How to Modify Child Support in Delaware: Filing Steps and Effective Date

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

To modify Delaware child support, file Form 342 with the Family Court or through the Division of Child Support Services. Mediation comes first and a Commissioner hears the case if you do not agree. The change can start no earlier than 3 days after the petition and summons are mailed.

How do you modify child support in Delaware?

1. Run the formula amount in the Delaware child support calculator and check the 10% line in the modification calculator.
2. File a Petition for Child Support Modification (Form 342) with the Family Court, or ask the Division of Child Support Services to file it. The form asks whether more than 2½ years have passed or, if less, what substantial change occurred (Form 342).
3. Go to mediation. A modification petition is assigned first to mediation (Division of Child Support Services).
4. Go to the hearing before a Family Court Commissioner if you do not agree. The order is recalculated using the Delaware Child Support Formula.
5. Keep paying the existing order until the Court changes it.

What does Form 342 make you acknowledge?

That if the petition was filed within 2½ years of the last determination only modifications of greater than 10% will be imposed; that the ordered obligation may increase or decrease regardless of which party filed; that loss of a license and incarceration for nonpayment are not grounds; and that, because summonses are sent by regular mail, an order may be made effective as of 3 days after the posting of the summons. If paragraph one or two is not properly completed the petition may be dismissed.

Is there a filing fee?

There is no filing fee for a modification petition if the person receiving the support is a Division of Child Support Services client (Family Court FAQ, Chapter 11). Otherwise ask the Family Court clerk.

From what date does a Delaware modification take effect?

The effective date can be agreed by the parties or set by the Court after a hearing, but no earlier than 3 days after the petition and summons are mailed to the responding party at the last address they gave the Court, or served personally or by certified mail signed for by the party (Family Court FAQ). The statute allows modification only from the date notice of the pending petition is given (13 Del. C. 513(d)(2)).

Can the court change medical support too?

Yes. When the Court considers a petition to modify child support it also considers whether medical support should be ordered or modified, and a petition to establish or modify medical support puts the child support amount at issue as well (513(d)(3)).

What if arrears are owed?

If back support or arrears are owed, the modified order may include a reasonable repayment schedule. The Court’s presumption is repayment of 20% of current support, never less than $20 a month, and the 2½-year particularity rule also applies to petitions to modify an arrears payment.

What happens to unpaid support while the petition is pending?

It stays owed. See how long Delaware arrears last and add up your balance.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Delaware Family Court: Frequently Asked Questions About Child Support and Form 509i instructions
• Delaware Family Court: Form 342, Petition for Child Support Modification
• Delaware Division of Child Support Services: modification of existing orders
• 13 Del. C. 513: judgment; order of support; modification
• 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(9): no retroactive modification of support already due

This is general information, not legal advice. It is based on the cited Delaware statutes, rules and court opinions, and every case turns on its own facts. Confirm how the law applies to your situation with a licensed Delaware attorney.