In generations past, California residents often went to work for organizations and stayed with those entities for the entirety of their working lives. Now it is not uncommon for working people to change jobs five, six, or even more times during the course of their career. They may leave their industries to embark on new paths, they may uproot their lives to begin careers in new locations, or they may be forced to change jobs due to market demands or layoffs.
These types of life changes can filter down to the need to make changes that involve the person’s children. Particularly, when parents have changes occur in their work lives, their obligations to their kids may need to be addressed if those parents are responsible for child support. A challenge to, or request to change a child support order generally occurs when a parent or child subject to the order experiences a change in circumstances.
The loss of a job, or other change in employment can constitute a change in circumstances for a parent. Additionally, other parent-related factors can necessitate the need to rework or modify a child support order, such as a parent’s incarceration, disability, or remarriage. In terms of the circumstances of children, changes in educational or medical needs, or changes in relevant child support laws can create the need for an order to be modified.
Child support disputes can arise when parents seek to change their child support obligations. Depending upon the circumstances of the case, California courts can review parents’ requests to increase their children’s support orders or decrease those payments. As every child support case is different, people in Stockton who wish to seek modifications to their child support order may benefit from working with a family law attorney who has experience with these issues.
