When the circumstances under which an issued decree of child support have changed, reform is justifiable since the financial needs are not static as well as the fact that the child’s support expenses are not fixed and fluctuate depending on their type.
According to Article 38 of Parents and Children Relations Act 1990 (N. 216/1990) if after a decision was made which specifies the child support order and its terms changed, the Court may modify its decision or even to command the termination of the maintenance. Hence, the Court has the power for example to increase or decrease the amount of support, to change the way or time of payment or to cancel the decree which was issued.
It is significant to know that only events that occur after the issuance of the order and that differentiate those which the Court initially relied on the decision can establish the conditions for review of the already issued order.
Some of the factors to be considered in a request to modify an existing maintenance order from the Court are the increase of the needs of the recipient from the order and the change of the income capacity of the parent.
The person who seeks amendment of existing maintenance should register an application to the Court. The application can be registered by the beneficiary against the obliged person or the obligor against the beneficiary.
Some of the reasons which the beneficiary can include in his application for modification of existing order are the following:
Increase of the beneficiary's needs (for example when the existing order was issued the minor had expenses of €600 per month while currently €850 per month quoting a detailed table of costs)
The emergence of new necessities of the recipient (such as: fees for training that occurred today while issuing the existing order did not exist)
The divergence of the income capacity of the obliged person (such as: the obligor incomes have greatly increased, and when the current order was issued, income received was €1500 per month and now receives income of €2000 per month)
The beneficiary's income remained stable since the issuance of the existing order or reduction occurred
Some of the reasons that the obligator may include in the request of modification of an existing child support order are the following:
The needs of the child were decreased (such as: when the existing order was issued the minor had expenses of €600 per month while now €450 per month providing a detailed table of costs)
Increase of the obliged person’s expenses (such as: after the issue of the order had another child
Radical decrease of the income capacity of the obligor (such as: the obligor incomes have drastically reduced and when the current order was issued, received income was €1500 per month and now receives income of € 1000 per month)
Payment of costs during communication with the child (i.e.: when the existing decree of maintenance was issued the obliged person had no contact with the child whereas today has and pays an amount of his incomes the days he is in contact with the child)
Lastly it is important to know that in an application to modify an existing maintenance order both parents have obligation to make full and sincere disclosure of their real incomes and not only their expenses.
