Maryville Family Order Modification Lawyers
Strong advocacy when changes to Maryville child custody and support orders are necessary
A divorce or separation changes one aspect of a relationship – the spouses or parents no longer live together. Still, the lives of each spouse and each child continue, just separately from the other spouse. Your children still need love, care, guidance, and discipline. Your children will need financial support until they reach 18, at least. You still need to pay your bills. While your life and your children’s lives continue, there may be changes in circumstances due to financial, health, remarriage, relocation, or other reasons. At LaFevor & Slaughter, our Maryville family order modification lawyers assert and defend requests to modify child custody, child support, and alimony orders. We’ll explain when changes are warranted and when the order should continue without changes.
How can our Maryville family order modification lawyers help?
- What types of family orders can be modified in Maryville?
- Can child custody orders be modified in Maryville?
- Can child support orders be modified in Maryville?
- Can alimony orders be modified in Maryville?
- How do you advocate for spouses or parents who seek or contest a modification order in Maryville?
- How are Maryville family law orders enforced?
- Do you have a Maryville family order modification lawyer near me?
What types of family orders can be modified in Maryville?
In Tennessee, either spouse or parent can seek to modify a child custody order or child support order because the needs of your children have priority. Alimony orders may also be modified if there are still payments due. Generally, the divorce decree itself, the division of the marital property, and alimony that has already been paid are not subject to modification unless there is fraud or duress by one of the spouses/parents.
Can child custody orders be modified in Maryville?
A common reason for changing custody orders and parenting plans is because one parent wants to move to another county or another state. Parents have the right to move. The question that our Maryville modification lawyers will review with you is how the relocation will affect your children. There are two different types of relocation requests.
- The parent who has primary physical custody wants to move and move the children with them. In this situation, the parent who doesn’t have primary physical custody will naturally be concerned about his/her physical custody or visitation rights. Our Maryville family order modification lawyers fight to ensure those concerns are addressed either through negotiation or through a court hearing. These concerns include:
- Ensuring that any disputes that may arise will be decided by the family court in Blount County, not the new county or state.
- Ensuring that the moving parent discloses the reason for the move, the home where the child/children will stay, the school the kids will attend, who the parent will be living with, and many other issues so you know what type of life your child will have at the new location.
- Insisting on a revised parenting plan to accommodate the increased distance between the parents, the work and vacation schedules of each parent, and the ability/inability of your children to travel on their own.
- Other issues, depending on how far away the move is and the reason for the relocation.
- The parent who is moving is the parent is not the primary physical custodian. Here, the child has more stability because he/she will be staying in the same school and spending time with the same friends. Still, our Maryville family order modification lawyers need to ensure that there is a new parenting plan to accommodate the schedules of the parents and ensure the safe transport of your child during the exchanges.
The goal, whether the custodial or non-custodial parent is moving, should be to ensure that your child has a loving stable relationship with both parents and the lines of communication are always open.
At LaFevor & Slaughter, our family lawyers also represent parents who may seek to modify a custody order if one parent is not complying with the order, a parent is a danger to the child due to substance abuse or other reasons, a parent is jailed, the child’s needs change, or for other reasons. Again, modification requests require a major change in circumstances. You can’t run into court if the co-parent is 10 minutes late bringing your child to you on rare occasions. You can seek a modification if your work schedule changes which affects your ability to spend time with your child.
Can child support orders be modified in Maryville?
Either parent can seek to modify a child support order if there is a significant change in circumstances. Common reasons for requesting more or less support include:
- The income of either parent significantly changes, such as if a parent loses his/her job
- The health of either parent or your child substantially changes
- The parent who is paying support has another child
Can alimony orders be modified in Maryville?
The ability to modify an alimony order depends on the type of alimony. Generally, most modification requests involve alimony in futuro. Either spouse can request a modification if there is a significant change in circumstances. The spouse who is paying spousal support can request a decrease if he/she becomes unemployed or can’t work due to an illness or disability. Alternatively, the spouse who is receiving support can request more alimony if the payor spouse gets a promotion that includes a substantial pay increase.
If rehabilitative alimony is ordered, the spouse who is receiving alimony must use the funds to better their job skills. If they use the funds for other purposes or drop out of school, the payor spouse can request a modification to suspend or end the rehabilitative alimony award.
In Tennessee, transitional alimony can only be modified if the divorce decree authorizes a modification.
Our Maryville family order modification lawyers negotiate alimony modifications and argue alimony requests in court.
How do you advocate for spouses or parents who seek or contest a modification order in Maryville?
The issues involved in modification requests are similar to those that apply during the initial divorce contest. If the spouse or parent can show that there has been a significant change in circumstances, then each issue is addressed in the same way it was originally. The child custody modification will review the factors that apply when determining legal and physical custody. The child support modification will review the income of each spouse, the number of children who need support, and all other child support factors. The same logic applies to alimony modification requests.
The key difference between a modification request and the original divorce issue request is that everyone knows the terms of the current child custody, child support, and alimony orders.
How are Maryville family law orders enforced?
Our Maryville family order modification lawyers will explain your rights if your spouse or co-parent is not in compliance or if your spouse/co-parent is asserting you haven’t met the terms of the current divorce orders.
Enforcement requests may result in amended orders, contempt orders which may lead to imprisonment, garnishment of wages, loss of custody rights or reduced custody and visitation rights, and many other consequences that can affect your relationship with your child, your finances, and your freedom.
Do you have a Maryville family order modification lawyer near me?
At LaFevor & Slaughter, our Maryville family order modification lawyers meet clients at our office located at 317 Ellis Ave., Suite 317. When clients cannot make it to our office, we do conduct video conferences by appointment. We understand how stressed you are when you need to change a family law order or your ex wants a change. We’ll explain your rights and fight to protect your interests and the interests of your children.
Speak with a respected Maryville family order modification lawyer today
Life happens. Adults and children may have physical or emotional health problems. The financial health of adults may worsen or improve. Parents may move or find new partners. When there are legitimate changes, a family court order may need to be modified. To schedule a consultation, please call our Maryville family order modification lawyers or use our contact form today. We’ll fight to protect you and your children.