Child Support Modifications: Adapting to Economic Shifts and Life Changes

Many families are feeling the pressure as personal finances tighten and household budgets stretch thin. Inflation remains high—nearly triple the historical average—pushing everyday costs higher and making it harder for parents to keep up. For families with children, even minor expenses have ballooned, turning a $10 item into a $30 one. With no clear end in sight, what was once considered temporary post-pandemic inflation has become a lasting financial challenge. In this environment, child support modifications have become a vital legal tool for parents needing to adjust their obligations to reflect today’s economic realities.

Another area where household budgets are under a pinch relates to wages. While wages have increased in recent years it is not as if wages have kept up with inflation. What happens in that case? Credit cards are being used now more than ever to pay for household items and things like groceries. While unemployment may still be low, that does not mean that personal economies are doing well. You can consider what your household looks like in terms of its household income versus what your bills are. I think most of us can say that what we spend has gone up in recent years and whether your household income has increased depends on what your job is as well as other factors.

How inflation impacts your child support obligations and budget

Part of your income, whether you consider it this way or not, could be child support. If a court previously ordered child support in your family law case, you now use those payments to cover bills, care for your child, and manage essential household responsibilities. That the child support has stayed consistent over the years or months reflects the court order that established it. Child support does not increase due to inflation as other benefits may.

On the other hand, if you are paying child support on behalf of one of your children then you need to account for that child support each month in your household budget, as well. Let’s say that you pay $1000 per month in child support. When you create a household budget, you must account for the fact that $1,000 of your monthly income is allocated to child support and cannot be used for housing, bills, debt payments, or other expenses. Again, your child support obligation does not decrease just because the purchasing power of your dollars does not go as far as it did in earlier years.

So, where does this leave us? I think it presents us with a situation where you may want to find out more about modifying child support. Whether you are paying or receiving child support, there may be circumstances in your life that merit a modification in your opinion. However, if inflation isn’t a good enough reason for a court to modify your child support, then we need to figure out what a sufficient reason may be to change your support order one way or another.

Change is constant

To be fair, just about everyone in our world experiences some degree of change every year- if not more recently. Children are born. Job loss happens. Promotions happen. To that extent, we can acknowledge that your life’s changes may have also had an impact on your income or on how well you can pay child support. When you have child support on your plate- either in receiving it or paying it- there is no telling just how much your external circumstances can impact your ability to live using your child support in that effort. Whether those external circumstances are sufficient cause to bring and win a modification case is why we are writing this blog post today.

When it comes to the ins and outs of a child support modification case, there are a few similarities with the divorce or initial child custody lawsuit that you had filed or responded to the first time you were in the family courts of Texas. However, since you already have a court with continuing jurisdiction over your case, you will file your modification lawsuit there. Likewise, if you are responding to a modification filed by a co-parent, then you would need to respond to the lawsuit in that way, as well. Otherwise, the process is different and the way that you proceed with a modification case is different than how you proceed in a divorce, for example.

Filing a petition to modify child support requires careful reasoning

First, you must file a Petition to Modify Child Support in the same court that issued the initial child support orders. File the petition only after you carefully consider whether a material and substantial change in circumstances has occurred for you, your co-parent, or one of your children.

This requirement makes a child support modification case very different from a divorce. During a divorce, you don’t need to explain your reasoning in detail. In fact, you don’t need to give a reason at all. Texas law allows for “no-fault” divorces, which means you can file based on irreconcilable differences. If you and your spouse believe you cannot repair the marriage, the court will grant the divorce.

Modification cases in Texas involve a tougher process. You can’t just file and hope for the best. Also, you need a clear plan. You must show that a material or substantial change in circumstances has happened for someone involved in the original case. This sets a much higher standard than divorce filings. Although filing a modification petition is simple, getting your case in front of a judge is not. Judges may dismiss your case early, so you must prepare and act with intention to move forward and succeed.

When Can You Successfully Modify Child Support?

Only a few circumstances allow a parent to raise or lower child support payments. That doesn’t make modification impossible. Ideally, you should build a strong case before filing. Think through every issue carefully. Create a strategy. Your petition must include an affidavit that explains the changes and why they justify a modification.

If the judge reads your affidavit and finds no solid basis for the case, you won’t get a hearing. Courts cannot handle a flood of modification requests based on weak reasons. To avoid that, the law sets a higher bar. This allows judges to focus on urgent matters and limit modification hearings to well-supported cases.

How to know if you meet the threshold for a child support modification

First, you should consider when your child support orders were issued. If the orders are more than three years old, then you are off to a good start. Now you would need to look at the Texas Family Code and determine whether the amount of child support owed between then and now would have changed by at least twenty percent or $100. You need to be able to calculate child support based on your net monthly income now and what it was back when your order was issued. If the difference is greater than the 20% or $100 that we just discussed, then you have a chance to win your modification.

