Child support: Changing circumstances

Time can heal many things, including some of the pain and suffering from divorce. It’s true that divorce proceedings can be extremely detailed. After all, if a couple has children, things like child support and custody are big issues.

Say that a child support agreement has been reached. Is it final? Can the agreement be modified? If an agreement was never created in the first place, is it too late to create one?

If you’re asking yourself any of these questions, keep on reading:

Christopher Coble, Esq. discusses these dilemmas.

Creating an agreement

In some situations, child support is put on the back burner. In terms of setting a proper budget or receiving the money, it’s always better to make sure child support decisions are made sooner than later.  “Most arrangements are negotiated during the divorce process”, but in the event that child support isn’t negotiated, there are two ways to create an agreement:

1 – Going to family court and requesting an order from a judge.

2 – Creating one with your ex, which should be filed with the court to be enforceable on both sides.

Modifying an Agreement:

Let’s say you’ve already created the agreement and some significant amount of time passes by, or just a little bit of time. These agreements aren’t always final and unchangeable. Financial situations and personal situations change all of the time, which also means that the some of the stipulations made in the agreement would need to change.

How is this changed? You would need to request a child support modification, either from the court or from your ex. It’s important to make a request as soon as circumstances change for your child. Luckily, some agreements include clauses that allow renegotiation of payments at certain points in time. This would save time from having to gain a request of change from the court.

We know that child support circumstances can be stressful, complicated, and emotionally difficult. Rest assured, you’re heard at Southern Oaks Law Firm. Family law attorney Taylor Fontenot will do his best to make sure that your child support circumstance is heard and that you receive the best outcome. Reach out to us today!