We will review your court order for modification only if the following circumstances exist:
- Three years have passed since the entry of your existing child support court order and you would now like to have it reviewed.
- The basis for any decrease in monthly child support is anticipated to last more than 6 months. (IE: paying parent’s/custodial parent’s income has decreased due to lay off/job change, childcare costs included in the existing court order are no longer needed, etc.)
- Child support caseworker determines based upon a review of your existing court order that there is at least a $50.00 or 20% change (upward or downward) from your existing child support court order.
If you believe your case meets these requirements and would like to start the review process, please telephone, e-mail, fax, or drop-by our office to submit your request and start the modification review process. Warning! This review may result in either an increase or decrease in your child support amount depending on the circumstances of both parents.
Once you have returned the application for review, the process will not be terminated regardless of whether your child support court order will be increased or decreased. In other words, as non-custodial parent, you may expect your obligation to decrease but when the guidelines are calculated and it is actually increased, we will proceed with the increase. Once processed, our Legal Unit will send you a court date via mail & your presence at the court hearing will be important.
You may call into our public service center phone # (866) 901-3212 - 5 days prior to any court date & ask to talk to the Court Unit with any concerns/questions you may have.
You may also seek a modification on your own behalf pursuant to California Family Code Section 3651.
