Modification of Custody Orders
Children need love and support, structure and continuity if they are to grow into well-adjusted adults. While providing that necessary structure, parents also need the flexibility to address changing needs and family situations. A workable child custody order needs to take these two conflicting needs into account.
Child custody orders ensure children have the stability they need. Child custody orders are not easy to change. Parents will need to take their case back to family court and will likely need the help of a skilled and experienced child custody attorney. On the other hand, child custody orders are never final; they can be changed to reflect changing circumstances of the child and the family.
The Commonwealth has a duty to protect the child's best interests and welfare. In evaluating whether a modification of child custody is in a child's best interest, the court has an obligation to consider all relevant factors that could affect the child. The factors the court considers for child custody have been clarified in a recent change in Pennsylvania's child custody law.
Pennsylvania Custody Modification Lawyer
The child custody modification lawyers at Shaffer & Engle Law Offices, LLC, can help you obtain a modification of your initial child custody order. We have decades of experience helping parents arrive at workable custody solutions through mediation or litigation in family court. If your parenting time agreement is no longer working for you, contact our Harrisburg or Millersburg family law office online or call 717-827-4074 or 717-692-2345.
Working to Achieve Your Modification Goals
Filing a Petition to Modify: In order to achieve a change in custody or visitation, we will need to petition the court for a modification. Parents often make informal agreements to change schedules, and just as often run into problems with these informal arrangements. It's important to know that the court or law enforcement officers cannot enforce informal agreements. That is one reason it is important to go through the formal process of petitioning the court for a modification.
What Does the Court Consider? A trial court may not revise a custody order until it fully considers the totality of the circumstances of the child and discerns the best interest of the child at the present. A change in custody is just as important to the life of the child as the original court order and so all parties are afforded the same type of hearing as they received when the case was originally heard in court.
When determining the best interest of the child, the court must consider all factors that legitimately affect the child's physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual well-being. The court does not limit its analysis to the present environment in which the child is situated, but also considers all possible environments and relevant factors.
A child's school may be one of those considerations and residency requirements will play a part in which school the child can attend. A child is considered a resident of the school district in which the child's parent or guardian resides. Before the child can be accepted as a pupil, the resident must file documentation or a sworn statement with the secretary of the school board showing s/he is a resident of the district, is supporting the child, will assume all personal obligations for the child relative to school requirements, and intends to keep the child continuously and not merely through the school term.
Representative Cases
- A new custody hearing was held to determine if the court erred when it transferred custody of children from the mother to the father after the mother moved to another state. This was done despite the fact that the mother had been awarded custody only one year before after an exhaustive hearing process determined it was in the children's best interest to live with her.
- A couple's separation agreement specified that the father have physical custody of a 5-year-old child if the mother could not provide a home environment that was in the best interest of the child. When the mother failed to provide such an environment, the court "temporarily" transferred primary physical custody to the father. The court's order did not contemplate an automatic return of custody to the mother upon her relocation. The father would retain primary physical custody unless and until the court determined otherwise, after full consideration of the child's best interests.
Contact Our Pennsylvania Modification of Child Custody Attorneys
If you want to modify a child custody order or you want to fight a relocation or modification of an order, contact a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, child custody modification lawyer at Shaffer & Engle Law Offices, LLC. Call 717-827-4074 or 717-692-2345. We accept credit cards. We offer daytime, evening and weekend appointments. We have offices in Millersburg and Harrisburg, serving all communities in Dauphin County, Cumberland County, York County, Northumberland County and Franklin County.
