Bayes

*550 Opinion

A father had been paying child support for many years. In January 2003, he was laid off from his job as a software salesman due to the economic downturn in the high technology field. Accordingly, he filed a motion (motion) to reduce his child support obligation and requested—under Family Code section 3653, subdivision (b) (section 3653(b)) 1 —that the modification order be made retroactive to the date he served the motion. The mother opposed the motion.

The court granted the motion in part by reducing monthly child support, but refused to make the order retroactive. Concluding that the father had other financial resources and that the needs of the children would make retroactivity inappropriate and unfair, the court made the order effective on the date of the hearing on the motion.

The father appeals the trial court’s failure to reduce the child support obligation retroactively. He claims that the court abused its discretion under section 3653(b) by not making the order effective on the date the motion was served.

Under section 3653(b), if a court modifies or terminates a support order because of a party’s unemployment, the trial court must make its order…