Child Support Modification - Preparation Worksheet - South Dakota

OFFICIAL-FORM GATE
South Dakota's current route uses the Department of Social Services' prescribed
DSS-SE-415 Petition for Modification of Child Support packet, revised July
2026, or the UJS Guide and File interview. Use the official packet for submission.
This companion helps organize answers and attachments; do not file it in place of
the current prescribed forms. The official packet directs the completed packet to
the Division of Child Support Modification Unit, which reviews it and files it in
the circuit court where the support order was entered.

SOUTH DAKOTA CHILD SUPPORT MODIFICATION PREPARATION COMPANION

1. Eligibility and Jurisdiction Screen

1.1 Existing order

• Date of order to be modified: [DATE]
• Date last modified, if any: [DATE / NONE]
• Court or agency that entered it: [DETAILS]
• County and judicial circuit: [DETAILS]
• Case / docket number: [NUMBER]
• Order entered in South Dakota: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• South Dakota maintains continuing exclusive jurisdiction: [COUNSEL CONFIRM]

• If registered from another state, SDCL § 25-9C-611 or § 25-9C-613 route
  confirmed: [DETAILS / NOT APPLICABLE]

• Current support order attached, including stipulation and attachments: ☐ Yes

Under SDCL § 25-7A-22, the prescribed petition route applies if the support order
was entered in South Dakota and South Dakota maintains continuing exclusive
jurisdiction, or if a registered order satisfies the identified UIFSA provisions.
Do not assume that residence in South Dakota alone permits modification of an
out-of-state order.

1.2 Select the current modification standard

Track A — Order entered and in effect before July 1, 2026

☐ SDCL § 25-7-6.13 applies. The order may be modified in accordance with chapter
25-7 without requiring a showing of changed circumstances from entry of the order.

Track B — Order entered and in effect on or after July 1, 2026; petition filed
within three years of the order

☐ SDCL § 25-7A-22(1) applies. State the substantial change in circumstances since
entry of the order: [FACTS, DATES, AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS].

Track C — Order entered and in effect on or after July 1, 2026; petition filed
after three years from the order

☐ SDCL § 25-7A-22(2) applies. The order may be modified without showing changed
circumstances.

Incarceration-release note: SDCL § 25-7-6.13 states that if a parent
incarcerated for more than 180 days is released, the support obligation in effect
at release continues until either parent files a petition for modification.

There is no universal “20% / $50” modification threshold in these current sections.

2. Official Packet Checklist

Use the current official checklist. As of the July 2026 DSS-SE-415 packet, prepare:

• ☐ Completed and signed official checklist
• ☐ DSS-SE-415 Petition for Modification of Child Support
• ☐ Information Regarding Parents and Children form
• ☐ DSS-SE-415A Financial Statement
• ☐ UJS/DSS Form 089 Child Support Order Filing Data

• ☐ Most recent South Dakota support order, judgment, decree, stipulation, or
  administrative order, with relevant attachments

• ☐ Current parenting-time order if requesting an abatement or shared-parenting
  cross credit

• ☐ Most recent pay stub and last federal income-tax return with supporting
  schedules and W-2, or the self-employment documents required by the official packet

• ☐ Verification of dependent health coverage and cost, if available

• ☐ Verification of child-care expenses, if applicable and available
• ☐ Copy of any protection or nondisclosure order identified by the packet
• ☐ Other evidence supporting a selected deviation or adjustment
• ☐ $50 check or money order payable to the Clerk of Courts, a fee-waiver
  application, or the official indication of current Title 28 assistance benefits

SDCL § 16-2-29(4)(a) sets a $50 fee for petitions and motions to modify final child-
support orders and exempts a petitioner or moving party receiving assistance under
Title 28. The official packet also supplies a waiver application; follow its current
instructions and do not send cash.

