Cleveland Family Law Attorneys

Can Child Custody Orders Be Changed After A Divorce?

There are many decisions that are made during a divorce. These decisions can have a major effect on how people live their lives after the divorce. This will determine who will keep the house and how many assets each spouse will have moving forward. The order will also determine when people will see their children and which parent will make decisions regarding the children’s lives. However, these decisions are made based on the circumstances at the time of the divorce.

Some people divorce when their children are fairly young though. This means that the child custody orders issued when they are young will govern the situation until the children are emancipated and could be in effect for many years. As people know, there are many things that change over the years. It could be the parents’ financial situation or changes in their personal lives. Also, as children grow older their needs change dramatically as well. So, the order that was issued years beforehand may no longer be in the children’s best interest.

In certain situations, people can modify child custody orders to account for these changes. However, certain requirements must be met beginning with the fact that there needs to be a change in the circumstances since the divorce order. Then the parents must either agree to the changes, the child must have been integrated into the other parent’s home over the years through the consent of both parents, or the court believes that the advantages of changing the order outweigh the dangers of changing the order.

Many people in Ohio have children and go through divorces. One of the most important decisions that are made in these divorces is that the parents will have to make child custody determinations. These govern many aspects of the parent-child relationship, however as circumstances change over the years, the old order may no longer be in the best interests of the children. In these situations, the parents may be able to modify the order. These can be complicated matters though and consulting with experienced attorneys may be helpful.