Child Support, Spousal Support,
Custody Orders, Visitation, Health or Child Care
California Cases

Getting started in fast and easy. Download and complete the worksheet below. Then, simply email the completed worksheets back to us. Your documents will be ready to sign at our first scheduled appointment. For those not able to come to our office, we can email your court documents to you to print, sign and return by regular mail.

Once you have installed the Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 8, click on the following link to open the Modification Worksheet.

Modifying an existing order is a simple, straight-forward process and the court fees are relatively inexpensive; $40.00 to modify support orders, and $65.00 to set a court hearing to modify custody or visitation orders in Sacramento County. Other counties may vary slightly.

If circumstances have changed significantly since the last court order was made, you can request the court to modify the order to meet your needs or the needs of the children.

If both parties agree on the proposed modification of the current court order, a court hearing is not required. Instead, the court will accept a signed, notarized, written agreement called a Stipulation. We can prepare a Stipulation for you that meets the specific needs of your situation. A Notary Public is available at our office at no extra charge.

Family court is not a revolving door and judges frown upon frequent appearances. However, if there is a disagreement regarding child custody or visitation, the parties are required to attend mediation with Family Court Services (Sacramento County). Mediation prior to your hearing is mandatory and at no cost to you. The mediator listens to both sides and sometimes speaks with the children depending on the circumstances. Then, he or she submits a written recommendation to the court. The judge will consider the recommendation, but is not obligated to follow it. Modifications involving child support or spousal support do not require mediation.

There is usually one court hearing lasting 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how many issues need to be discussed. If you are representing yourself in court, and most people do, don't panic. The courts are very helpful and speak in plain English. I suggest going to the Family Court in your county and sit in on a few hearings.

If you are not sure if it would be worth your time or money to modify the existing support order, we can calculate your Child Support or Spousal Support for only $20. A child support increase or decrease of only $50 per month equals $600 per year, per child. Multiply this times the number of years until the children reach the age of 18, and little can add up to a lot.