Child Custody Modification in California

If you have a child custody order or parenting plan that no longer works for your personal and family circumstances, you may be able to have your order or plan modified. Our Irvine and Orange County child custody lawyers can assist in this regard. California law allows for child custody modifications under a broad range of circumstances. As explained by the California Courts, “There are many good reasons why a parenting plan may need to be changed. As the children get older, for example, their needs, interests, and activities change. And as each of the parents moves on with his or her separate life, new partners, new jobs, or new homes can all mean that the parenting plan needs [modification].”

California law allows parents to modify their parenting plans by mutual agreement, subject to court approval. If you and your former spouse or partner cannot agree on a modification, then you can ask a judge to issue a modification order. While parents have broad leeway to agree to parenting plan modifications to address changes in circumstances, in the event of a dispute, it is normally necessary to demonstrate that there has been a “significant” change in circumstances that requires a modification in order to protect your children’s best interests.

Irvine Child Custody Modification Lawyers for Parenting Plan Adjustments

Our child custody modification lawyers provide experienced legal advice and representation for divorced and separated parents in Orange County. If your child custody order or parenting plan has become impractical or untenable, we can help you seek a modification. We can work with your spouse (or his or her attorney) to negotiate a mutually-agreeable modification and, if this is not an option, we can represent you in seeking a modification in court.

We have helped Irvine and Orange County parents modify child custody orders and parenting plans for many different reasons. Whether your personal circumstances have changed or an issue has come up that makes you concerned about your children spending time with your former spouse or partner, we can use our experience to seek a favorable result on your behalf. Examples of changes in circumstances that can warrant modification of a child custody order or parenting plan under California law include:

• Parental relocation
• Changes in employment or work scheduling
• Alcohol or drug abuse by the other parent
• Other harmful practices that create an unsafe or unhealthy living environment at the other parent’s home
• Establishment of parental alienation
• Violation of an existing custody order or parenting plan

You Must Obtain Court Approval Prior to Deviating from Your Current Custody Arrangement

Regardless of the circumstances at hand, it is critical that you not interfere with your former spouse or partner’s current custody rights without first obtaining legal advice. Until a judge formally approves your requested modification, deviating from the terms of your existing custody order or parenting plan could lead to significant negative ramifications. However, there are options for seeking emergency legal relief if your child is in danger, and our family law attorneys can take immediate action on your behalf if necessary.

Contact Our Orange County Child Custody Modification Lawyers Today

For more information about modifying child custody in Orange County, please contact us to schedule a confidential initial consultation. To speak with one of our highly-experienced Irvine child custody attorneys in confidence, call 949-474-0800 or get in touch online today.

Common Questions About Modifying a Child Custody Order in California

What has to be shown to change a final custody order?

A significant change of circumstances since the order was made, and that the change makes a modification necessary for the child’s best interest. That standard is deliberately higher than the one applied when custody was first decided, because California treats stability in a child’s living arrangement as valuable in itself. A parent who simply disagrees with the existing order, or who has become more available or better situated, has not met the standard. What satisfies it is a genuine change in the child’s circumstances or in a parent’s capacity to care for the child.

What counts as a significant change of circumstances?

Common grounds include a parent’s relocation, a substantial change in a parent’s work schedule or availability, a parent’s substance abuse or deteriorating physical or mental health, domestic violence or a safety concern, a change in the child’s educational or medical needs, a persistent pattern of one parent interfering with the other’s time, and a child’s maturation to the point that the existing schedule no longer fits. Age alone is not a change, but a teenager’s schedule and preferences can present a very different picture than the same child’s at six.

Do temporary orders require the same showing?

No, and the difference is important. Orders made while a case is pending, before judgment, are not final determinations, so they can be revisited on the ordinary best interest standard without proving changed circumstances. The higher bar applies once there is a final judicial custody determination. That distinction is often the first question in a modification matter, because it decides what has to be proved, and the answer depends on the character of the existing order rather than on how long it has been in place.

How quickly can a custody order be changed in an emergency?

Where a child faces immediate harm, an ex parte request can be heard on very short notice, sometimes the same day, and a temporary order can issue pending a full hearing. Those requests require specific facts showing immediate danger, not general concern, and they are held to that standard because they are decided without the other parent having a real opportunity to respond. Ordinary modification requests follow the regular calendar, which in Orange County typically means weeks rather than days, and are often referred to mediation before a hearing.

About the Firm

Seastrom Tuttle Murphy Dockstader is a family law firm in Irvine representing clients throughout Orange County, and in Los Angeles County. The firm practices family law exclusively. Its attorneys include Fellows of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, and attorneys certified as specialists in family law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Call 949.474.0800 to discuss modifying a custody order with the firm.