Instructions Child Support (Page 3 of 4) in pdf

STEP 2. AT THE CIRCUIT CLERK’S OFFICE.

At the Circuit Clerk’s Office, you will do the following: 1. File the original of your Petition and the

Civil Case Information Statement and the copies of any documents you have attached to the Petition, and pay

the $35 filing fee. Keep the copy of the Petition and the original documents for your records. If you cannot

afford to pay the filing fee, read the next paragraph. 2. Obtain a certified copy of your Petition; obtain a

certified copy of the current child support order you want modified and the child support calculations on

which the order is based. After you are finished in the Circuit Clerk’s Office, you will take or mail your

certified copies and other documents to the Family Court. Step 3 explains how to do this.

What to do if you cannot afford to pay fees.

If you cannot afford to pay fees, ask a Deputy Circuit Clerk for an affidavit to waive fees and costs.

You can fill out the affidavit in the Circuit Clerk’s Office. The affidavit requires you to list some basic

information about your financial situation and to provide proof of your income by tax returns, pay stubs, or

government assistance. A Deputy Clerk can review your completed affidavit while you wait, and tell you if

you meet the legal requirements to have your fees and costs waived. If you don’t meet these requirements,

you must pay fees and costs, but you can ask the court to review your affidavit later. Criminal charges can

be filed against you if you provide false information on this affidavit.

STEP 3. TAKE OR MAIL YOUR PAPERS TO THE FAMILY COURT.

Next you must see to it that your papers get to the Family Court. You can take the papers there, or

you can mail them. The following are the papers you need to get to the Family Court: 1. The certified copy

of your Petition. This is the certified copy you obtained from the Circuit Clerk’s Office after you filed the

original of your Petition. 2. The certified copy of the child support order you want modified, and the support

calculations on which the order was based. You obtained these items at the Circuit Clerk’s Office when you

filed your Petition. 3. Copies of any documents you filed with your Petition. These are the documents that

prove the substantial change in the financial circumstances of you and/or the other parent. After your

Petition and other papers have been received by the Family Court, the Family Court Judge will review them

and make certain decisions. This is explained in Step 4.

STEP 4. THE FAMILY COURT REVIEWS YOUR PETITION.

At the Family Court your Petition and documents will be reviewed, and based on the information

you have provided, the amount of child support will be tentatively recalculated. If this tentative recalculation

results in more than a 15% change in the amount of child support, you and the other parent will each receive

a Notice showing the tentative recalculation figures. What happens after you receive the Notice is explained

in Step 5. You will be notified if the change is less than 15%. If you have not met the requirement, you can

file a regular Petition for Modification.

SCA-FC-225: WV Instructions for Petition for Expedited Modification of Child Support

Page 3 of 4

Review Date: 04/2016; Revision Date: 04/2016;

WVSCA Approved: 2/9/2016

Instructions Child Support Page 3