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Your life and the life of your family will evolve over time. You or an ex-partner may have moved, switched jobs, or remarried following divorce. As children age, they may benefit from additional visitation with a non-custodial parent or show signs of distress after unsupervised visits.
Our dedicated legal practitioners might help families navigate changed circumstances by filing or defending against post-judgment actions in Greenwich. Whether you want to modify an existing support order or spend more time with your kids, consider the legal implication and requirements for modifying family cases with an experienced family lawyer.
At the close of family litigation, courts typically enter a final judgment addressing matters such as property distribution, custody, alimony, parenting schedules, and child support. The parties might submit a negotiated settlement for approval, or the court may make a judicial ruling. In either case, the state refers to requests to alter or terminate finalized decrees as “post-judgment actions.”
Motions to enforce child support obligations or modify pendente lite relief do not generally qualify as post-judgment requests. Instead, post-judgment actions more commonly refer to petitions filed months or years after the original case has closed often seeking to modify the original terms when / if possible. There are specific legal grounds for relief on which such motions are addressed and decided.
Accordingly, parties requesting post-judgment relief must generally follow a two-step process. First, petitioners must show how circumstances substantially changed since the court entered the original order, and second, petitioners must convince the court as to how to change the orders in view of the change which has occurred based on the current circumstances.
Examples of changed circumstances generally considered sufficient to support post-judgment actions in family cases include:
Parents, children, ex-spouses, grandparents, legal guardians, or social service workers might file post-judgment actions. A lawyer could help interested parties gather evidence of changed circumstances and understand the laws applicable to the specific modification request. Post-judgment motions may require reassessing the best interest of the child factors, claiming cohabitation as grounds for terminating alimony, or recalculating child support based on state financial guidelines.
Matters subject to post-judgment modification in Greenwich include requests to terminate long-term alimony or recalculate child support obligations or change parenting or custody orders. Parties seeking to enforce current support obligations might file a motion for contempt only to receive a request for post-judgment modification in response. While financial obligors might qualify for reduced spousal and child support based on changed economic circumstances, courts may not typically forgive child-support arrears and unpaid alimony obligations in post-judgment actions.
Our legal mediators and attorneys could work with you to modify settled family orders based on changed circumstances. Attorneys might also represent interested parties seeking to file emergency post-judgment actions in Greenwich.
Our dedicated attorneys could also help you avoid child support arrears, terminate alimony, or schedule additional time with your kids. Whether you want to prevent an ex-spouse for reopening litigation or need the family court to address your pressing financial concerns, call us today for a post-judgment motions consultation.