When you pay or receive child support in North Carolina, a time may come when you want to change your existing order. Maybe you or the other parent lost your job, or maybe your child now has medical or other needs that require more of you financially. Whatever your reasoning for wanting to modify your child support order, there are certain times when it may undergo review.
When might you be able to have North Carolina’s Office of Child Support Enforcement review your existing child support order?
When your order may undergo review
If you or anyone else in your family is utilizing public assistance, your child support order undergoes an automatic review every three years without you having to do anything. Even if you or your child’s other parent do not use public assistance, you both have the right to request a review every 36 months.
If one of you has experienced a substantial change in circumstances, such as job loss, you may ask the Office of Child Support Enforcement to review your order at any time.
The review process
When deciding whether to change your child support order, child support caseworkers consider the income and assets of both parents as well as the needs of your shared child. Once the Office of Child Support Enforcement makes its decision and notifies you of it, you and the other parent have 30 days to contest the review, if necessary.
If you both agree to the change, the revised order soon takes effect. If you or your one-time partner do not consent to the change, the office files an action in court to help you reach an agreement.