Certified Family Law Specialist, State Bar of California, and Board of Legal Specialization

If you receive a final court order formalizing the dissolution of your marriage, you may not be completely free of your former spouse in all respects. In many cases, divorced individuals have to continue litigating certain elements of their divorce months or even years after the original legal proceeding concludes—sometimes because their former partner refuses to hold up their end of a legal order.

If you are dealing with any legal issues involving your former spouse, seeking help from a Ventura County post-divorce disputes lawyer may be in your best interests. Depending on your unique circumstances and needs, an experienced divorce attorney could help you seek an adjustment of a court order that is no longer appropriate for your current circumstances or request court assistance in compelling a former partner to cooperate with such an order.

Seeking a Modification of Outdated Orders

A divorced individual can seek to invalidate an established agreement regarding custody, visitation, and/or financial support of children produced by the now-dissolved marriage for a new one at any time. However, this only means there is no time limit for how long a divorced person must wait before they can seek an adjustment of such an order, not that those changes can occur without input from a family court.

Whether someone seeks to modify a child support, spousal support, or child custody order, a court will approve their request for modification only if the petitioning party can prove a “significant change of circumstances” since the imposition of the original order. Potentially qualifying circumstances in this regard may include:

  • An unavoidable change in one parent’s work schedule
  • One parent relocating closer to or farther away from the other parent
  • A custodial parent failing to responsibly fulfill parental obligations, such as ensuring the child attends school
  • A custodial parent becoming incapable of providing appropriate care to their child due to drug or alcohol abuse, criminal activity, or similar problems
  • A change in the child’s preferences regarding which parent they wish to live with or spend more time with

A Ventura County post-divorce disputes attorney could assist with building a case around one or more of these changes in circumstances and effectively arguing for an order modification.

Ensuring Compliance with Existing Orders

Regardless of whether an existing support or custody order is appropriate for the current circumstances in which it exists, it remains legally enforceable until a court orders a modification. If a parent subject to such an order fails to comply with any of the order’s terms at any time, the other parent may be able to take legal action and compel the non-compliant party to follow the existing order.

In some circumstances, a post-divorce disputes lawyer in Ventura County could help amicably resolve a violation of a support or custody order through private negotiations and/or mediation. If a former spouse or partner continues to disobey a court order, qualified legal counsel could request a court issue a citation for contempt against the recalcitrant party, which could lead to significant financial penalties and possibly even imprisonment.

A Ventura County Post-Divorce Disputes Attorney Could Help

Relitigating your divorce may understandably be the last thing you want to involve yourself in. However, a consequential enough change in your life may make it a necessity, as may your former partner failing to obey a court order stemming from your divorce. Either way, assistance from a legal professional is often essential to resolving these kinds of issues as quickly and effectively as possible.

A Ventura County post-divorce disputes lawyer could answer any questions you have about seeking order modifications and addressing order violations during a private consultation. Schedule yours by calling today.

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