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Modification

Once every 36 months, or when a substantial change in circumstances has occurred, either party may request a modification of the order. The CSEA Modification unit is responsible for obtaining income and health insurance information from both parties, determining the new order based on state guidelines, offering administrative hearings for those parties who do not agree with the new findings, and submitting the modification recommendation to a court or other authority for adoption of the recommendation in an order. Expedited service to modify an order is given to military personnel who have overseas assignments, both upon leaving and returning. In addition, this unit assists with the modification of orders that may exist outside of Ohio.

The Adjustment and Review (modification) process is the method by which the child support order is reviewed to reflect the current financial situation of both parties. The Adjustment and Review process takes several months to complete, from the initial request to final order. A review does not require the appearance of the parties. It is completed by the Investigator on the review date, and all parties will receive a copy of the modified order.

Reasons to qualify for a Modification Review:

·         36 months have elapsed since establishment of the order or most recent review

·         Less than 36 months but a substantial change has occurred. Evidence must be provided for more than 180 days

·         30% change in gross income of either party for at least 6 months

Possible Results of Modification Review:

Results of a review are submitted by the CSEA to the Court for adoption of the CSEA’s recommendations.The new amount will commence the first day of the month after the modification was scheduled for review. CSEA cannot predict the result of your modification, and parties take the chance of any of these results occurring:

·         No Change – If the current child support amount and modified amount did NOT change by >10%, order remains the same

·         Increase in current Child Support

·         Decrease in current Child Support

·         Dismissal review if requested information is not returned by the specified date

Interstate cases may have different criteria. Please contact your Investigator and advise that one or both parties reside out of state.

If either party disagrees in the computation of income or other factor used, either party may object to the modification by requesting a Mistake of Fact hearing within fourteen (14) days. A hearing will be scheduled with a CSEA Administrative hearing Officer. Either party may then object to the Hearing Officer’s determination, in which case a hearing will be scheduled with the Court for final determination.

To request a modification, contact the CSEA Customer Call Center at (440) 284-4401 or toll free in Ohio at (800) 808-2991 and press Option #5, or mail your request to our office. Further Support Guidelines in the Ohio Revised Code can be located at www.onlinedocs.andersonpublishing.com or www.allaw.com