Understanding Child Support in Utah

Child Support in Utah

Currently, there has been a lot of change in society, business, and the economy.  No one is immune to the effects of COVID-19, and the impact can be scary.  What can you do if your income has been reduced or lost?

The three main considerations in determining if child support can be updated are:

  1. the time that has passed since the last order,
  2. whether one or both parties have experienced a change in income, and
  3. whether the changes in income would lead to a change in child support.

There are two ways to ask the court to change child support – a Motion to Adjust and a Petition to Modify. A motion is simpler and usually faster, but can only be used in limited circumstances. Usually, you must file a petition. The documents and procedures are different.

Motion to Adjust Child Support

You can only file a motion for adjustment if it has been at least three years since your child support order was entered. There are three criteria to file a motion for adjustment:

  • There is at least a 10% difference between your current order amount and the amount a current calculation based on child support guidelines would require;
  • The difference is not temporary (temporary is defined as less than one year); and
  • The amount of child support your motion proposes is consistent with Utah child support guidelines.

Many people will be unable to qualify for a motion for adjustment because their order is less than three years old. The other option for changing the amount of child support is a petition for modification.

See Utah Code Section 78B-12-210(8). If any of these things are missing from your case, you must file a Petition to Modify Child Support.

Petition to Modify Child Support

A child support order can be modified by petition, but there are limitations. The requirements depend on whether it has been at least three years since the order was entered.

If it has been three or more years since the order was entered:

  • there must be a difference of 10% or more between the support amount currently ordered and the proposed support amount as required under the guidelines.
  • the proposed child support amount does not have to be consistent with the guidelines in order to file the petition.

The change cannot be temporary.

While a parent has the right to adjust child support every three years, this does not happen automatically. If you do not initiate the adjustment, it will not happen. No matter how significant your change in income may be – and no matter how much it would have increased or decreased support amounts – the Court cannot adjust child support retroactively to a date before the request for adjustment is filed with the Court.

See Utah Code Section 78B-12-210(8).

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