When Your Ex-Spouse Has A Change in Health or Income

 

“Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast

and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained

that you should love.”

Marcus Aurelius

Change is an inevitable part of life. We’ve become accustomed to adapting to changes that are seasonal or temporal. But every once in a while comes a change that’s a little more difficult to adapt. When you go through a traumatic accident or face diagnosis of a serious disease, it can affect everything. When you lose your job, a business deal goes wrong, and your income shifts in the wrong direction, everything is affected. When those changes come after spousal and child support orders have been set in motion, you need to know if adaptation (or modification) is a possible. When the lower-income spouse faces those major life changes, can support be adjusted to make sure the children don’t suffer from the imminent financial challenges? When the higher-income spouse faces health challenges or major loss of income, can modification be made? If so, how? With the help of a support modification attorney, either parent can petition for modification in support with a couple of requirements. Here are some preliminary questions to ask before you seek to petition:

  • Has there been three years since your order was reviewed?
  • Are reasonable medical and health insurance coverage for either parent a part of current orders?
  • Did you or your spouse experience a substantial income change?
  • Did one or more of our children face healthcare challenges with additional expenses?

Arizona courts will always take the best interests of the child into account when someone presents a child support modification petition. This means if you are interested in submitting a petition for support modification, you will need to speak with a skilled support modification attorney to present substantial evidence that makes a strong case that these health or income changes are enough to necessitate a legal modification of previously established orders. To speak with our skilled support modification team about your change in income or health condition here in the Tempe area, contact us online or call 480-345-2652. Let us cover the first consultation for free and allow you to share your story with us.

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