When you pay child support in Texas and lose your job or experience other circumstances that have a big impact on your life, you may seek to have your child support order undergo modification. If you are currently receiving child support and your child’s needs have changed, you may also want to request a child support review.
Whatever side of the coin you fall on, the Attorney General of Texas reports that the process involved in requesting a child support review remains the same.
Assessing eligibility
The first step in the process involves finding out whether you are eligible for a child support order modification. You may be able to have your order modified if it first took effect more than three years ago and the amount of it differs by either 20% or $100 based on what today’s child support guidelines would dictate.
Alternatively, you may be able to have your child support order modified if the paying parent or the child the order covers experienced a material and substantial change in circumstances since the order took effect.
Understanding “material and substantial change in circumstances”
Job loss is one of the most common reasons Texas residents seek child support order modifications. Demotion may also warrant a child support review. If the paying parent now has more children to provide for than when the order first took effect, this may also warrant a review and potential change. So, too, might a change in the child’s insurance coverage.
While there is no set timeline as far as when you should find out whether the state plans to modify your order, you may be able to expedite things by working cooperatively with your child’s other parent.