You believe that your child custody situation needs to be adjusted. Maybe it no longer works with your schedule or perhaps your ex hasn’t been honoring it the way that they should and you want to make a change. No matter why it’s happening, you want to adjust the agreement so that the custody schedule is different and the responsibilities and obligations are divided up in a different manner.
But can you just do this yourself? Could you just tell your ex that they’re not going to get to see the kids as often or that you want to change the day of the exchange?
You need to comply with the order
It is certainly possible to modify a child custody agreement, and this happens often. Perhaps you got a new job with a different schedule or you want to move to a different town or a different state. There are a lot of reasons why the agreement may need to be changed, especially if it was made when your children were very little. Odds are that your life isn’t going to stay the same for the next 18 years, and your custody situation might be one of the things you have to adjust.
However, the most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to go to court and get an official modification of the order that was handed down. Then you need to “comply with the terms of the original order until it can be modified.”
In other words, don’t just take things into your own hands. Don’t tell your ex that they have to go along with the new schedule that you’ve created. If that schedule is in violation of the original order, then you are violating your ex’s rights. They could take you to court and there’s always a chance you could lose custody entirely.
If you wait, however, then the court can issue a new order that addresses your current situation. This is a much safer way for you to go about things and ensures that you get to see your children. So don’t believe that modifications are impossible, because they can happen, but make sure you also know exactly how to go about this process.
The steps to take
If you are interested in doing this and you want to avoid any mistakes, be sure that you know what steps you can take to get the new order in place.
