Rule 8.050.Judgment Modification Proceedings

A modification is not a letter to the judge. It opens with an order to show cause based on a motion supported by an affidavit or a declaration under penalty of perjury that sets out the factual basis for what you are asking. A judicial district can establish another procedure by supplementary local rule, so look there first. Whichever route you take, the initiating documents must contain a notice substantially in the form set out at ORCP 7, which is a rule of civil procedure rather than one of these trial court rules. That notice can stand alone or sit inside the order to show cause or the motion.

Service is formal. The initiating documents are served by delivering a certified copy of each document, and of the Uniform Support Declaration where one applies, in the manner necessary to obtain jurisdiction. Treat it with the care you would give service of an original petition.

When either party requests support, both parties complete and file a USD. The party seeking the modification files one with the motion and serves it. Once an order to show cause issues, the opposing party files a USD and serves it on the moving party within 30 days of service of the order to show cause, unless a supplementary local rule says otherwise. Both are completed as provided under UTCR 8.010(4), on the form at www.courts.oregon.gov/forms. Neither party needs a USD when the motion seeks to terminate child support solely because the child is no longer legally entitled to it. If the Division of Child Support or a district attorney child support office initiates or responds to a support modification, that office may file an affidavit covering the custodian, the children, public assistance, food stamp benefits, Medicaid, other known income of the physical custodian, and any special circumstances, in place of the USD.

One more requirement catches an easy mistake. A party who files an ex parte temporary custody or parenting time order under ORS 107.139 must also file a motion for permanent modification of custody, or already have one pending when the application is made. The emergency order is not the case; it rides on top of a modification you are pursuing.