Post Judgement Modification Legal Assistance in New Jersey

After some time has passed, it may be necessary to modify or change the terms of your Final Judgment of Divorce, child support order, or child custody order. Family law matters are consistently evolving, and new, unanticipated issues may arise post-divorce. Courts recognize this and permit changes to alimony, support, custody, and visitation arrangements if there has been a “substantial change in circumstances.” 

 

For example, one party may have involuntarily lost their job or experienced a substantial and permanent decrease in their earning capacity. In such a case, that party may request that spousal support payments or child support payments be adjusted to reflect the decline in their income. Alternatively, one party’s financial situation may have dramatically and substantially improved for the better, again potentially justifying a post-judgment modification to support payments. 

 

In child custody cases, circumstances may have changed with respect to the children such that the current parenting time or visitation order is no longer serving their best interests. In that case, it may be necessary to reexamine the previous Court Order and create a new parenting plan that better serves the best interests of the child. 

 

Similarly, one parent may be seeking to relocate with the children to another county or even to another state. In that circumstance, the parent seeking to relocate will likely have to seek permission from the Court to move with the children. In many cases, if the move is permitted, changes to the custody and parenting time schedule will likely be in order, depending on the distances between the parents’ residences.

 

Petitioning to modify a Court Order can be stressful to navigate on your own. A seasoned family law attorney can help you better understand the process of changing a Court Order and can assist in addressing legal issues like alimony modifications, financial support modifications, and child custody modifications. 

 

In some cases, it may not be necessary to go to Court to change the terms of your settlement agreement or to modify alimony payments, child support, or child custody and visitation. Rather, some matters can be resolved out-of-court through mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Having a family attorney on your side can offer you strategic guidance, assisting you in determining whether to file a motion in Court or whether family law mediation may be a better starting point. 

If you are considering a post-judgment modification after your divorce is final, contact the professionals at Ormond Law today to set up a free consultation with a family law attorney near you.