It’s only natural for peoples’ lives to change after a divorce. Often times these changes can affect the child support obligation that was assigned to one of the parties. If one of the parties has had a significant change in circumstances they can petition the court for a modification of the child support obligation.

When  asking  for a modification of child support, one generally must prove that something significant has happened in their life that makes the amount they are paying or receiving no longer appropriate.

Reasons for modifying a child support order include the following:

• A significant change in the child’s needs
• Increased cost of living
• Either parent has been incarcerated
• Either parent becomes unemployed or experiences a change in income
• Family income increases significantly after either parent remarries
• A parent becomes disabled, decreasing his or her employment prospects, or otherwise constraining resources
• A parent starts supporting additional children.
• The supported child starts living with the parent that is paying support.

Child support modifications are not retroactive, which means that you are responsible for the originally ordered amount until a modification is approved by the court. Even if your ex-spouse verbally agrees to a lower amount or different terms, it will not carry the force of law unless the agreement is in writing, signed by both parties, and approved by the court.

Requests for child support modification are handled by state courts, to be sure the process runs smoothly and a fair settlement is reached between the parties it is best to hire an experienced family law attorney to handle your case.

Source=Lawyers.com Custody Modifications viewed on Oct 2, 2014 and Find Law Custody modifications viewed on Oct 2, 2014