3 Questions To Ask Yourself When Modifying Your Child Custody Agreement

Have you gone through a divorce and feel that it is time to make changes to your existing child custody agreement? If so, you should ask yourself these questions before doing so.

Is The Change In The Child's Best Interest?

The primary thing that a judge is going to focus on with any request is if the change is in the best interest of the child. It doesn't really matter what you feel will be best as a parent since the judge wants to avoid another situation where things change and it is disruptive for the child in a negative way. The child has likely already gone through a lot with the family breaking up and their parents going separate ways, so the goal will be to maintain existing stability if it is really what is best.

What Has Changed In Your Family's Life?

If you and your spouse originally decided on an agreement at the time of the divorce, it would be based on the circumstances at the time and what is in the child's best interest. If you are requesting a change in the custody agreement, you must ask yourself what has changed to require that the child custody agreement be modified.

For example, if the goal was for the child to stay in the house they grew up in and go to the same school, custody may have been given to the parent staying in the house to keep things as normal as possible. However, if the parent with physical custody needs to move for their job to a different city, it's possible that you'll want to switch custodial parents so that the child can maintain the same school that they go to or be near their friends.

Is This A Request That The Child Has Made? 

It's possible that your child is now older and they are starting to make requests about their custody arrangement. For example, they may get along better with the parent that does not have physical custody and want to switch parents because the child feels like it would be better for them. Even though it may cause big changes in their life, it is a change that the child is requesting because they feel like it would be in their best interest.

Modifying a custody agreement can be challenging. It is best to work with a custody lawyer to ensure that you get the results in court that you desire.

For more information, contact a lawyer like Dawn M Ogrodny PC.


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