Section 17432 Of Article 1. Support Obligations From California Family Law Code >> Division 17. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 1.
17432
. (a) In any action filed by the local child support agency
pursuant to Section 17400, 17402, or 17404, the court may, on any
terms that may be just, set aside that part of the judgment or order
concerning the amount of child support to be paid. This relief may be
granted after the six-month time limit of Section 473 of the Code of
Civil Procedure has elapsed, based on the grounds, and within the
time limits, specified in this section.
(b) This section shall apply only to judgments or orders for
support that were based upon presumed income as specified in
subdivision (d) of Section 17400 and that were entered after the
entry of the default of the defendant under Section 17430. This
section shall apply only to the amount of support ordered and not
that portion of the judgment or order concerning the determination of
parentage.
(c) The court may set aside the child support order contained in a
judgment described in subdivision (b) if the defendant's income was
substantially different for the period of time during which judgment
was effective compared with the income the defendant was presumed to
have. A "substantial difference" means that amount of income that
would result in an order for support that deviates from the order
entered by default by 10 percent or more.
(d) Application for relief under this section shall be filed
together with an income and expense declaration or simplified
financial statement or other information concerning income for any
relevant years. The Judicial Council may combine the application for
relief under this section and the proposed answer into a single form.
(e) The burden of proving that the actual income of the defendant
deviated substantially from the presumed income shall be on the party
seeking to set aside the order.
(f) A motion for relief under this section shall be filed within
one year of the first collection of money by the local child support
agency or the obligee. The one-year time period shall run from the
date that the local child support agency receives the first
collection.
(g) Within three months from the date the local child support
agency receives the first collection for any order established using
presumed income, the local child support agency shall check all
appropriate sources for income information, and if income information
exists, the local child support agency shall make a determination
whether the order qualifies for set aside under this section. If the
order qualifies for set aside, the local child support agency shall
bring a motion for relief under this section.
(h) In all proceedings under this section, before granting relief,
the court shall consider the amount of time that has passed since
the entry of the order, the circumstances surrounding the defendant's
default, the relative hardship on the child or children to whom the
duty of support is owed, the caretaker parent, and the defendant, and
other equitable factors that the court deems appropriate.
(i) If the court grants the relief requested, the court shall
issue a new child support order using the appropriate child support
guidelines currently in effect. The new order shall have the same
commencement date as the order set aside.
(j) The Judicial Council shall review and modify any relevant
forms for purposes of this section. Any modifications to the forms
shall be effective July 1, 2005. Prior to the implementation of any
modified Judicial Council forms, the local child support agency or
custodial parent may file any request to set aside a default judgment
under this section using Judicial Council Form FL-680 entitled
"Notice of Motion (Governmental)" and form FL-684 entitled "Request
for Order and Supporting Declaration (Governmental)."