In the state of California, a divorce settlement that includes spousal support is not necessarily set in stone. The person receiving support has the ability to request a modification of the original order.
A person can request this order alone or through the services of an attorney. The forms for the request require precise documentation of pertinent changes to the person’s financial status.
The paperwork
The Superior Court of California for Orange County provides a guide for filling out forms for spousal support arrears or unreimbursed expenses. The FL-490 document concerns arrearages, but a number of forms make up the complete application. While the forms require a lot of information, the heart of the request calls for an accounting of expenses from the spouse receiving support. One example of this is medical expenses. The person requesting the modification must show proof of the expenses with supporting documents such as a bill.
The final steps
The Orange Country Superior Court of California also requires an arrearage summary. This portion of the request goes on a FL-420 form. It asks the person filling out the form to prepare a separate payment history for each type of expense. Another vital piece of the request is a tabulation of payments made over time. FL-421 provides space for a monthly and yearly breakdown of pertinent expenses. Enough space exists on the form to record six years of payments. Each expense should also list the percentage of that expense that reflects the original divorce settlement order. The form also records the amount paid by the paying spouse. This results in a record of requested payments and of completed payments.
