Can I Modify My Child Custody Order?
After a long summer of having your child home, it’s finally time to start getting back to your fall routine of school, homework, and extracurricular activities. If this schedule looks different this year due to changes with your child’s school or changes with your work schedule, employment, or location, you may want to consider modifying your child custody agreement.
Here’s how the process of modifying your agreement works, and how our team of family law attorneys at Schipani, Norman & McLain, P.A. can help.
Valid Reasons for a Custody Modification
If you feel that your current visitation or custody agreement no longer works with your situation, you may try to come to an agreement with your co-parent. If, however, this is not possible without legal counsel, you can dispute your agreement and request modifications in court.
Any modifications will be considered according to what the court feels is the best arrangement for the child, first and foremost. Typically, a Florida court will only agree to a modification if a parent can prove a significant change in their circumstances, such as:
- A long-distance move.
- A change in a parent's ability to care for the child full-time or part-time.
- A long-term change to one of the parent's work schedules.
- A change in the child’s needs in relation to their health or age.
Additionally, in Florida, a child support modification must be involuntary in nature — meaning that a person who voluntarily quits their job will most likely be denied a modification.
Evidence Needed for Child Custody Agreements
If you are going to go to court over your child custody agreement, you may need to bring the following examples to prove a significant change in you or your child’s situation:
- A report of actual parenting time versus scheduled parenting time.
- A report of problems that have occurred during custody.
- A record of any police incidents enforcing your custody order.
- Documentation of a change in work or location.
- Testimonies from your child’s doctor, teacher, or other witnesses.
- Records of medical, school, and criminal importance.
- Other unofficial examples, including social media posts and texts.
Child Custody Modification Help in Sarasota FL
If you’ve decided that you and your spouse need to modify your child custody agreement, you can count on our team of expert family law attorneys at Schipani, Norman & McLain, P.A. to help.
When you hire us, we will work together to find the best solutions for your children while advocating for your rights. We work to quickly and easily find solutions that meet your needs.
Contact our team today for assistance. (941) 499-8154
