Fairfax Divorce Modification Lawyer

Of course, you may not be the one requesting a modification. Hiring an experienced divorce modifications attorney to help you can be just as important in cases where your former spouse is attempting to modify the terms of your divorce settlement. Even if you overall agree with the changes being requested, it is imperative to ensure that you have an experienced attorney on your side to discuss the full ramifications of the modification as well as ensure that the new order is drafted fairly for you. 

The legal team at Melone Hatley, P.C. will work diligently to protect your rights and help ensure an outcome that works for you.

There are various changes in your life, the life of your former spouse, or your children that may cause you to seek modifications to your child custody arrangement. Some of the factors that can lead to this type of modification include:

• Remarriage or another change to the household
• Changes in work schedules
• Job relocation
• Change in living conditions
• Child maturing 

If you or your former spouse remarry, start living with a new partner, or face some other change to the setup of either household, it may create a need for a change to your child custody agreement or child custody order. This is especially true if a new living arrangement creates concerns about the safety and well being of your children.

A change in your work schedule or that of your former partner can impact when you have availability to care for your child, which could necessitate an adjustment to your custody arrangement. Furthermore, if one parent needs to relocate for work, a joint custody setup may no longer be a viable option.

If one parent needs to relocate out of the area, relocation cases raise significant issues that are different from a normal custody and visitation modification. Read more about relocation with a child post separation or divorce here.

If one parent moves into a new home with drastically different living conditions, the new setup may prove more or less suitable for children, which could be a cause for altering the custody agreement.

In some cases, one parent will move with a partner that presents a danger to your child. 

If either parent undergoes a substantial and material change in their financial situation, it could be grounds to revisit the current child support arrangement. For example, if the parent currently paying child support loses their job, they may no longer be able to pay child support in the amount agreed upon at the time of the divorce. 

Alternatively, a substantial raise in salary for the paying parent could mean they need to contribute more. Meanwhile, if the parent receiving child support sees a large increase in their pay or loses their job, the amount they receive from their former partner could be drastically reduced or increased respectively. 

Modifications can also be necessary when the expenses for the care of the child drastically change. For example if a child no longer needs daycare or if there is a change to the amount that health insurance costs for the child, that may be grounds for a modification. 

If modifications were made to the child custody agreement and primary custody shifts from one parent to the other, the parent who previously received child support may be forced to pay support instead.

Like with modifications to child support, changes to your spousal support agreement can be requested if either party undergoes a change to their employment status or a significant change to their salary. This all depends on whether the child support award was modifiable or non-modifiable. You can read more about spousal support here.

If you are looking to modify the amount of spousal support you are paying or receiving, an experienced divorce modification attorney serving Fairfax can help.