When Can You Obtain A Post-Judgment Modification?
No matter how well-thought-out your divorce, child custody, child support or maintenance agreement was, life has a way of intervening and forcing a change. The majority of items in your final settlement agreement may be modified at a later time, presuming you have a genuine reason for the change.
Our attorneys at Thelen & Associates, LLC can assist with all of these changes. By working with our lawyers, you can ensure that you have an enforceable modification and will not be surprised by a court order that can seriously disrupt your life.
Substantial Change In Circumstance
In order to obtain the modification of any order, you would need to show that there has been a substantial change in circumstance. Courts will not modify an order absent a very strong evidentiary showing of the change.
Chances In Support Or Maintenance
In requesting such a modification, you would need to show with pay stubs and tax filings the level of change from when the initial order was entered.
If you have lost a job or had your hours cut, in addition to the financial records, you will need to demonstrate that the change was beyond your control. Courts are suspicious of sudden or unexplained drops in income by anyone obligated to pay support.
Changes In Custody Or Placement
A placement schedule that was ideal when a child was young may be more difficult to work with when a child is older and has numerous after school activities. Similarly, parents may experience changes to their job or work schedules that will demand a modification. As with child support, obtaining a formal court order modifying your agreement is the best way to ensure you have a valid modification.
Enforcement Of Orders
There may be times when a party fails to do something, like make child support payments, or refuses to abide by the terms of the placement order that will require you to return to court and request the judge enforce an order. Our lawyers understand that such actions can make your life very difficult, but it is important to work with the court to resolve the situation.
Obtaining an enforcement order allows the use of powerful tools such as contempt, garnishment or in extreme cases, jail time, to force compliance. It also creates a record should you need to modify a custody order due to the other party’s failure to cooperate and follow the orders of the court.
Contact Our Firm
An attorney from our Waukesha office can help you with maintenance, child support and custody modification, answer your questions and help with the process. Call 262-955-8241 or use our online form to request an appointment.