West Palm Beach Custody Modification Attorney

There is nothing more important than preserving our clients’ relationship with their children. Our law firm has extensive experience handling complex child custody modification proceedings. We utilize our decades of experience to protect our clients’ rights and the best interests of their children.

As fierce champions of the best interests of our clients’ children, we tenaciously advocate for our clients’ rights and their children’s well-being in post decree child custody modification proceedings. Our law firm knows that we are being called upon to protect the future that our clients’ children deserve.

We are well-respected litigators and negotiators, who thoughtfully navigate our clients through the modification process, in a skillful, creative and cost-effective manner. Our clients are treated with integrity, dedication, and the highest lever of personal attention.

In assessing whether to grant or deny Supplemental Petitions for Modification of Timesharing, Florida Courts are required to determine whether a substantial, material, and unanticipated change of circumstances has taken place, and whether the requested modification would be in the children’s best interests. The court’s primary focus in modification proceedings, is always on the best interests of the children.

The Florida Supreme Court has stated that parenting plans can be modified when the parties prove that there has been a substantial change in circumstances, and that the best interests of the children justify a change in the custody and visitation arrangement. A substantial change of circumstances that warrants the modification of a parenting plan, must be one that was not reasonably contem­plated at the time of the original judgment. The facts constituting the change must have arisen subsequent to the entry of the Final Judgment, or they must not have been brought before the court in the prior proceedings. This test applies equally to the modification of parenting plans that were agreed to by the parties and incorporated into a Final Judgment, and time-sharing ar­rangements that were ordered by the Court following adver­sarial hearings. There is no requirement that the change in circumstances was involuntary in order to modify the time-sharing arrangement. The burden of proof in modification proceedings is on the party seeking to modify the existing arrangement. Although there is no requirement that detriment to the children must be shown in order to obtain a modification, where the evidence shows that the current time-sharing arrangement is detrimental to the best interests of the children, a showing of detriment will support the Petitioner’s request.

In order to modifying parenting plans, there must be: (i) a substantial and material change in circumstances that occurred subsequent to the entry of the Final Judgment awarding time-sharing, (ii) it must be in the children’s best interest to modify time-sharing, and (iii) the change in circumstances must not have been reasonably contemplated at the time of the entry of the original Final Judgment. In deciding whether to grant or deny the requested modification, the court must also consider the factors set forth in Fla. Stat. § 61.13(3).

To arrange an appointment to discuss a child custody and visitation modification matter, call us at: (561) 363-3400, or contact us online. Our offices are located in Wellington, Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.