Keep in mind, that you are creating a case out of hypothetical numbers. You may not know exactly what your co-parent earns, but you have heard through the grapevine that he earns more money now and that you have a friend who has the same job where you can base his income.

When you are dealing with hypothetical numbers, assumptions, and general talk about what someone is earning it is best to have the advice of an experienced family law attorney to draw from. It is not a good idea to file a modification based on what you think you know. On top of that, you need to calculate the child support correctly based on those alleged numbers. This is not going to be easy, either. Having an attorney by your side allows you to present a court with firmer numbers and a case that is not built entirely on assumptions and presumptions.

How income changes can impact your child support modification case

So, what does this mean for you on a practical level? If you are the parent who receives child support, then you should have good reason to try and be aware of what your co-parent earns. This is easier said than done. Even if you have a good relationship with the person, it is still not the easiest thing in the world to try and ask your co-parent how much money he earns.

Even the most adventurous parents likely see this as obvious. Still, if your co-parent regularly buys new things or has told you they earn more money now, you may want to bring up child support. Addressing it early could lead to a resolution without stepping into a courtroom. The more open and productive the discussion, the better off everyone—especially your child—will be.

On the other hand, if you are the parent who pays child support then there is no question that you know how much money you make now versus how much you made four or five years ago when child support was first assessed in your case. This means that you should also be acutely aware that the child support you are paying is too high. It would take a real person of character to tell a judge that you are paying too little in child support based on an increase in income although I’m sure this has happened before. Most parents who pay child support are typically interested in reducing their payments over time, especially as financial circumstances or parenting responsibilities change. A reduction in income is the most direct way to accomplish this.

Understanding the subjective path to child support modification

This income-based method to increase or decrease child support is what I like to think of as an “objective” means to accomplish the child support modification that you seek. However, there is a subjective method to do so as well that does not require a calculator or a calendar. This subjective method relies upon you making an argument in a petition for modification which is that a material and substantial change in circumstances has occurred which has led to a correction being necessary in child support one way or the other.

When it comes to this sort of situation you are relying upon the specific circumstances of your case being enough to overcome the presumption that the original child support figure is correction. Make no mistake—the court won’t automatically agree with your petition to modify child support. You must present clear evidence to justify increasing or decreasing the current support order. Rather, you are going to have to prove to the court the current amount of child support is incorrect based on your case. This can be more difficult than you would think.

Proving a material and substantial change in circumstances matters

Family law attorneys spend a great deal of time and energy building up cases for clients to show that a material and substantial change in circumstances has occurred. Yes, life can change at the drop of a hat. We are all familiar with the striking changes to life we saw happen in 2020 and 2021. Some of those changes may persist as far as your health, your employment, and a host of other issues. For that, a material and substantial change in circumstances may be observable by a family court judge. However, the burden is on you to prove that this occurred with evidence.

We have already covered that a material and substantial change in circumstances could be related to your income as the paying parent. For example, let’s say that your old job went away due to the pandemic, and you were forced to take a new job that pays you less. If your new income is substantially less, then this would not be a difficult argument to make that a material and substantial change in circumstances has occurred which renders the current child support order incorrect and in need of modification.

Another situation that could have arisen is that you, as the noncustodial paren,t are now in charge of the children on a primary basis. The whole reason why you were ordered to pay child support in the first place was because you are a noncustodial parent. This means that the custodial parent is with the children more and bears more of a burden in the daily care of your children. That daily care means costs that she has to bear which you ordinarily do not have to. Therefore, you were ordered to pay child support to even out those costs as much as possible.

Becoming the primary parent may warrant a child support modification

You may now be the parent providing daily care for your child. No matter the reason, if you’ve become the primary caretaker, you shouldn’t continue paying child support. To address this, consider filing a modification to be legally recognized as the primary conservator. Also, review any unpaid child support. Becoming the custodial parent doesn’t erase past due amounts, so plan accordingly and seek legal advice if needed.

There are many moving pieces to a child support modification case. The best course of action for you to take is to consider all the circumstances and then try to hire an experienced family law attorney. When you are dealing with the well-being of your children as well as thousands of dollars annually, it is a wise investment for you to consider making.

In today’s shifting economy, child support modifications offer essential relief for parents facing financial hardship or major life changes. Whether due to job loss, rising living costs, or changes in custody, modifying your child support order helps ensure your obligations stay fair and manageable. By addressing these changes through the legal system, you not only protect your financial well-being but also support a more stable environment for your child’s future.

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