Modification Orders

After a judge makes a spousal or partner support order, one or both spouses or domestic partners may need to change the order. If you are in this situation, you have to show that there has been a "change in circumstances" since the court made the spousal or partner support order. A change in circumstances means something significant has changed since the judge made the spousal or partner support order.

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There are many reasons why a support order may need to be changed. For example, the spouse or partner that was getting support no longer needs it due to getting remarried or a significant salary increase, or the person paying support has had a significant drop in income and can no longer afford the payments. 

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Sometimes, the spouse/partner getting support is not making a good faith effort toward being self-supporting, so the paying spouse/partner can ask the court to end the support order based on this. 

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Suppose the spouses or domestic partners can reach an agreement on a new amount of spousal or partner support. In that case, they can write it up as an agreement/stipulation and give it to the judge for signature to have it become a new court order.

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However, if the spouses or domestic partners cannot agree on the change, the spouse or partner wanting the change must file a motion with the court asking for a "modification" of the spousal/partner support amount.