Modification of Orders

Court Trustee

7th Judicial District of Kansas

District Court / Court Trustee

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Location: Judicial and Law Enforcement Center
Hours: Mon-Fri, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Phone: 785-832-5315
Fax:
785-838-2408
Contact: District Court Contacts

Modification of Orders

How to Modify Existing Child Support Order

K.S.A.  23-3005 provides that the court may modify or change any prior order within three years of the date of the most recent child support order, when a material change in circumstances is shown. If more than three years has passed since the date of the most recent child support order, a material change in circumstance need not be shown. Below is an excerpt from the Kansas Child Support Guidelines reflecting what constitutes a material change of circumstances.

If you feel you may have a material change in circumstances, or when it has been more than three years since the entry of your most recent child support order, you may contact the District Court Trustee Office or your attorney to request a child support review.  You may also file a Motion for Modification of Child Support pro se. Each party will also need to fill out a Post Decree Domestic Relations Affidavit (see buttons below).

A material change in circumstances in Kansas is a continuing change that is substantial enough to warrant a modification to a family law order. The change must be so significant that the existing plan no longer satisfies the best interests of the child.

Pursuant to the Kansas Child Support Guidelines, a material change of circumstances may include

  • 10% Rule: A change of financial circumstances of the parents or the guidelines which would increase or decrease by 10% the amount of child support owed.  A parent shall notify the other parent of any change of financial circumstances including, but not necessarily limited to, income, work-related child care costs, and health insurance premiums which, if changed, could constitute a material change of circumstances.
  • Duty to Notify:  In the event of a failure to disclose a material change of circumstances, such as the understatement, overstatement, or concealment of financial information, as a result of such breach of duty, the court may determine the dollar value of a party’s failure to disclose, and assess the amount in the form of a credit on the Line F.13 child support amount or an amount in addition to Line F.13 child support amount for a determinate amount of time. The court may also adopt other sanction.  Upon receipt of written request for financial information, a parent shall have thirty days within which to provide the requested information in writing to the other parent. Refusal to provide the requested information may make the non-complying parent responsible for the costs and expenses, including attorney fees, incurred in obtaining the requested information.
  • Age Change: The child is in a higher age group as a result of having passed the child’s 6th or 12th birthday, or because the child’s ages place them in the higher age group as a result in the change in the guidelines.
  • Termination of Child Support Obligation: For child support orders for two or more children that are stated as a total amount rather than on a per child basis, as each child emancipates as defined in K.S.A. 23-3001, et seq. and amendments thereto, or by court order, the total obligation will decrease proportionately based on the number of minor children at the time of the termination or emancipation.  Parents may seek to modify child support orders and income withholding orders when the legal obligation to pay child support terminates for any child or any child is emancipated.
  • Termination from Employment:  Termination from employment for misconduct or voluntary termination from employment will not ordinarily constitute a material change of circumstances that justifies a reduction in child support. The court may consider the circumstances surrounding termination from employment.
  • Failure to Comply: Failure to comply with the terms of a positive or negative adjustment to the basic parental child support obligation awarded by the court, such as failure to exercise parenting time or non-utilization of a special needs allocation, would constitute a change in circumstance.