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Modifying a Custody or Support Order

Changing an existing family court order - which usually requires proving something has changed, and never happens by the parents' agreement alone.

Informational only - this is not legal advice. These definitions explain general legal vocabulary in plain English. They are not advice about your situation, reading them creates no attorney-client relationship, and the law differs from state to state and changes over time. For advice you can rely on, speak to a lawyer licensed in your state.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of law firms for this.

What it means

Family court orders are meant to last, and the law makes them difficult but not impossible to change. The usual requirement is a substantial change in circumstances since the order was made, plus - for custody - that the change sought is in the child's best interests. The threshold exists to stop the same dispute being relitigated whenever one parent is dissatisfied, and it is applied seriously.

What qualifies differs by state and by what is being modified. For child support, a significant and lasting change in either parent's income, a change in the parenting-time split, or a change in the child's needs are the common grounds; many states also allow periodic review without proving anything, and some treat a deviation of a set proportion from the guideline figure as sufficient by itself. For custody, courts look for something meaningful and durable: a relocation, a change in a child's needs, a parent's circumstances materially altering, or a persistent failure to follow the existing order.

The most consequential point is procedural. An agreement between the parents does not change the order. Parents who informally agree that a child will now live with the other, or that a lower payment is acceptable, remain bound by what the court wrote: support continues to accrue at the ordered rate, arrears can build for years, and in most states they cannot be waived retroactively even by the parent owed them. The remedy is to have the agreement made into an order, which where both parents agree is usually straightforward.

Timing matters for the same reason. Modifications are generally effective no earlier than the date the request is filed, so the time between a change in circumstances and the filing is typically lost. A parent who loses a job and waits to see how things go is usually accruing an obligation calculated on income no longer earned.

Where this comes from

Modification standards are set by state statute and case law; there is no federal standard for changing a custody or support order. Federal law shapes support review through 42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(10), which requires states to review and if appropriate adjust support orders in cases receiving state services, and through the guideline requirement in 42 U.S.C. § 667. Retroactive modification of accrued child support is restricted by 42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(9), which requires states to treat each installment as a judgment when due and not subject to retroactive modification, subject to limited exceptions. Which state may modify an existing order is governed by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act for custody and by the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act for support, both of which generally leave continuing jurisdiction with the state that made the order while a party remains there. Any review interval, proportional threshold or filing deadline is fixed by state statute and none is stated here.

When people hire a lawyer for this

The advice most worth having in this area is about timing, and it is usually free to act on: file when the circumstances change rather than when the situation becomes intolerable, because the gap is rarely recoverable. Advice is worth taking where income has dropped substantially, particularly for the self-employed, since what counts as income and whether a reduction was voluntary are both contested; where the parents have agreed to a change and want it made binding, which is the cheapest work a family lawyer does and prevents the most expensive problem in this entry; where a parent is relocating; where one parent has stopped following the order; and where the parents or the child now live in different states, because which court may modify is a threshold question and an order from a court without jurisdiction is worth little.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find a lawyer for this in your state

Choose your state to see Child Custody law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z. A state marked “Family Law” has no Child Custody listing yet and opens the broader page.

Alabama (Birmingham)
+1 other city
- Montgomery
Alaska (Anchorage)
Arizona (Glendale)
+6 other cities
Arkansas (Little Rock)
California (Fremont)
+19 other cities
- Anaheim
- Chula Vista
- Irvine
- Los Angeles
- Modesto
- Oakland
- Oxnard
- Riverside
- Sacramento
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- and 7 more with fewer listed firms
Colorado (Colorado Springs)
+2 other cities
- Aurora
- Denver
Connecticut (Bridgeport)
Delaware (Wilmington)
District of Columbia (Washington)
Florida (Orlando)
+5 other cities
Georgia (Atlanta)
Hawaii (Honolulu)
Idaho (Boise)
Illinois (Chicago)
Indiana (Fort Wayne)
+1 other city
- Indianapolis
Iowa (Des Moines)
Kansas (Kansas City)
+1 other city
- Wichita
Kentucky (Lexington)
+1 other city
- Louisville
Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
+2 other cities
- New Orleans
- Shreveport
Maine (Portland)
Maryland (Baltimore)
Massachusetts (Boston)
Michigan (Detroit)
Minnesota (Minneapolis)
+1 other city
- Saint Paul
Mississippi (Jackson)
Missouri (St. Louis)
+1 other city
- Kansas City
Montana (Billings, Family Law)
Nebraska (Lincoln)
+1 other city
- Omaha
Nevada (Henderson)
+3 other cities
New Hampshire (Manchester)
New Jersey (Jersey City)
+1 other city
- Newark
New Mexico (Albuquerque)
New York (Buffalo)
+2 other cities
- New York City
- Rochester
North Carolina (Fayetteville)
+5 other cities
North Dakota (Fargo)
Ohio (Cincinnati)
+3 other cities
Oklahoma (Tulsa)
+1 other city
- Oklahoma City
Oregon (Portland)
Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
+1 other city
- Pittsburgh
Rhode Island (Providence)
South Carolina (Columbia)
South Dakota (Sioux Falls)
Tennessee (Nashville)
+1 other city
- Memphis
Texas (Dallas)
+12 other cities
Utah (Salt Lake City)
Vermont (Burlington)
Virginia (Chesapeake)
+3 other cities
Washington (Spokane)
+2 other cities
- Seattle
- Tacoma
West Virginia (Charleston)
Wisconsin (Madison)
+1 other city
- Milwaukee
Wyoming (Cheyenne)

Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

AdoptionThe court order that makes a child legally the son or daughter of someone other than the birth parents - the kinds of adoption, whose consent is required, how the birth parents' rights end, the home study and the hearing, and what the order changes about inheritance, records and the child's name.
Annulment (Void and Voidable Marriage)A court judgment declaring that a marriage was never valid, as distinct from a divorce that ends a valid one - the difference between a void and a voidable marriage, the grounds each state recognizes, who may bring the case, and what an annulment does to property, support and children.
Child SupportMoney one parent pays the other toward a child's living costs, set in most cases by a state formula rather than by negotiation.
Common-Law MarriageA marriage formed without a license or ceremony by living together as spouses and holding yourselves out as married - which states still allow it, what has to be proved, why every state recognizes one validly formed elsewhere, and what it means for property, support and inheritance when the relationship ends.
Dividing Retirement Accounts in Divorce (QDRO)How pensions, 401(k) plans and IRAs are divided at divorce without tax or penalty - what a qualified domestic relations order is and why a divorce decree alone is not enough, the difference between a defined-benefit and a defined-contribution split, the plans that need a different order, and the mistakes that cost a former spouse the share the decree awarded.
Establishing PaternityThe legal step that makes a man a child's father in law - and signing the hospital form is one of two routes, not a formality.
Grandparent and Third-Party VisitationWhen a court can order that a child spend time with a grandparent, step-parent or other non-parent over a parent's objection - the constitutional limit set by the Supreme Court, the circumstances in which state statutes allow a petition, the special weight a fit parent's decision receives, and what a petitioner must prove.
Grounds for DivorceThe legal basis a divorce is granted on - and in every state today at least one basis requires proving no wrongdoing by anyone.
Guardian ad Litem and Custody EvaluatorThe two neutrals a court most often appoints in a contested custody case - what a guardian ad litem does and does not do, how it differs from a child's attorney and from a custody evaluator, who pays, what they may see, and how their reports are used at trial.
Guardianship of a MinorA court order giving an adult who is not the parent legal authority over a child's care, or over the child's property, without ending the parents' rights - how it differs from custody and adoption, who can be appointed, what the parents keep, and how it ends.
Legal and Physical CustodyTwo different things the word "custody" covers: who makes major decisions for a child, and where the child lives.
Legal SeparationA court status in which spouses live apart with binding orders on support, property and children, while remaining married.
Marital Property DivisionHow a court splits what a couple owns - and "equitable" means fair in that state's judgment, which is not the same as half.
Parenting Plan and VisitationThe written schedule and decision-making rules for a child after separation - and the document courts increasingly require rather than invite.
Prenuptial AgreementA contract made before marriage about property and support - enforceable in every state, and set aside more often than most people expect.
Protective Order (Restraining Order)A court order telling one person to stop contacting or coming near another - enforceable by police, and valid across state lines.
Relocating With a ChildMoving a child away from the other parent - the family law dispute most likely to require the court's permission before the move, not after.
Spousal Support (Alimony)Payments from one former spouse to the other - discretionary in most states, and taxed differently for instruments made after 2018.
Termination of Parental RightsThe court order that permanently ends the legal relationship between a parent and child - the grounds a state must prove, the heightened standard of proof and right to counsel, the difference between voluntary relinquishment and an involuntary petition, and what the order does and does not end.

« All glossary terms

Part of the LawyerLand plain-English legal glossary. Definitions are written from primary sources - statutes and court rules - and each entry states the authority it rests on, or says plainly when the doctrine is state law with no national rule.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, civil legal aid programs provide free help with many of these problems: civil legal aid programs by state.

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