Judgments are entered at the end of divorce cases based either upon the agreement of the parties, or by a judge after a contested trial. The judgment spells out the rights and obligations of the parties to the action. However, divorce judgments can be modified if your circumstances should change significantly, or if you meet some of the statutory guidelines to warrant a modification action. For instance, if you feel your children are being harmed or cared for inappropriately by the parent providing the primary care and residence for your child, you may choose to file an action changing the amount of time you spend with them or even seeking to change custody. If you feel you aren’t being given enough time with your child or children and want to try to increase the amount of time you spend with them, especially as your child ages, you might want to seek a modification of your visitation schedule. If the child support or alimony you are owed is not being paid or is always late, there is an enforcement action which may be taken.
The Swanson legal team can help you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of seeking to modify your divorce judgment. Sometimes drastic action needs to be taken; sometimes, a short meeting with the other party or an adjustment of a few visitation or support provisions can be handled amicably. Modifications can often be as costly and time-consuming as the initial divorce action, so we use the same methods of providing information and advice to our clients to help them make decisions and plan strategy. Again, we believe that the parties to the action, not the attorneys, are the ones who should be deciding whether they will follow the hard path or the easy path to resolution.
Enforcement
If you find that your ex-husband or ex-wife is not fulfilling obligations set up by your divorce judgment, we can help you go back to court, if necessary, to enforce the order. There are many reasons why people seek to enforce orders, but the most frequent are:
- Your former spouse is not paying the child support
- You are not receiving the ordered amount of visitation with your child or children
- The other party has failed or refused to take the actions required of them like paying off a debt or refinancing a loan.
While these are not the only reasons for enforcement, they are the most common.
As with any legal matter that pulls from you emotionally and financially, our legal team tries first to settle things between the parties, with the help of the attorneys. We help you determine the best way to get your non-compliant former spouse to do what the court ordered him or her to do. However, when settlement attempts and requests for action don’t work, the trial experience of our experienced legal professionals does. Our team will help you decide if and when you must go back to court to obtain relief.
If you haven't done so already, you might want to read the section of our website on divorce. Most of the information there about the procedure applies in post-dissolution of marriage actions as well.