Mediation of Post Decree Issues

There are at least 4 areas in an already existing order of divorce or legal separation that are well suited for post decree modification mediation or collaborative settlement. The current orders in each of these areas may be modified if the situation calls for it and the statutory conditions exist for modification.

  1. Child Support. By law, child support may be modified, post decree, if either the financial circumstances of a party have significantly changed since the original child support order, or if the initial residential arrangements have changed. If, for example, one of the parties has a reduced income or increased income, such a situation signals at least a discussion and quite likely revisiting the calculation on which the original child support was based. Also, if the expenses for the children have increased or decreased, this may also be grounds for revising the child support order. Finally, if the residential arrangements for the children have changed, for example, where a child has changed residences and is now living primarily with the other parent, this will require a modification in the child support.
  2. Spousal Maintenance. If the original spousal maintenance order was not stated to be “non-modifiable”, this support payment may be modified post decree. The basis for the modification is whether one or the other party has both continuing and substantially changed circumstances from the time of the order, and whether these changes would warrant a spousal maintenance modification. Be sure to note that such changed circumstances must be on-going, not simply a reduction in salary for a several months only, for example. Such changed the circumstances might be such that either party has a significantly reduced or increased income or either party has greatly increased (or reduced) expenses from the time of the original spousal maintenance order.
  3. Child Parenting Arrangements. The law also allows the original parenting arrangements to be modified when the family situation calls for it.  This can be one of the most difficult kinds of situations to assess, since it requires a consideration of whether the current living arrangements for the child are best or whether something else would be better. For example, as a young boy gets older, would it be best for him to be living primarily with his father rather than maintaining his current primary residence with his mother. There could be any one of a variety of possible living arrangements that might now be better suited for a child than was the original living arrangement.
  4. Property Settlement. In general property settlements are not modifiable; when they are done and ordered by the court, it is final. However, there may be situations where such finality has been left open in the property settlement or where each party will benefit by a modification of the original court-ordered settlement. In this event, also, the mediation of such modifications is a client friendly way to proceed.
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