If there has been a change in your circumstances, it has likely affected many aspects in your life. If you are going through divorce or already divorced, it may have also affected the custody and parenting time arrangement you have with your children. Some changes in circumstances have an impact on your income and the support you are required to pay or receive. If the change of circumstance happens to your former spouse or parent of your children, this event will also have an impact on custody, parenting time, child support and spousal support. The key is to know what is considered a material or substantial change of circumstance to warrant a modification of the obligations originally agreed to before the change occurred.
A material or substantial change of circumstances is a significant change in a situation or condition that can affect a legal decision or agreement. Events that trigger a change to the Agreement or Order you already have in place. Common changes are the loss or gain of employment, the relocation of one or both parents, a disability or major health-related issues of one or both parents or a child, cohabitation or remarriage or any event that significantly changes the expenses of a child.
Not every change in circumstance will allow for a modification of your custody or parenting plan or your support obligations that you are paying or receiving. When substantial change is occurring in your life, it is easy to focus on putting out the fires or managing the change without considering the options with respect to rearranging or modifying your obligations. Change is hard enough. Let the experienced divorce attorneys at Cohn Lifland help you sort out the events ahead of you and determine whether or not your changed circumstances meet the legal criteria to request a modification of your custody or parenting time arrangement or your support obligations.