Custody and child support are dictated by the court orders that are part of every divorce. When the divorce is finalized, there should be a parenting plan in place that protects the rights of each parent and helps to define the times that the child will be with each parent and the amount of child support that the non-custodial parent will need to pay. Over time, the parenting plan might need to change for a variety of reasons, and either of the parents named in the parenting plan can ask to have the custody agreement adjusted.
A family attorney in St. Louis, MO, will have to be secured to make the changes that you require. This process requires changes to a legal court order, so an attorney will have to help you to ensure that the changes are made correctly. Your child’s and your family’s well-being often depends in large part on having a correct parenting plan in place, so this is the kind of process that a legal expert should be involved in.
Reasons That You Might Want to Modify Child Support or Child Custody
1. You Need to Move
Either parent involved in a child custody agreement might eventually need to move to a new location or a new state. This kind of move can alter the parenting time that each parent is able to commit to. After all, if you are living in another state, you probably won’t be able to see your kids every other weekend anymore, and you certainly can’t pick them up from school where they live with their custodial parent.
These kinds of changes require that an attorney is hired and that the parenting plan is adjusted to reflect the change in location that is taking place. Parenting time will be adjusted to allow for the added distance between the child and the parent that is moving. This might mean that you will only get to see your child in the summer for a few weeks at a time, for example.
A physical move will always require that your parenting plan is adjusted and it might also impact the child support payments that you make as well.
2. Your Income Changes
If you have recently lost your job, taken a pay cut, or are between jobs for an extended period of time, your parenting plan might need to be altered to correct your reduced income. This is also true if you suddenly start making more money and your child support agreement doesn’t reflect the increase in your income.
Income changes directly impact your ability to pay your child support payment each month, and you cannot be asked to pay an amount that you cannot afford to come up with each month. There is a scale that is used to determine what percentage of your income should go to child support payments, and this guideline will be used to determine your new payment if you ask for child support to be altered.
An attorney needs to be involved in this process as well since it will require alterations to the legal guidelines for your child support agreement related to your divorce.
3. You Want More Time With Your Child
Sometimes, the original parenting plan severely reduces the amount of time that the non-custodial parent gets to spend with their child. This might be due to location, circumstances, or other problems going on at the time of the divorce. If your situation has changed and you believe that you have the ability to spend more time with your child at this point in your life, you can ask to have the child custody and parenting plan agreements changed to reflect this change in your circumstances.
This kind of alteration will typically be up to the judgment of the presiding judge who is looking at your case. There are often good reasons that parenting time is limited, and reversing this decision is not common. You will need to be able to prove that your circumstances have significantly changed in order to seek more time with your child.
4. You Want to Seek Sole Custody of Your Child
There are reasons that you might want to prevent your child from seeing their non-custodial parent. In some cases, the parenting plan and custody agreement prevent the other parent from being involved in your child’s life from the time of the divorce onward. If this was not the way that your divorce agreement was handled, you can reopen your custodial agreement case and ask for your former spouse to be prevented from spending any time with your child.
This process will typically also cause the child support agreement to be nullified as well. You need to be aware that you will be fully responsible for supporting and caring for your child once this kind of change has been made to your parenting plan. This kind of request will also not be granted if the reason for your request is just because you do not like your former spouse.
Parenting plans are meant to protect the well-being of the children who are involved in a divorce, and there is overwhelming evidence that spending time with parents is important for children. However, there are certain reasons that it might not be ideal for your child to spend time with their non-custodial parent, and a judge can take a look at your arguments for this change and make a decision on your behalf.
Modifying Custodial Agreements Can be in the Best Interest of Your Child and Your Family
There are many reasons that a modification of your child support and your parenting agreements might be needed over time. Circumstances can change, and your child or children should not have to pay the price for alterations in the living situation or finances of either of their parents. A skilled family law lawyer will be able to help you modify your parenting plan or your child support agreement if you believe that this is necessary.