3. Information for the Official Petition

3.1 Petitioner

• Name: [FULL LEGAL NAME]
• Role: ☐ Custodial parent ☐ Noncustodial parent ☐ Legal guardian
• Residential address: [ADDRESS]
• Mailing address, if different: [ADDRESS]
• Telephone and email: [DETAILS]

3.2 Respondent

• Name: [FULL LEGAL NAME]
• Last known residential address: [ADDRESS / UNKNOWN]
• Mailing address, if different: [ADDRESS / UNKNOWN]
• Telephone and email: [DETAILS / UNKNOWN]
• Address information current as of: [MONTH / YEAR]

3.3 Children and parentage information

For each child covered by the requested modification:

Attach any document the official form requires for a child without a current order.

4. Reason for Modification

If Track B applies, describe the substantial change with dates and evidence. If Track
A or C applies, explain the current facts relevant to recalculation without falsely
pleading that a change showing is legally required.

4.1 Income and employment

• Petitioner's current employer, rate, hours, and gross monthly income: [DETAILS]
• Respondent's known current employment and income: [DETAILS / UNKNOWN]
• Change from the evidence used for the existing order: [DETAILS]
• Self-employment, seasonal, irregular, overtime, commission, or bonus facts: [DETAILS]
• Retirement, disability, benefits, investment, rental, or other income: [DETAILS]
• Incarceration or disability relevant to imputed income: [DETAILS]

SDCL § 25-7-6.3 calculates monthly net income from gross income less statutory
deductions and lists income sources. It permits exclusion of overtime, commissions,
and bonuses only when not regular and recurring and requires seasonal income to be
annualized. Use the current DSS financial statement and current statutes rather than
an informal “adjusted gross income” definition.

4.2 Current support calculation

• Petitioner's monthly net income under the current chapter: $[AMOUNT]
• Respondent's monthly net income under the current chapter: $[AMOUNT]
• Combined monthly net income: $[AMOUNT]
• Current SDCL § 25-7-6.2 schedule amount: $[AMOUNT]
• Each parent's percentage share: [PERCENTAGES]
• Basic obligation before adjustments: $[AMOUNT]
• Current calculation worksheet or referee calculation attached: [DETAILS]

SDCL § 25-7-6.2 makes its schedule presumptive, subject to revisions or deviations
permitted by chapter 25-7. Do not copy an old schedule table into the petition; use
the schedule current on the calculation date.

5. Deviations — SDCL § 25-7-6.10

Deviation must be considered if raised by either party and may be made only with
specific findings based on a listed factor. Select only supported requests:

• ☐ Subsequent-spouse income or third-party contribution, but only where schedule
  application works a financial hardship on either parent

• ☐ A financial condition making schedule application inequitable

• ☐ Necessary educational or health-care special needs of a child
• ☐ Parental agreements for extra support directly benefiting the child

• ☐ Obligation to support subsequent natural, adopted, or stepchildren; an existing
  order may not be modified solely for this reason

• ☐ Voluntary and unreasonable unemployment or underemployment, consistent with
  SDCL § 25-7-6.26

• ☐ Federal income-tax consequences from claiming the child as a dependent

If total child support, including health-insurance and child-care adjustments,
exceeds 50% of the obligor's monthly net income, § 25-7-6.10 creates a rebuttable
financial-hardship presumption. State the requested finding and evidence:
[DETAILS].

6. Additional Factors and Attachments

6.1 Parenting-time abatement — SDCL § 25-7-6.14

☐ Requested. Attach the custody / parenting-time order and evidence of increased,
nonduplicated costs. The statute permits the court, when a child resides with the
obligor at least six nights in a month under a custody order, to grant an abatement
of 38% to 66% of the basic obligation for those nights if appropriate. It requires
the order to specify the nights and amount and caps the abatement at the shared-
parenting cross credit allowed by § 25-7-6.27.

6.2 Shared-parenting cross credit — SDCL § 25-7-6.27

☐ Requested. Attach the detailed shared-parenting order and overnight evidence.
Section 25-7-6.27 applies when the order provides at least 180 nights per calendar
year in each parent's home and proportional sharing of parenting duties and expenses.
The court considers whether the credit would substantially harm the child's standard
of living.

