The parent who collects child support may be eligible for a child support modification if the child’s medical costs or education expenses have increased significantly. Custodial parents should request a child support modification when they believe that the other parent’s income has increased substantially or that their child’s financial needs have increased.
Courts will typically investigate requests for modification thoroughly. They will compare the person’s current income to the amount he or she was earning at the time the original support order was established. The request for modification will likely be denied if the difference is not great enough to be considered substantial by the court. In some areas, the frequency of child support modification requests may be limited, so it’s important to be sure the request is likely to succeed before filing.
An attorney with experience in family law may be able to help individuals who are interested in pursuing support order modifications in Indiana. An attorney may draft and file necessary legal paperwork to begin the modification process or communicate with the child support enforcement office and the family court on the client’s behalf. Modification requests are more likely to be successful if one of the parents has undergone a significant change in financial circumstances.