Post divorce modifications
Attorney for Post-Divorce Modifications
At our law firm, we work with divorcées to determine if a post-divorce modification is feasible, and to understand and navigate the process. The Dallas divorce attorney has the skill and legal know-how you need to protect your best interests during - and after - a difficult divorce.
What Can Be Modified After the Divorce?
After a divorce, several factors can be reassessed if one or both parties have experienced a major change in circumstances. This can include:
- Contempt of Court and enforcement proceedings. If one partner does not obey a court order, the other partner and their attorney made need to file a Contempt Petition. If the offending party continues to refuse to comply, they can be incarcerated.
- Child support, child custody, and alimony. These are the most common things that people seek to modify after a divorce has already concluded. Circumstance changes can include one party retiring, getting a new job, being laid off and unemployed, or getting remarried.
Acting in the Best Interest of a Child
For the most part, typical post-divorce modifications hinge on what’s going to be in the best interest of the child or children involved. It’s important to understand that courts are often reluctant to make major changes to custody and child support agreements, especially the former, unless it’s really in the child’s best interest.
A change in circumstance should be something permanent, or close to it, not something temporary. If you want to request a modification, we need to make sure that we can demonstrate that this could not have been predicted or foreseen when you made the original agreements about parenting, custody, or another issue related to child welfare.
Some of the factors the court will take into consideration include:
- The child’s safety and emotional well-being
- Disruption to the child’s life, like moving or changing schools
- The requested change’s impact on the relationship between the child and one of the parents
- The child’s own personal preferences
- Issues with domestic violence or abuse
- The respective parents’ abilities to be involved in the child’s life and activities
Changing Your Alimony Arrangement
Another common reason to request a post-divorce modification is alimony. Again, we need to be able to prove for you that there’s been a major and permanent change in circumstances since you arrived at the original agreement.
This could involve health issues, long-term unemployment, a substantial raise or other change in earning power, retirement, remarriage, or inheritance.
