Pennsylvania Code › Title 231 - RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE › Part I - GENERAL › Chapter 1910 - ACTIONS FOR SUPPORT › Rule 1910.19 - Support. Modification. Termination. Guidelines as Substantial Change in Circumstances. Overpayments

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) A
				petition for modification or termination of an existing support order shall
				specifically aver the material and substantial change in circumstances upon
				which the petition is based. A new guideline amount resulting from new or
				revised support guidelines may constitute a material and substantial change in
				circumstances. The existence of additional income, income sources or assets
				identified through automated methods or otherwise may also constitute a
				material and substantial change in circumstances.
(b) The procedure upon the petition shall be
				in accordance with Rule
				1910.10 et seq. After a party has
				filed a petition for modification of a child support order, the petition may
				not be withdrawn unless both parties consent or with leave of court. A petition
				for modification of spousal support or alimony pendente lite may be withdrawn
				without the consent of the other party or leave of court.
(c) Pursuant to a petition for modification,
				the trier-of-fact may modify or terminate the existing support order in any
				appropriate manner based on the evidence presented without regard to which
				party filed the petition for modification. If the trier-of-fact finds that
				there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances, the order
				may be increased or decreased based on the parties' respective monthly net
				incomes, consistent with the support guidelines, existing law, and Pa.R.C.P.
				No. 1910.18(d), and the party's custodial time with the child at the time the
				modification petition is heard.
(d)
				All charging orders for spousal support and alimony pendente lite shall
				terminate upon the death of the payee spouse.
(e) Within six months prior to the date a
				child who is the subject of a child support order reaches eighteen (18) years
				of age, the domestic relations section shall issue an emancipation inquiry and
				notice to the obligee, with a copy to the obligor, seeking the following
				information:
(1) confirmation of the child's
				date of birth, date of graduation or withdrawal from high school;
(2) whether the child has left the obligee's
				household and, if so, the date of departure;
(3) the existence of any agreement between
				the parties requiring payments for the benefit of the child after the child has
				reached age eighteen (18) or graduated from high school; and
(4) any special needs of the child which may
				be a basis for continuing support for that child beyond the child's eighteenth
				birthday or graduation from high school, whichever is last to occur.
The notice shall advise the obligee that if the inquiry is
				  not returned within thirty (30) days of mailing or if there is no agreement or
				  the child does not have any special needs, the charging order may be modified
				  or terminated by the court. In order to avoid overpayment, when no other
				  children are subjects of the child support order and the obligee either does
				  not return the emancipation inquiry within thirty (30) days of its mailing or
				  does not assert grounds for continuing support for the child, then the domestic
				  relations section shall administratively terminate the child support charging
				  order without further proceedings on the last to occur of the date the last
				  child reaches age eighteen (18) or graduates from high school. Termination of
				  the charging order shall not affect any arrears accrued through the date of
				  termination. The court shall have the authority to enter an order requiring the
				  obligor to pay on arrears in an amount equal to the amount of the charging
				  order until all arrears are paid.
If the order applies to another child or children and/or the
				  obligee asserts that there is an agreement between the parties or that a child
				  has special needs requiring continued support, then the domestic relations
				  section may schedule a conference prior to the child's attaining age 18 or
				  graduating from high school to determine if the charging order should be
				  modified.