Child and Spousal Support Order Modifications During the Pandemic

Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and its disease CoVID-19 has changed our lives forever. More than I have experienced, frankly even more than the most recent crash in 2007, this pandemic has changed everything. It is important to get clear and direct information, and then act appropriately on that education the best you can. Our Courthouses are adjusting the rules best they can because of this pandemic; hopefully you are taking action and adjusting too.

With that said, I want to comment on a legal issue that for me ‘goes without saying,’ as much is the case for my practice of law. And, don’t forget this is a blog. While the information should be helpful, remember it’s rather casually stated, i.e., I’m not giving you all the background (law and experience) for which the blog is based. Last, don’t forget there are nuances with each and every cases. But, with each and every nuance, there are still rules to be followed.

Re: Child and/or Spousal Support:

In some cases, two people either AGREE on the issue of child and/or spousal support (we call this a Stipulation and Order), or, they are ORDERED by the Court to pay/receive child and/or spousal support (often referred to as a “Findings and Order after Hearing,” “Minute Order,” or some other version of an Order from the Court). Either way, the end result is that when these two people go home, they have a written Court Order signed by a Judge with a dated file stamp on the top right corner of the first page.

This Court Order should identify who is to pay who how much, when, and several other details around the issue of child and/or spousal support payments. Obviously, a significant component of support payments are income, which is the point of this blog. There are other major components but I want to discuss the role of income.

For those of you that pay child and/or spousal support per Court Order, if you need to change how much you pay in support, you need to do something about it. For example, if you lost your job and you have been paying support based on your income, you need to formally change the support orders in order to be in compliance with the rules. What do you need to do? You need to file specific paperwork with the Courthouse to request a support modification and then have that paperwork served on the payee, i.e., support recipient. I am writing this very informally, BUT, you cannot just let this slide. It is imperative you do something about it.

Sometimes people can work this out through a written agreement or stipulation, then send the document over to Court to ask the Judge to sign it, thus making it an order with a stamp filing through the clerk’s office. This is possible when the payee (recipient of support) willingly cooperates with you to write up an agreement to modify the current Order. This is possible in some cases (I mediate these cases) but not in others (I litigate these cases).

The general rule is that you can only modify support from the date you file your paperwork forward. For example: if you file your paperwork in May 2020 but want support modified starting back in March 2020, the Court does not have to do that because you filed in May 2020. The Court does not modify support prior to the date you file your motion. There are exceptions but this is the general rule and rarely do Courts divert from it. And, there are more rule change today because of the pandemic that are fluid so it is important to be up to date on this.

Until an order is modified, it is THE order and must be followed. The big predicament we have/are going to run into is that a population of individuals that do not make these efforts to modify their orders or do not know how to go about it are then unable to pay support because they have no income. They will be in violation of current court orders. What the Court does thereafter is in the Judge’s hands. Be sure to put your best foot forward and argue your position in the event you were not able to secure an agreement with the individual receiving support from you.

Being proactive is key. Whether you do it yourself or you hire someone to help you, the point is to do something about it if you have a problem here.