It may have seemed obvious that your child custody agreement isn’t going to stay the same forever. Your child will go from barely crawling on all fours to running through school hallways in no time.
When that time comes, you may want to pick up your dreams where they left off – and that could mean crafting a new custody plan. Here are two good reasons you may want to go that route:
Your work schedule has changed
Your original agreement may have been arranged so you can steadily work and see your child – but you may have recently taken on different hours that work against your arrangement. A judge may look at your new schedule and make alterations to your order to fit the original intent to see your child.
You’re planning to move
Some people have to move for their job, others may have invested in a new home. Whatever the case may be, your parenting plans may not work for your new destination. You may need to discuss how to work your new location into your custody agreement.
That begs the question: Can you make alterations to the original custody order you made with your child’s other parent, without going to court? People do that all the time, but it’s really not a good idea.
Even if you and your co-parent are committed to working together for the sake of the children, a formal custody modification keeps the court informed and eliminates the chances for misunderstandings later that could lead to trouble.