Paying child support is an important part of being a parent if your child doesn’t live with you. In some cases, you might feel like child support payments are something of a burden. This might be the case if you have gotten a new job in which you aren’t earning as much as your previous job. In some cases, you might be able to seek a modification of child support payments to help reduce the amount you have to pay so that it meets the requirements that pertain to the amount you earn now.
It is important that you seek a modification as soon as possible after you change jobs. The modification usually isn’t retroactive to when your income changed, so the sooner you take action, the less you might owe. If you are behind on child support payments, the modification wouldn’t erase the past due amount.
In some cases, a modification of child support can be temporary. This means that if your reduced income is expected to last only a certain amount of time, you might be able to get a modification for only that amount of time. Of course, this isn’t always possible, but it is something worth exploring if your reduction in income is significant enough to warrant a reduction in the payments.
Generally, the court has to agree that the changes in your situation are substantial. This means that a small reduction in income might not qualify you for a modification. The only way that you can find out for certain is to consult someone who is familiar with the guidelines in Florida for seeking a modification of child support.
Source: FindLaw, “Can I Change a Child Support Order After Changing Jobs?,” accessed June 12, 2015
