Getting your first custody order may have taken months of arguing and fighting with your ex. When the courts finalize your divorce, you were likely grateful to be able to move on with your life. Unfortunately, custody orders don’t always withstand the test of time.
In as little as a few months, your family circumstances can change in ways that require drastic changes to your custody order or parenting plan. Examples of situations that might require a modification include a parent changing a job, someone in the family contrasting a serious medical condition and a child requiring educational support or starting extracurricular activities.
Thankfully, if you need to modify your custody order, it doesn’t need to turn into a contested court battle.
You could request an uncontested modification
Parents might agree to cooperatively file for a modification to the existing custody order when they both readily acknowledge that a change to the custody order is necessary. While either parent can fight the other about a requested change, it’s in their best interests to cooperate during such proceedings.
When both of you agree that changing how you split custody or the details of how you share parental responsibilities will benefit your family, going to judge will be more of a formality than a litigated process. The judge will likely simply review the terms for any glaring issues and approve them.
In other words, as long as the two of you talk about things before you file your paperwork, a modification can be simply a formal requirement and not the deciding factor in how you handle shared custody going forward. An attorney can help you communicate with your ex when you find it challenging to reach a compromise with each other.