Your divorce attorney can help you seek or defend against modifications

Numerous documents are generated in a divorce, including agreements governing how the newly separated family will be organized and provided for financially. For example, your divorce might involve an alimony agreement for support of your ex-spouse, a child support agreement for support of your dependents, and a child custody agreement for outlining visitation and custody rights.
Your divorce attorney will have fought hard to ensure that all of these agreements were fair and served your interests as best as possible at the time of the divorce. But as time passes after the divorce and family circumstances change, you or your ex-spouse may find that the agreements no longer serve the best interests of all the parties involved. When this happens, modifications can be sought. As your divorce attorney, Torrence L Howell can help with this process no matter which side of the table you may be on. He can help you seek modifications or defend against your ex-spouse’s petitions for modifications in the following areas.

Alimony

Unless your divorce agreement specified transitional, temporary, or rehabilitative alimony, you may have to support your ex-spouse for the rest of their life. If changing circumstances do not warrant ongoing support, or the amount of the alimony is no longer appropriate, your divorce attorney can help. For example, if the spouse receiving the alimony remarries or gets a new, high-paying job or the spouse paying the support loses their job, the alimony agreement may need to be changed.

Child Support

Child support agreements may also need to be modified due to the changing financial circumstances of the parents. Another reason to seek modifications to a child support agreement is that the financial requirements for caring for the child have changed. For example, the child might require medical treatment or the parents might want to enroll the child in a private school, get private tutoring, send them to camp, etc. If the new expense is ongoing, a modification to the child support agreement can make it official.

Child Custody

Child custody agreements are always drafted with the best interests of the child in mind. This may mean denying custody or unsupervised visitation to an unfit parent. However, if the parent can mend their ways and prove they are now fit, it may be best for the child to allow increased contact with that parent. Conversely, if a previously fit parent develops a drug problem or is no longer able to provide a safe home, it may be best for the child to be removed from the care of that parent. In either case, a modification can be sought to make the appropriate changes to the custody agreement.