6.3 Travel costs — SDCL § 25-7-6.15

☐ Requested. Attach cost evidence and facts about distance, circumstances, who
moved, and the reason for the move. The court may allocate substantial travel costs.

6.4 Medical support — SDCL § 25-7-6.16

• Available coverage, persons enrolled, area, and monthly cost: [DETAILS]
• Cost attributable to child under the statutory calculation: $[AMOUNT]
• Parent(s) able to provide accessible coverage at reasonable cost: [DETAILS]
• Additional uninsured health costs and proposed allocation: [DETAILS]

The current statute treats insurance as reasonable in cost when the child-attributable
cost is no more than 8% of the parent's net income after the proportionate medical-
support credit. It assigns the first $250 per calendar year of additional reasonable,
uninsured health-care costs to the parent with primary physical custody and apportions
amounts above $250 in proportion to each parent's support obligation.

6.5 Child care — SDCL § 25-7-6.18

☐ Requested. Attach verification of reasonable child-care costs caused by a parent's
employment, job search, or training or education necessary to obtain a job or enhance
earning potential. Identify any state assistance and federal child-care tax credit:
[DETAILS].

7. Relief Requested on the Official Form

Use the official DSS-SE-415 request, which asks that:

1. Respondent be required to appear and answer;

2. the court modify support as determined after hearing, considering the deviations
   and additional factors identified in the petition; and

3. the court grant other just and equitable relief.

Do not insert contract provisions, a private liability cap, automatic annual document
exchange, an automatic future adjustment, a cure period, or a blanket enforcement
package into this modification petition. Enforcement of an existing order is a
separate issue and does not replace the prescribed modification process.

8. Filing and Referee Process

The July 2026 official packet directs the completed petition, attachments, and fee or
waiver request to:

Division of Child Support

Attn: Modification Unit

700 Governors Drive

Pierre, SD 57501-2291

The Division reviews the packet for completeness and files it with the clerk of court
where the support order was entered. The court appoints a referee; the petitioner must
appear at the scheduled hearing or the petition may be dismissed.

Under SDCL § 25-7A-22, the referee files a report and recommendation. A party has ten
days from service of the report to file objections; the other party has five additional
days from service of those objections to file additional objections. Confirm the time-
computation and filing rules for the actual service date immediately.

9. Final Accuracy Check

• ☐ Current July 2026 or later DSS-SE-415 packet used
• ☐ Correct modification track selected by order and petition dates
• ☐ Jurisdiction over the order confirmed
• ☐ Every official form completed; no blanks left where the packet requires an answer
• ☐ Current order and parenting-time order attached where applicable
• ☐ Required income, insurance, child-care, and deviation evidence attached
• ☐ Current schedule and statutory calculations used
• ☐ Protection-order and address-safety concerns reviewed before submission
• ☐ Fee, Title 28 exemption, or waiver request handled exactly as instructed
• ☐ Copies retained and hearing contact information kept current
• ☐ South Dakota counsel reviewed unusual, interstate, tribal, safety, incarceration,
  parentage, custody, or enforcement issues

Official Sources

• South Dakota UJS — Child Support Modification
• South Dakota DSS — Modification of Child Support Order
• Official DSS-SE-415 packet, rev. 07/2026
• SDCL § 25-7-6.13
• SDCL § 25-7A-22
• SDCL § 25-7-6.2
• SDCL § 25-7-6.3
• SDCL § 25-7-6.10
• SDCL § 25-7-6.14
• SDCL § 25-7-6.15
• SDCL § 25-7-6.16
• SDCL § 25-7-6.18
• SDCL § 25-7-6.26
• SDCL § 25-7-6.27
• SDCL § 25-9C-611
• SDCL § 25-9C-613
• SDCL § 16-2-29

Sources and the official packet were last checked on 2026-08-02.