Help with Modifying Child Support

How You Modify Child Support

When it comes to supporting your children, The Harris Law Firm knows that you are not willing to compromise. Our attorneys have 250 years of combined experience and use their skills in negotiation and aggressive trial tactics in order to craft the best possible solutions for our clients, especially children.

Modifying child support can be a motion initiated by either the payee spouse or the recipient spouse, but either case requires proof of changed circumstances.

Changing circumstances can include:

• Change in Income: A substantial increase or decrease in the income of either parent can warrant a modification. This could be due to job loss, a new job, a promotion, or even a demotion.
• Change in Parenting Time: If the amount of time the child spends with either parent changes significantly, this can affect the child support arrangement. For example, if a parent who had less parenting time gains more custody, they may request a reduction in their child support payments.
• Change in Child’s Needs: The needs of the child can change as they grow. Increased costs related to health care, education, or extracurricular activities may require adjustments in the support order.
• Change in Health Insurance or Medical Costs: If there is a change in the availability or cost of health insurance or medical expenses for the child, it may be grounds for modification. For instance, if a child develops a medical condition that requires expensive treatment, it could lead to an adjustment in child support.
• Disability of a Parent or Child: If a parent or child becomes disabled, it can drastically alter financial needs or the ability of a parent to earn income, justifying a change in the child support order.
• Relocation of a Parent: If one parent moves to a different city or state, it could impact their ability to adhere to the current support order, especially if it affects their employment or income.
• Emancipation of the Child: If the child reaches the age of emancipation or otherwise becomes independent (e.g., marries or joins the military), child support may need to be modified or terminated.
• Change in Financial Obligations: A parent’s new financial obligations, such as having more children with a new partner, might impact the child support payments required under the original order.
• Incarceration: If a parent becomes incarcerated, their ability to pay child support is likely diminished, and they may request a modification.
• Cost of Living Adjustments: Significant increases in living costs for either parent may also be considered a reason for modifying child support.

In Colorado, to request a modification, the change in circumstances must generally result in at least a 10% difference in the child support amount.

The Harris Law Firm Represents the Needs of Children

While a child’s financial needs are obviously important, child support disputes can potentially cause more harm than good. It can be a deeply emotional and turbulent process. Child support disputes can put a child directly between two warring sides, causing rifts in his or her family and harming his or her self-image.

If you want to facilitate modifications to a child support agreement, you will need to provide both sensitive and aggressive measures—difficult without skilled legal representation. A good child custody lawyer can represent the child’s needs on all fronts: legally, financially, and emotionally.

The family law attorneys at The Harris Law Firm advocate for the needs of children in any situation involving custody or support. Many members of our legal team are familiar with the personal costs incurred in a divorce, both as parents and as children. We fight for the best possible solution for our clients, which includes fighting for the rights of their children while insulating them from the process. Our firm will aggressively uphold your rights without ever placing your children at the center of a dispute. Contact us today to learn how we can help.

For an advocate for yourself and your children, call The Harris Law Firm at (303) 622-5502.

Recommended Reading:

• Colorado Child Support: Filing a Motion to Modify the Court Order
• Modifying Visitation Agreements