Cal. Codes » Family Code / DIVISION 9. SUPPORT / PART 1. DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS / CHAPTER 6. Modification,Termination, or Set Aside of Support Orders / ARTICLE 1. General Provisions
California Codes

Cal. Family Code § 3651 (2026)

General Provisions — Modification,Termination, or Set Aside of Support Orders

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a)Except as provided in subdivisions (c) and (d) and subject to Article 3 (commencing with Section 3680) and Sections 3552, 3587, and 4004, a support order may be modified or terminated at any time as the court determines to be necessary.

(b)Upon the filing of a supplemental complaint pursuant to Section 2330.1, a child support order in the original proceeding may be modified in conformity with the statewide uniform guideline for child support to provide for the support of all of the children of the same parents who were named in the initial and supplemental pleadings, to consolidate arrearages and wage assignments for children of the parties, and to consolidate orders for support.

(c)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) and subdivision (b), a support order may not be modified or terminated as to an amount that accrued before the date of the filing of the notice of motion or order to show cause to modify or terminate.

(2)If a party to a support order is activated to United States military duty or National Guard service and deployed out of state, the servicemember may file and serve a notice of activation of military service and request to modify a support order, in lieu of a notice of motion or order to show cause, by informing the court and the other party of the request to modify the support order based on the change in circumstance. The servicemember shall indicate the date of deployment and, if possible, the court shall schedule the hearing prior to that date. If the court cannot hear the matter prior to the date of deployment out of state, and the servicemember complies with the conditions set forth in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, Section 522 of the Appendix of Title 50 of the United States Code, the court shall grant a stay of proceedings consistent with the timelines for stays set forth in that section. If, after granting the mandatory stay required by Section 522 of the Appendix of Title 50 of the United States Code, the court fails to grant the discretionary stay described under the law, it shall comply with the federal mandate to appoint counsel to represent the interests of the deployed servicemember. The court may not proceed with the matter if it does not appoint counsel, unless the servicemember is represented by other counsel. If the court stays the proceeding until after the return of the service member, the servicemember shall request the court to set the matter for hearing within 90 days of return from deployment or the matter shall be taken off calendar and the existing order may not be made retroactive pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 3653.

(3)A servicemember who does not file a notice of activation of military service and request to modify a support order or order to show cause or notice of motion prior to deployment out of state nonetheless shall not be subject to penalties otherwise authorized by Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 4720) of Part 5 on the amount of child support that would not have accrued if the order had been modified pursuant to paragraph (2), absent a finding by the court of good cause. Any such finding shall be stated on the record.

(4)Notwithstanding any other law, interest shall not accrue on that amount of a child support obligation that would not have become due and owing if the activated servicemember modified the support order upon activation to reflect the change in income due to the activation. Upon a finding by the court that good cause did not exist for the servicemember’s failure to seek, or delay in seeking, the modification, interest shall accrue as otherwise allowed by law.

(d)An order for spousal support may not be modified or terminated to the extent that a written agreement or, if there is no written agreement, an oral agreement entered into in open court between the parties, specifically provides that the spousal support is not subject to modification or termination.

(e)This section applies whether or not the support order is based upon an agreement between the parties.

(f)This section is effective only with respect to a property settlement agreement entered into on or after January 1, 1970, and does not affect an agreement entered into before January 1, 1970, as to which Chapter 1308 of the Statutes of 1967 shall apply.

(g)(1)The Judicial Council, no later than 90 days after the effective date of the act adding this section, shall develop forms and procedures necessary to implement paragraph (2) of subdivision (c). The Judicial Council shall ensure that all forms adopted pursuant to this section are in plain language.

(2)The form developed by the Judicial Council, in addition to other items the Judicial Council determines to be necessary or appropriate, shall include the following:

(A)The date of deployment and all information relevant to the determination of the amount of child support, including whether the servicemember’s employer will supplement the servicemember’s income during the deployment.

(B)A notice informing the opposing party that, absent a finding of good cause, the order will be made retroactive to the date of service of the form or the date of deployment, whichever is later.

(C)Notice that the requesting party must notify the court and the other party upon return from military duty and seek to bring any unresolved request for modification to hearing within 90 days of return, or else lose the right to modify the order pursuant to this section.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 40 cases (12 in the last 5 years), 1995–2026 · leading case: Mejia v. Reed, 74 P.3d 166 (Cal. 2003).
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Mejia v. Reed, 74 P.3d 166 (Cal. 2003). “) This figure is *671 generally based on actual earnings, although the trial court has discretion to consider earning capacity instead of actual income (Fam.”
In re Marriage of Minkin, 11 Cal. App. 5th 939 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017). “” (Fam. Code, § 3651, subd. (a); see In re Marriage of Khera & Sameer (2012) 206 Cal.”
Stover v. Bruntz, 218 Cal. Rptr. 3d 551 (Cal. Ct. App. 5th 2017). “(Fam. Code, § 3651, subd. (c)(1) ["Except as provided in paragraph *557 (2) and subdivision (b) [exceptions not relevant here], a support order may not be modified or terminated as to an amount that accrued before the date of the filing of the notice of motion or order to show…”
Moss v. Superior Court, 950 P.2d 59 (Cal. 1998). · cites it 2× “) The nonsupporting parent has been given the opportunity to offer evidence on the question and to challenge the order in the appellate court. He or she is also afforded the opportunity to seek modification of the order if circumstances change making compliance difficult or…”
Toni v. Toni, 2001 ND 193 (N.D. 2001). · cites it 2× “Some jurisdictions, by statute, specifically allow parties to enter into nonmodifiable spousal support agreements.”
In Re Marriage of Gong & Kwong, 163 Cal. App. 4th 510 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008). “Kwong’s interpretation of Judge Dylina’s order, if adopted, would have had the effect of modifying the 1994 child support order by wiping out, retroactively, nine months of support and interest.”
In Re Marriage of Dancy, 98 Cal. Rptr. 2d 775 (Cal. Ct. App. 2000). “2d 525 ; Fam.Code, § 3651, subd. (c); see also In re Marriage of Comer, supra, 14 Cal.”
In Re Marriage of Perez, 35 Cal. App. 4th 77 (Cal. Ct. App. 1995). “Wife correctly contends that the trial court acted in excess of its jurisdiction in reducing the balance of child support arrearages owed from $5,000 to $2,000.”
Zarubin v. Miotke (In re Miotke), 248 Cal. Rptr. 3d 1 (Cal. Ct. App. 5th 2019). “( Fam. Code, § 3651, subd. (a) and (d) ; In re Marriage of Khera & Sameer (2012) 206 Cal.”
In Re Marriage of Beck, 57 Cal. App. 4th 341 (Cal. Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 2× “IV Dorothy offhandedly also cites, but does not discuss, Family Code section 3651, a reenactment of former Civil Code section 4811, which, by its terms, and with respect to property settlement agreements entered into on or after January 1, 1970, states: “a support order may be…”
Black v. Dancy, 82 Cal. App. 4th 1142 (Cal. Ct. App. 2000). “858 ; Fam. Code, § 3651, subd. (c); see also In re Marriage of Comer, supra, 14 Cal.”
Marriage of McCallon CA4/3 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 2× “Family Code section 3651 creates a statutory presumption that a spousal support order may be modified: “(a) Except as provided in subdivision[] (c) .”
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Cal. Family Code § 3651(1): 1 case
Quintanilla v. Crews (Bankr. N.D. Cal. 2020).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.