Modifications

Naples, Florida, Child Support and Child Custody Modifications Attorney

Divorce settlements are not written in stone. Many parts of your agreement, such as child support, child custody and visitation, and spousal support can be changed if there is a significant change in your circumstances after the divorce. If you need to modify your divorce agreement, I offer a free initial consultation to explain how the process works.

There are many circumstances when modifications of family court orders and agreements are allowed in Florida:

• If your children were young when you were divorced, their lives and yours may have changed significantly in the years since the order or agreement was put into place. The old child custody and visitation schedule may need to be modified to reflect your lives today. Your income or that of your spouse may have increased or decreased significantly, so child support payment may need to change as well.
• If the noncustodial parent changes jobs and this results in a significant increase in salary, child support payments can be increased.
• If the noncustodial parent loses his or her job, child support payments can be reduced.
• If the custodial parent wishes to relocate, then the old visitation schedule may become unworkable. A change in visitation or even custody may be warranted.
• Child custody orders and agreements can be changed in cases of domestic violence or allegation of abuse.

In some cases, the old child custody and visitation schedule may be unclear or subject to dispute. In this event, you may need a lawyer's help to draft a new agreement and submit it to the family court for approval.

I have been a lawyer in Southwest Florida, for more than a decade, and I have extensive experience in family courts in Collier and Lee counties. I have seen bare-bones divorce agreements of one or two pages, which basically say the parties will agree to agree on a variety of issues.

Months or years later when they don't agree, I will do what should have been done in the first place: draft a full and specific settlement agreement that concretely resolves all issues. The two parties can always put the agreement in a drawer and never look at it again. However, if there is a dispute, the agreement will have enough information to guide the parties without the need for modifications.

If your former spouse is not complying with an existing divorce decree’s orders or approved agreement, I may be able to obtain a court order to enforce the agreement. In the most drastic cases, the court can find the offending spouse in contempt of court and send him or her to jail.

Free attorney consultation: If you need to a modification of your child custody or child support order or agreement, contact me, Collier County family law attorney David T. Agoston. I have an office in Naples and a satellite office in Immokalee. Se habla español.