I want to reduce or terminate child support
What a parent who pays child support can do once circumstances have permanently changed and they want the amount reduced or the obligation ended.
What to do
Child support set by a final judgment or court settlement does not end or change automatically just because the paying parent believes their circumstances have changed. As long as an enforceable instrument setting that amount exists, it remains valid and can be enforced, regardless of why payment stopped. The first step, then, is to look at the exact content of that decision - the amount set, how it is calculated, and whether its duration is expressly tied to the child turning 18 or is open-ended.
If the circumstances the decision was based on have permanently changed - for example, the paying parent has lost their job or their income has permanently dropped, they have had a new child they support, or, for an adult child, regular schooling has ended or the child has acquired their own income - a modification can be sought. The simplest route is an agreement with the other parent, which should then be certified as a court settlement or the corresponding instrument before a notary public, so that it replaces the earlier decision. If an agreement is not possible, a claim to modify the support decision is filed, together with evidence of the changed circumstances - proof of unemployment, payslips, a birth certificate for the new child, a certificate from a school or university.
Until the new decision becomes final or the agreement is certified, the previously established obligation formally still stands. Unilaterally suspending payment in the meantime does not change the legal basis of the debt - the other parent can still initiate enforcement proceedings for the entire arrears, and prolonged non-payment of support set by an enforceable decision can also constitute a criminal offense. When the court grants a claim to modify support, the new amount, as a rule, applies from the date the claim was filed going forward, not retroactively.
Particular attention should be paid to an adult child: turning 18 does not, on its own, end the obligation if the child is in regular schooling - support can then continue, in proportion to the parent's means, at the latest until the child turns 26. Whether a specific judgment or agreement nonetheless provides for termination exactly on the date of majority depends on how it is worded, so that wording should be checked before payment is stopped.
When to contact a lawyer
A consensual modification, when the parents agree on the new amount, can be carried out without a lawyer, with the agreement certified in the appropriate form. A lawyer becomes useful when the other parent disputes that circumstances have changed, when it is necessary to assess whether specific facts (for example, the type of studies an adult child is pursuing, or the nature of a new source of income) actually meet the conditions for modifying or ending support, when a claim needs to be drafted and a new proposed amount calculated from both parties' income and needs, or when enforcement proceedings have already started or a criminal complaint for non-payment is being considered, so that the change to the obligation needs to be coordinated with that parallel proceeding.
Sources
- Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Expense Reimbursement (Tarifa o nagradama i naknadama troškova za rad advokata, Sl. glasnik RS No. 43/2023), Items 14
- Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Expense Reimbursement, consolidated text (Sl. glasnik RS Nos. 43/2023 and 56/2025) (paragraf.rs)
- Law on Court Fees (Zakon o sudskim taksama), Arts. 9, 10 and 24
What to do
- Check the exact content of the existing enforceable instrument - the divorce judgment, the child-support judgment, or the court settlement: what amount was set, how (a fixed amount or a percentage of salary), and whether its duration is expressly limited (for example, until the child turns 18) or open-ended.
- Establish whether the circumstances the earlier decision was based on have permanently changed, for example the paying parent's job loss or a lasting drop in income, the birth of a new child they support, or, for an adult child, the end of regular schooling, their own income, or employment.
- Prepare evidence of the changed circumstances: proof of unemployment or termination of employment, payslips, a decision on another support obligation, a birth certificate for the new child, or a certificate from a school or university about the child's continuing or ending regular schooling.
- Try to reach an agreement with the other parent. If the parents agree on a new amount or on ending the obligation, the agreement should be certified as a court settlement or an instrument with the force of an enforceable instrument, since an informal oral or written agreement does not, on its own, replace the earlier judgment.
- If an agreement is not possible, file a claim to modify the support decision with the competent court, together with evidence of the changed circumstances and a proposed new amount or termination of the obligation.
- Keep meeting the existing obligation until the new decision becomes final or the agreement is certified - unilaterally stopping payment does not change the legal basis of the debt and can lead to enforcement proceedings or a criminal complaint for failure to provide support.
What it costs
Where the subject of the dispute is the right to statutory support, the value of the dispute for court-fee purposes is the sum of the payments for three months, unless support is sought for a shorter period (Art. 24 of the Law on Court Fees). A parent of limited means can separately request exemption from the fee, supported by evidence of income and the number of persons they support; the court decides on a motion that can be filed until the close of the hearing, weighing assets, income and the number of dependants, so exemption is not automatic (Art. 10). A lawyer's fee, if one is engaged, is agreed separately and does not depend on the outcome of the dispute.
Basis for the attorney fee: Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Expense Reimbursement, Item 14 (dispute over modifying a decision on statutory support, non-assessable matter). A claim to modify (reduce or terminate) child support is not covered by the court-fee exemption under Art. 9 of the Law on Court Fees (Zakon o sudskim taksama) - that exemption applies to the person claiming support, not to the parent seeking to have their own obligation reduced or terminated.
FAQ
Can I simply stop paying once the child turns 18?
Not without checking first. Turning 18 does not, on its own, end the support obligation if the child is in regular schooling - in that case support continues, in proportion to the parent's means, at the latest until the child turns 26. Whether a specific obligation nonetheless ends at the age of majority depends on how that is expressly worded in the judgment or agreement that set the support - that wording should be checked first. If the child is still in regular attendance at school or university, stopping payment without an agreement or court decision exposes the parent to the risk of enforcement proceedings.
What counts as changed circumstances that justify reducing child support?
The law speaks generally of a change in the circumstances the earlier decision was based on. In practice this most often means a lasting, not temporary, drop in income or job loss for the paying parent, a new support obligation arising (for example, the birth of a second child), or, for an adult child, the end of regular schooling or the child acquiring their own income. In every case the court reassesses both the child's needs and the parent's means, not just one side.
Does the change have to go through court?
Not if the parents agree. A consensual modification is possible, but to replace the earlier enforceable instrument and be legally secure, it should be certified as a court settlement or in the appropriate form before a notary public. An informal agreement without such certification does not erase the earlier judgment, so the other parent could, in theory, still seek enforcement of the old amount.
From when does the new, lower amount apply if the court grants the claim?
Under settled case law, a modification, as a rule, takes effect from the date the claim is filed going forward, not from when the circumstances actually changed, and not retroactively. That means installments that fell due before the claim was filed remain owed at the previously set amount, even if the change in circumstances happened earlier.