Get Legal Advice

• Legal advice is necessary when you need to change the amount of child support you are required to pay. You should not just stop paying. Talk to the other parent about the change in your circumstances and try to work something out. You should still seek a lawyer's advice. If the other parent agrees to your request, put it in writing and get it signed and dated to protect yourself.
  
  You need to contact the court responsible for your case immediately, if you can no longer make your child support payments. If you don't, you will likely be held responsible and may be penalized for not paying. Penalties vary from state to state. Child support payments may be changed due to circumstances such as a drop in your income or an increase in the custodial parent's income, and when living expenses have changed for either of you.
  Petition the court for a review to see if the payment can be recalculated. Court officials understand changes in financial circumstances as long as you provide documentation. Totally eliminating child support payments is not likely to happen because the child has a right to support. "Child support isn't about the parents; it's about the child," according to the experts at lawyers.com. Despite your financial situation, while the court may be willing to offer relief in terms of the amount you must pay, it also takes into account the child's needs for food and shelter.
  
  

Don't Procrastinate

• Experts emphasize not waiting to contact the courts once you no longer have the financial ability to pay your child support. Once you get behind in your payments, the court cannot go back and reduce the amount you owe, according to The National Fathers' Resource Center. If you contact the court with proof of your financial situation, the court can temporarily or permanently reduce your payment.