Q: Can an ex-spouse file now to change a child support order that’s 4 years old?
I have a support order stating $xxxx.xx a month for child support for 3 children. It is not broken down per child, and over time 2 of the children turned 18 and the ex-never filed until now to change it. He was failing to pay the stated amount and now we are going back to court and his attorney says that he’s not required to pay that back support because the kids turned 18 and it should have been changed.. Can they do that, without doing income and expense forms each time a child turned 18?
A: Some orders are final when the divorce is final and cannot be changed. Orders regarding property and debts can rarely be changed later on. Orders concerning custody, visitation, and child support are always modifiable.A party can always go back to court and ask that these orders be changed, no matter how old or new the order is. Depending on how the judgment was drafted, spousal support is usually modifiable. Once a judgment is entered, the court may require a change of circumstances even to change a modifiable order.
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