the smart law group
post-judgment issues
Post-Judgment Issues
Post-Judgment enforcement and modifications
Once an Order or Judgment is entered with the Court, the only way to change that Order of Judgment is to request a modification. Also, if some action required in the Judgment has not taken place, a request must be made to enforce that provision in the Judgment. Those requests are called Motions. Some of the most common requests that occur after a Judgment of Divorce has been entered with the Court, include the following:
1. Motion to modify child custody;
2. Motion to modify parenting time (or a Motion to enforce parenting time);
3. Motion for Change of Domicile (usually to another state);
4. Motion to increase/decrease child support (or a Motion to enforce payment of child support);
5. Motion to increase/decrease spousal support; and
6. Motion to enforce Judgment of Divorce (sometimes a motion to modify a property settlement can be requested, but that usually can only be modified under certain circumstances, such as fraud or a mistake.
An agreement can always be reached on a modification and it is sometimes the best practice to request that in advance, but you have to know exactly what you are asking for and know the effects of that request. However, even if an agreement is reached, an order must still be filed with the Court which, depending on the agreement, may still require a motion to be filed.
If changes need to be made, we highly recommend that you work with an attorney to make sure you are considering all of the factors that should be considered. You do not want to have a problem later on after you believed that you resolved the issue only to discover that there are more issues, particularly if it is the other side that is requesting the change.
Whatever the issue is, The Smart Law Group is here to protect your rights.