Mount Pleasant Family Lawyers Manage Modifications and Enforcement of Court Orders

Skilled representation in motions to change child custody, support or alimony

Life after divorce does not stand still. New circumstances may arise that conflict with the parenting or financial terms of your divorce decree. There may come a point where you feel that your parenting plan no longer suits your situation or that of your children. Changes in your finances or in your children’s needs might cause you to reconsider your child support order. Likewise, there might be valid reasons for revising or discontinuing alimony. If you believe it is time to modify any terms of your divorce decree, Barker Family Law in Mount Pleasant is ready to help. For more than 20 years, we’ve assisted divorced spouses in South Carolina with obtaining fair modifications of financial and parenting obligations. 

Going through the motions in family court

Requests for modifications of existing court orders are made by motion. This is a written request to the court to rule on a matter. The motion is made to the court that granted your divorce. You ask a judge to re-examine the original ruling in light of changed circumstances or new facts.https://www.douglasbarker.com/practice-areas/divorce/

Reasons to modify child support orders in South Carolina

Either parent can submit a motion to modify child support upward or downward based on a substantial change in circumstances. Common situations that prompt a motion include:

• Either parent’s financial hardship that is likely to be more than temporary
• An increase in child’s needs; for example, due to health issues
• A child aging out of child support

Some requests for modification go through the Child Support Division of the Department of Social Services. A court will approve the modification if the evidence supports the necessity of a change. However, if a parent cites a decline in earnings, and the court suspects that parent is deliberately earning less than they’re able to, the court can deny the motion.

Reasons to modify a child custody order

Child custody orders tend to have a short shelf life. Since your children are growing and their needs can change accordingly, you should be ready to revisit your parenting plan every few years. The following are common reasons to alter a child custody order:

• The custodial parent is interfering with the noncustodial parent’s visitation rights.
• A mature child prefers to live with the noncustodial parent.
• Changes in circumstances have made a parent more able to exercise custodial responsibilities, such as changed working hours or establishment of a suitable residence.
• A parent who was barred from custody due to personal issues, such as alcohol abuse, has demonstrably overcome those issues.
• A parent exercising custody has become unfit or unable to act as a custodial parent.
• A custodial parent desires to move with the children a great distance away from the other parent.

Motions to modify child custody orders are often contentious, so you must have confidence in the skill of the lawyer you ask to represent you.

Changing terms of alimony and property division in South Carolina

South Carolina allows a spouse paying or receiving alimony to request modifications due to changed circumstances. Common reasons include:

• A change in either party’s pay or job position
• Either party’s illness or disability
• Payor’s retirement
• The receiving spouse’s cohabitation with a romantic partner for 90 or more days

Note that the alimony obligation terminates automatically if the receiving spouse remarries.

The person requesting the modification has the burden of proving the change is substantial and most likely permanent.

As for property division, court orders are not modifiable unless the complaining spouse can demonstrate that fraud that influenced the original decree.

Contact our Mount Pleasant family lawyers to discuss post-divorce modifications

Barker Family Law represents clients in motions to modify family court decrees throughout the greater Charleston. Call us at 843-938-5957 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.