protecting what’s most important to you

Certain provisions of court orders and agreements may be subject to modification in the event of a change in circumstance.

Court orders regarding child support, alimony, and child custody are subject to future modification if there has been a material change in circumstances since the court issued the last order.

Agreements regarding custody and child support are always modifiable by the court. Other provisions of an agreement between the parties may or may not be modifiable depending on the terms the parties agreed to. For example, the court cannot order non-modifiable alimony, but parties can agree on alimony terms that will be non-modifiable. However, agreements and court orders regarding property division are not generally subject to future modification.

Success Stories

Gaining Physical Custody in Relocation Case

Challenge

The mother of our client’s children planned to move away for a new job opportunity, taking the children with her. She had been the primary parent, so our client wished to gain sole physical custody of the children, allowing them to remain in the DC area.

Strategy

Lerch Early argued before the court that the children would be best served to stay in this area with their father. We worked with key experts to demonstrate that a move to the new location would be detrimental to the children’s interests.

Result

The judge awarded sole physical custody to our client, allowing the children to remain in the environment where they attended school and had friends.

Insights