Court Order Modifications

Because your circumstances and those of your child(ren) will necessarily change over time, you may find it necessary to make modifications to your current court orders.  In many cases, in order to make a modification to a current court order, you must meet some minimum requirements.  The Law Office of Cheryl A. Miller, P.C. can help you determine if you are eligible to make modifications to your current orders and then will assist you to make those modifications. Help is only a phone call away.

Parenting Time

The parenting plan that worked so well when your child was an infant, may not work now that your child is an adolescent or a teenager.  Also, your personal situation or the personal situation of the other parent may have changed such that the current parenting plan is no longer appropriate.  You may also discover that the parenting plan that you thought would work isn’t working.  Further, with today’s mobile society you may find yourself or the other parent may find himself/herself relocating out of the State of Colorado. Whatever the reason, you may need to modify your parenting plan or the decision making responsibilities to meet the demands and challenges of this ever-changing environment.  In order to protect your rights and those of your child(ren), all major changes to any parenting plan should be in writing, submitted to the court, and approved by the court.

Custody / Decision Making

Throughout your child’s life there will be several major decisions that will need to be made.  Among those decisions are education, religion, medical, and dental.  Your current parenting plan may not have included provisions for dealing with these major decisions, or your parenting plan may not have set forth adequate procedures for making the decisions, or the procedures set forth in your parenting plan are not working for you.  If any of the above sounds like you, it may be time to modify the decision making responsibilities.  Contact us for more information on modifying decision making plans.

Child Support

Child support can be modified if there has been a continuing and substantial change that makes a 10% difference in the amount of child support that is currently being paid.  The 10% change may be an increase or a decrease in the amount of child support.  Therefore, if you are laid-off, lost your job, or your pay has decreased, a reduction in child support may be appropriate. On the other hand, if your income has increased, or if child care expenses have increased, or if health care costs have increased an increase in child support might be appropriate.  Further, if you are the parent of children from another relationship or if you are paying child support for children of another relationship, you may also be eligible for an adjustment in your child support.

Generally speaking, child support is not modified except upon filing of a motion to modify child support.  If you have made an agreement to modify child support, and if that agreement has not been approved by the court, it is highly likely that your agreement will not be honored by the court.  In some instances, a modification of child support may be obtained retroactively and you may be due a refund on the child support you have over paid.

Whether you are paying or receiving child support, it is important that you know your legal rights, that you protect those rights, and that you properly submit your child support documentation to the court.

Maintenance/Alimony

If you are currently receiving maintenance or if you are currently paying maintenance you may be eligible to modify the current payment amount and length of payment terms.  Also, if you are not currently receiving maintenance, but would like to receive maintenance you may be able to modify your previous orders. Generally, a maintenance order may be modified if there is a continuing and substantial change that makes the original order for maintenance unfair.  The continuing and substantial change may include a number of factors such as a decrease or increase in pay, a disability of one of the parties, or some other significant life change.

Call us today and we will help determine if modification of maintenance is appropriate for you.