When the court orders you to pay alimony or spousal support, it may feel like a finished issue. The court orders your payment and you have to pay it. This is not necessarily the case, however. The amount that you owe your former spouse can change. In fact, according to the California courts, there are reasons that you should ask for a new court order as soon as possible.
When the judge considers ordering spousal support, he or she has a few different factors to consider. These factors will dictate how much you pay and how long you have to pay support. Now, if there is a significant change, then you want to ask the court to modify the spousal support as soon as possible.
One of the main reasons that people need to lower the spousal support payments is due to a loss of income or job. When you lose your job or experience a drop in income, you may think that it is going to get better. You may believe that the job loss is temporary and hence you should not file for a modification of support.
The problem is that you do not have the income to pay the support as of right now. If this is the case and you wait, the judge cannot order a change retroactively. He or she can only order a change of your present support obligations. This means that you would still have to pay the same amount of support despite your lost income. If you need to change your spousal support, there are forms that you can fill out to request a court hearing.
