If you lose your job or cannot pay child support for another reason – such as your income was lowered or you are going to prison – the court will not automatically change the amount of child support you are supposed to pay.

If you cannot pay, immediately go to the Family Court where the order was made and file a petition for downward modification. This is a written request asking the court to lower the amount of child support you pay. To get the court to lower the amount, you must prove that a substantial change of circumstances has happened since the support magistrate made the final order.

  • A substantial change of circumstance can be that you are incarcerated, as long as the incarceration is not because of not paying child support or a crime against the custodial parent or child.
  • You can also ask for a modification if 3 years have passed since the last order was made.
  • Also, if either you or the custodial parent’s income change (either up or down) by 15% or more since the last order was made, you may request a downward modification.

When you go to court, you must bring proof that your income changed. You should ask the court to reduce your support going back to the date when you filed the petition. However, until the court makes a different order, you must continue to pay the original amount.

The court may look at what you made before and decide that you could make more than you do now. If this happens, the court might not change the order.

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Last Reviewed: October 26, 2023