Modification What Circumstances Justify a Modification?

Many circumstances may justify a court modification of an existing order.

For child or spousal support, a court may lower support obligations if a party loses his or her job, or if the party’s business is doing poorly. Conversely, a court may raise support obligations if one party comes into a large inheritance, receives a large monetary gift, gets a raise or promotion, or if one of the parties wins the lottery. Any material change in financial circumstances or income earning capacity may cause the court to reevaluate and change the existing support order.

As for child custody and visitation, the court can change the existing custody arrangement or reduce visitation if one of the parties has been convicted of child abuse or other crimes, if a party is addicted or mental ill, or if the one of the parties has violated existing court orders (such as moving the child out of the county without the court’s permission). The guiding principle in child custody and visitation is the best interests of the child, and any change in circumstance that affects the best interest of the child may affect custody and visitation. Thus, even if you were convicted of crimes at the time of the initial order, if you have demonstrated a willingness to rehabilitate yourself through treatment and restitution, a family law court may consider giving you increased custody or visitation.

The divorce court’s final adjudication and distribution of community estate cannot be modified except via timely motion or appeal. Once the time to set aside or appeal the court’s decision has passed, the divorce court’s division of community property is final. However, if the court did not fully divide the community estate, either because one of the parties was concealing community assets or both parties did not realize that community assets remained, the divorce court retains jurisdiction to distribute remaining community property.

If you wish to modify an existing child support order, contact a Southern California family law attorney to guide you through this process. A lawyer can help you identify circumstances in favor of modification and advise you on the best course of action. Even if a family law lawyer states that a court will likely not modify the existing order, at least he or she can tell you what you need to do now to convince the court to modify the order in the future. Because courts are legal bodies, you should have a legal professional represent you so he or she can effectively communicate your position to the court.

If you or someone you know wants to modify an existing family law court order, you will need an experienced Southern California family law attorney to represent you. At Wallin & Klarich, we have helped people going through the divorce process for over 30 years. Call us today at (888) 749-7428. We will be there when you call.