After the Divorce: Modifications or Enforcement of Court Orders
Contact John R. Powell, Family Law Attorney
A child custody or child support order is rarely carved in stone. It is common, after a custody or support order is finalized, for one parent or the other to seek modification or help with enforcement as their life moves on. An experienced family law lawyer can help to smoothly realign the poles of your original divorce order
The parent with primary custody may seek to move away, and therefore may request a change in custody that will make sense given the proposed distance from the other parent. Virginia does not have a specific statute addressing relocation issues. Rather, family law courts decide these questions on the basis of perceived best interests of the child. The burden falls on the parent wishing to relocate to prove that such a move is in the best interests of the child. A decision for or against a custody modification based on a parent's proposed move away is not as clear cut as it may at first appear.
Any aspect of your divorce order can be modified or enforced by the court.
- The parent with primary custody may be unemployed or underemployed and struggling to make ends meet. A promise of a more secure job for the parent outside the area may in fact be seen as being in the best interests of the child.
- The parent without primary custody may regularly fail to exercise his or her visitation schedule — thereby prompting the other parent to seek a modification that reflects the actual amount of visitation by the other parent.
- A child may have a health issue that can best be addressed by health care professionals in another state.
- The parent without primary custody may seek a custody change when the other parent refuses to cooperate with the visitation schedules contained in the custody court order.
Attorney Powell can help you answer questions such as how to enforce child support or visitation orders. These questions apply to unmarried parents as well as to divorced or separated parents. However, cases involving unmarried parents will be handled through the juvenile domestic relations court.
Contact Us Today
Discuss your family's unique circumstances and how best to address them through a petition for a modification or enforcement of child custody and visitation or any other issue. Contact the McLean, Virginia, law offices of John R. Powell to plan how best to craft a workable solution to your legal problem involving child support or child custody.
