How Can I Get My Child Support Increased?

If you are the custodial parent, it is likely that you are currently receiving some form of child support. Child support calculations are primarily based on the non-custodial parent’s income at the time of filing. But while their income is likely to change frequently, the child support order will only be subject to change above inflation if a modification is filed.

If you have a reason to believe that the other parent’s income has increased significantly or if you think that they have not reported all of their income, you may want to look into your options. There are several things you should consider before doing so, however.

If you have a good relationship with the other parent, you should try and maintain that by communicating with them personally before filing a modification. You may want to give them prior notice and explain your reasoning to avoid any potential conflict.

The courts may not grant a child support modification if the income change is not significant. Generally speaking, you should also be able the show that their income has permanently increased — rather than a temporary situation.

You should take the time to reflect on your goals for the filing. Make sure that you truly have your child’s best interests at heart before taking action to modify your child support.

If you want to know more about successfully modifying your child support payments in California, it is important that you take action to understand more about the law.