Once you have an Indiana child support order in place, you or your child’s other parent must pay the agreed-upon amount until your child turns 19, with a few limited exceptions. If one of you needs to request a change to the amount of child support currently paid or received, you must go through a formal process before paying or receiving a different amount.
Per IN.gov, there are two circumstances under which you or your child’s other parent may ask the court to consider modifying your existing child support arrangement.
Requesting the modification
You may move forward with requesting a change to your current child support order if the order took effect at least one year ago. However, to do so, the amount dictated by state child support guidelines would now have to differ from the current amount by more than 20%. You may also request a modification if there has been a substantial and continuing change in circumstances.
Understanding what constitutes such a change
What kinds of life events might constitute a substantial and continuing change in circumstances? If one of you lost or changed jobs since your child support order took effect, this may constitute such a change. If the paying parent has since had more children and is now financially responsible for them, this may also count as a substantial and continuing change.
Either parent may request a child support modification as long as the situation meets the criteria outlined above. If you are among those utilizing Temporary Aid for Needy Families, know that your child support order undergoes an automatic review every three years without you having to do anything.
