The dangers of verbal modifications of child or spousal support

The dangers of verbal modifications of child or spousal support.

Many people have asked for assistance with the enforcement of a verbal modification of child or spousal support. The story goes something like this…

“My ex spouse and I agreed to reduce the amount of support for our kids (or spousal support) from $1,000 per month (or fill in the blank) to $500 because my income went down and we didn’t want to go back to court. I have been paying the reduced amount for the last two years and now my spouse is saying I owe him/her $12,000 plus interest in back support!”

I have to tell the person asking me for help that their may not be much I can do. When the court makes an order for support, that order is enforceable until it is changed by another order or becomes unenforceable as a matter of law.

For instance, if you have a spousal support order that ends on the death or remarriage of the supported party and that party dies or remarries, the order is no longer enforceable as a matter of law. The same is true if a child support order ends on the child turning 18, or 19 if they have not graduated from high school, and the child graduates high school and turns 18, the order is no longer enforceable as a matter of law.

When parties agree to modify their support order and don’t bother to write their modification up in a stipulation (agreement) and file it with the court to change the order, the order that is in place at the higher amount is still effective and if the receiving party decides to change their mind, they can collect the back support plus 10% simple interest.

Also, if the aggrieved party tries to change the order back to the date of the agreement, they will encounter the problem of the court being prohibited to make an order retroactive to a time earlier than the filing of the request to modify the order. See Family Code Section 3653.

The short answer is to always make an agreement to modify support an order in writing that conforms with the requirements to have it submitted to the court. The Judicial Counsel makes this easy by providing forms the parties can fill out, sign and submit to the court to change their order.

These forms can be found at www.courts.ca.gov. This will eliminate any surprises down the road when one of the parties decides to renege on an oral agreement to modify support and decides to collect the arrearage in addition to interest at 10 % per year.

Contact us

If you are considering, beginning or currently facing divorce proceedings, call us for a more complete description of our divorce and other family law legal services. These include child custody, spousal and child support, post-judgment modifications, property division and paternity services. We accept most major credit cards.

Call our Santa Monica office at (310) 458-0796. Located at Ocean Park and 28th Street.
Call our Costa Mesa/Newport office at (949) 631-2805. Located on Victoria near the 55 Freeway.

About the Author: Barbara Hammers

Senior Litigator Barbara Hammers is certified as a Specialist in Family Law by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. Ms. Hammers is currently the senior litigation partner in Hammers & Baltazar, LLP, with offices located in Santa Monica and Costa Mesa, California. She is a native Southern Californian born in Glendale, California. After several years of running successful businesses, she earned her degree in Psychology, graduating with highest honors from California State University, Fullerton. Then Barbara went on to earn her law degree from University of California, Los Angeles, and started her own practice shortly thereafter. Although she has some civil litigation experience, she has concentrated her law practice in the area of domestic relations/Family Law since 1997. Ms. Hammers is currently serving as; • An Advisor to the State Bar of California Family Law Section Executive Committee. Her organizational memberships include; The Family Law Sections of the State Bar of California, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Santa Monica Bar Association, Orange County Bar Association, Current Advisor to the Family Law Executive Committee for the State Bar of California (FLEXCOM). Member of the Executive Committee 2009 to 2011, Advisor 2011 to 2014. She is a graduate of the American Bar Association, Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute. She served as Chair for the State Bar of California’s Children’s Issues Committee from 2005 to 2009, California’s Children’s Issues Committee Secretary from 1998 to 2003, Vice Chair from 2003 to 2004. Ms. Hammers has lengthy experience in program presentations for the Family Law Section of the Santa Monica Bar Association and has coordinated and hosted monthly MCLE programs approximately 10 times per year since 2006. She has developed and presented programs for the American Bar Association’s Family Law Section and has assisted in the development of programs for the State Bar of California, Family Law Section. Her most recent presentation was for the State Bar of California Family Law Section's "Essentials of a Trial," presented throughout California in March, April, May and June 2014. Barbara has also authored articles on fathers paternity rights, division of stock options, law practice management, domestic violence prevention, and various other topic of interest to the family law community. Her volunteer efforts in the community have included assisting victims of Domestic Violence through volunteering at local Domestic Violence Clinics in Los Angeles County, and she has been assisting the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Family Law, Traffic, Civil Harassment, and Small Claims in courthouses throughout Los Angeles County since 2007. Barbara was also the trial and appellate attorney in the much cited case of "Christina Adams v. Jack A. (2012) 209 Cal App 4th 1543" in which she sought, and was given, a reversal of the trial court's order regarding denial of custody to her client Early training as a litigator allows her to move comfortably in the family court system but her natural talents as a problem solver make her an excellent mediator. In her desire to offer the full range of legal services to the family law client, she has expanded her practice to include Collaborative Divorce which allows the family law client an alternative to the traditional legal model of litigation to resolve disputes. Ms. Hammers can be contacted at her office in Los Angeles County at Hammers & Baltazar, 2800 28th Street, Suite 305, Santa Monica, CA 90405 (310) 458-0796, or at her Orange County office located at 276 Victoria Street Costa Mesa , CA 92660 (949) 631-2805. Areas of Practice:100% Family Law Litigation Percentage: 75% of Practice Devoted to Litigation Certification/Specialties: Family Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization, 2006 Bar Admissions: California, 1997 U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1997 U.S. Supreme Court, 1997 Education: University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, Los Angeles, CA, 1997 J.D. California State University, Fullerton, CA, 1994 B.S. Summa Cum Laude, Dean’s List Major: Psychology Citrus Community College, Glendora, California, 1991 Associate Science with Honors Professional Associations and Memberships: State Bar of California, Family Law Section, 2008 – 2011 Executive Committee Los Angeles County Bar Association Member Santa Monica Bar Association, 2009 – 2010 President Orange County Bar Association Member American Bar Association Member State Bar of California, 2005 – 2008 Chair, Children’s Issues Committee State Bar of California, 1998 – 2003 Children’s Issues, Committee Secretary State Bar of California, 2003 – 2004 Children’s Issues, Vice Chair Santa Monica Bar Association, Family Law Section, 2006 – 2009 Chair The Santa Monica Bar Association Board of Trustees Los Angeles County Bar Association, Family Law Section, Member, Executive Committee 2007 – 2012.