09 Oct Does child support receive cost-of-living increases?

Q. My daughter, who resides in New Jersey, has been receiving child support monthly for the past few years. Shouldn’t this court-awarded amount increase yearly if the cost-of-living increases? I would think that if there is a yearly percentage increase to Social Security benefits that child support should increase as well.
— Mom

A. Your reasoning makes sense.

And it does happen.

If the child support is being paid through the probation department — now called Family Support Services, it will provide a cost of living adjustment every two years and adjust the child support, said Jeralyn Lawrence, a family law attorney with Lawrence Law in Watchung.

“If the support is paid directly between the parties and the order doesn’t provide for an automatic adjustment, the recipient would have to file a motion and prove that there has been a change in circumstance warranting a review of support and an increase is appropriate,” she said.

So if your daughter hasn’t received an increase, it may be time to consider filing that motion.

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This story was originally published in October 2025.

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