Changing an Order

BCFMA does not have the authority to change a support order or agreement. However, there are many resources in BC to help families with legal issues.

If either party believes circumstances have changed since the support order or agreement was made, they can work with the other party to come to a new agreement, request a consent to adjust support or apply to change their order through the Supreme Court or the Provincial Court. To determine which court to apply to, please review your original order and apply through the court that issued the order.

You may want to change your order or agreement to:

• Increase or decrease support payments
• Reduce or cancel support arrears
• Clarify expenses for a child
• Confirm if support is still due for a child the age of majority
• Work out parenting arrangements

The recipient or payor must let us know if they start any negotiations or legal action to change the support order or agreement. Until a new support order or agreement is filed in court, the existing one is still in effect and BCFMA will continue to collect it. If either party has concerns about this, they should contact us to discuss the matter.

It is important we get a filed copy of the new support order or agreement as soon as possible to ensure our payments records reflect the new amounts due.

Consent to Adjust Support

Parties with eligible orders or agreements may have the ability to change their support payments by consent.

Your file may be eligible if:

• Your current order or agreement says that either one or both parties must share financial information to review/adjust the amount of support and/or special expenses
• Both parties are willing to adjust the support and confirm the new amount by signing a Consent to Adjust Support form
• The order or agreement is not enrolled with the Child Support Recalculation Service
• There are no orders restricting contact between the parties

BCFMA does not have a role in calculating payments, negotiating or passing financial information between parties.

Please contact us if you need more information.