When Custody Or Support Orders Need To Be Modified

A child custody order or a child support order is not set in stone. Life after a divorce or separation continues to evolve. Parents’ and children’s circumstances may change, leading a parent to seek a modification of custody or support. Platte City, Missouri, family law attorney Robert Black has years of experience guiding clients through family law challenges such as petitioning for or opposing a proposed modification of an existing custody or support order.

Common scenarios often resemble one of these descriptions:

• A parent in Platte County or Clay County who has primary custody of a child or children buys a new house, takes a job or needs to move to take care of elderly parents in a different city or state. The existing child custody order will be impossible to follow without modification, considering the distance of the new residence from the other parent.
• A parent’s income has changed significantly because of a job loss, a promotion at work or any reason. The parent believes that the amount of child support paid or received should change.
• A child requires special services such as therapy or coaching that are available in a different location. The parent who will take responsibility for getting medical care or special education services for the child believes it will be necessary to move to be closer to those services.
• A parent in the military is called to training out of state or to active duty overseas. He or she will have limited availability to be with a son or daughter according to a typical schedule. This parent will need a flexible child custody order. He or she may ask for variable custody arrangements to accommodate deployments and furloughs back home. Or the military parent may ask the court to allow extended family members such as grandparents to have custody during his or her allotted times.

Whatever your unique circumstances, seek an experienced attorney’s advice and advocacy as soon as you know there is an issue. If your children’s other parent agrees to your proposal, the legal processes involved may be straightforward.

However, if a dispute develops, negotiations or litigation may be necessary. A family law judge may or may not agree with a proposal by one parent to take a child far away from the other parent. Mediation often helps to clarify the right solution relatively affordably and without delay.

For Legal Representation As You Seek A Child Custody Or Child Support Modification In Platte County, Contact Robert Black

Get the direction you are looking for in pursuit of a court order modification or if you wish to protest a proposed alteration of your custody arrangement or support amounts. Call 816-873-1211 or email The Law Office of Robert Black in Platte City to schedule a consultation with an experienced custody and support lawyer.