Your divorce may be final, but that does not mean you are not still experiencing changes in your life. You may find that your financial circumstances continue to change, and you may not be in the same place you were when the terms of your final support orders became final. As a result, you may not be able to keep up with your child support obligations. You may not be able to pay at all, or you may not be able to pay the full amount.
If it appears your financial circumstances will remain as they are now for an extended amount of time, you may need to seek a formal change in your child support order. A modification can allow you to make payments that are more appropriately suited to your income and other financial obligations you have. When changing a court order of any kind, you will have to take certain steps to get approval through the court.
Are you eligible?
You cannot seek a modification to your support order just because you want to pay less money. Even if you believe your support order is unfair, you cannot just stop paying or decide to pay less. There must be evidence of a significant change in your financial circumstances to get an Alabama court to grant a modification. Some common reasons to do this include:
- You lost your job, or you are now making less money because of a job or career change.
- You have other children you need to provide for.
- You are ill or disabled, and you do not expect to be able to work for a while.
Just as you may seek to pay less in support, the custodial parent can move to seek more money from you. If you now earn more money or your children have new needs, the custodial parent may have grounds to ask for additional support from you.
