000 to $9,000 that no court can erase. You may also owe interest. Texas charges 6% simple interest a year on delinquent child support (Tex. Fam. Code §157.265), and California applies 10% a year (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §685.010).
What if I get back pay when the furlough ends?
If back pay arrives, you may be able to pay off the missed months with no lasting harm. But you can’t control whether or when it comes, so don’t count on it to protect you.
Federal employees are covered by the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which provides retroactive pay after a lapse in appropriations. The law that ended the 2025 shutdown on November 12, 2025, expressly provided that pay. Since then, the Office of Personnel Management’s shutdown guidance has said that Congress will determine through legislation whether furloughed employees are paid for furlough periods. Federal contractors and private-sector employees often have no back-pay guarantee. As Carla asked: how long are you willing to gamble on that check?
If you collect unemployment benefits while furloughed, keep in mind that they count as income for child support in both states (Cal. Fam. Code §4058(a)(1); Tex. Fam. Code §154.062(b)(5)).
Can I be held in contempt for missing support while furloughed?
Possibly. In both states, being unable to pay can be a defense to contempt. But it is a defense you have to prove, and courts look at all of your resources, not just your paycheck.
In Texas, a parent accused of contempt for unpaid child support must show that they could not pay, had no property to sell or borrow against, tried and failed to borrow the money, and knew of no other legal source for it (Tex. Fam. Code §157.008(c)). In California, inability to comply is likewise an affirmative defense that the parent must prove, and a willful failure to look for work can support contempt (Moss v. Superior Court (1998) 17 Cal.4th 396). Unpaid support can also lead to liens, tax-refund intercepts, and license suspensions; see what happens when child support goes unpaid.
What should I do right now if I’ve been furloughed?
File and serve a request to modify your support promptly. In many cases you can ask for a hearing date a few months out, so you lock in the earliest possible effective date while you find out whether you’ll be called back or receive back pay.
Carla’s advice in the video was direct: “File the motion, get yourself on calendar, and protect yourself.” In practice, that usually means:
- Read your current order. Note what it covers and which court issued it.
- Gather proof: your furlough notice, recent pay stubs, any unemployment benefit statements, and your monthly expenses.
- File and serve. In California, this is typically a Request for Order (FL-300) with an Income and Expense Declaration (FL-150). In Texas, it is a petition to modify filed in the court with continuing jurisdiction, or a review request through the Attorney General in cases the agency handles. Service matters: in Texas, the effective date is tied to service or appearance.
- Talk with the other parent or your former spouse. If you agree on a temporary change, put it in a written stipulation and have the court enter it. See how to modify a child or spousal support order.
- Keep paying what you can, and keep records of every payment.
My support order is from California, but I live in Texas (or the reverse). Which state’s law applies?
Usually the state that issued the order. Under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), the issuing state keeps exclusive authority to modify child support as long as a parent or the child still lives there, or the parties agree it can keep the case.
Both states have adopted UIFSA (Cal. Fam. Code §5700.205; Tex. Fam. Code §159.205). If you moved to Texas but your former spouse and children still live in Ventura County, for example, a request to modify a California child support order generally must be filed in California, and California’s timing rules apply. Spousal support is stricter: only the state that issued the order can modify it, wherever the parties now live (Cal. Fam. Code §5700.211; Tex. Fam. Code §159.211). See our page on multi-state jurisdictional issues.
Frequently asked questions
Does a government shutdown stop child support?
No. A shutdown or furlough does not suspend a child support order. Payments keep coming due until a court modifies the order.
Can my ex and I agree to skip payments during my furlough?
You can agree, but the agreement protects you only if a court enters it as an order. Otherwise, the missed payments remain legally owed.
Is a furlough a big enough change to modify support?
It can be. California and Texas both allow modification when circumstances change materially (Texas uses the phrase “material and substantial change”). Whether a furlough qualifies depends on its length, your other income, and the facts.
Do I need a lawyer to file a modification?
Not always. California court self-help centers and TexasLawHelp.org offer forms and guidance. A lawyer can help with timing and the right court, especially in two-state cases.
What if I’m called back to work before my hearing?
Tell the court and the other party. The court can then decide what, if any, change is appropriate; filing early keeps the options open.
Talk with a California and Texas family law team
If a furlough has disrupted your income and you have a support order in California, Texas, or both, Hartley Vojtik Law Group can help you understand your options and timing. Contact our Ventura child support attorneys at 833-647-2377, or our Arlington child support lawyers at 817-859-4375, or request a consultation.
| About the author Carla L. Hartley is the founder and managing partner of Hartley Vojtik Law Group. She is licensed to practice law in California and Texas and is admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. She earned her J.D. with High Honors from the Colleges of Law, Ventura Campus, and has served as a Judge Pro Tempore in the family law departments of the Ventura Superior Court. Read Carla’s full bio. |
This article is general information about California and Texas law as of the date of publication. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts, and laws and agency practices change. Responsible attorney: Carla L. Hartley, Hartley Vojtik Law Group, 1601 Eastman Avenue, Unit 205, Ventura, CA 93003 and 2366 E. Road to Six Flags, Suite 505, Arlington, TX 76011.
