While it is often in your best interests to put a divorce behind you, some issues warrant returning to court to modify that decree. Circumstances that give rise to revisiting a decree can be as simple as a move or as dramatic as deception.
An Owings Mills post-divorce disputes lawyer could examine lingering or new problems involving the breakdown of your marriage and resolve them to protect your interests. Call Nguyen Roche Sutton today to speak with an experienced divorce attorney about your case.
Although divorcing spouses, their attorneys, and the family law court try to anticipate the future when crafting a divorce decree, life takes sudden twists that could render one or some of a spouse’s duties unfair or unworkable.
Some post-decree situations that can warrant a modification by the court include the following:
Maryland courts do not take revisiting divorce decrees lightly. Significant changes are required to modify one, and nullification is only possible in limited situations. Talk to an Owings Mills post-divorce disputes attorney to discuss a specific situation.
Child custody and support issues play largely in post-divorce disputes. Custodial parents might have to deal with ex-spouses who take a job in another state and stop paying for child support, or the custodial parent can move and refuse the non-custodial parent visitation.
Under these circumstances, a lawyer should be well-versed in the details of the Maryland Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which determines the courts’ jurisdiction over child custody cases.
The UCCJEA determines a child’s home state as the state where they lived with a parent or guardian for at least six months before a child custody proceeding was filed or where they have lived since birth if they were younger than six months.
In post-divorce custody disputes, the home state has jurisdiction over the proceedings. However, Maryland courts can also allocate jurisdiction to the state if the child and one parent maintain a provable connection to it. An Owings Mills lawyer could help you understand the complexities of working within the legal system when handling post-divorce disputes.
Life changes over time, and what divorcing spouses agree to when negotiating a financial settlement, visitation, and custody may become untenable. This may lead to disputes when one spouse remarries, moves out of state, becomes critically ill, or earns a big promotion with a substantial raise. Final divorce decrees can be modified or set aside if life’s changes are material enough.
If later disagreements center on minor children, the courts will expect their best interest to be the focus of any modifications. The courts do not take a parent who shirks their responsibility lightly and begin by establishing Maryland as the jurisdiction for resolving issues when one parent moves away.
An Owings Mills post-divorce disputes lawyer at Nguyen Roche Sutton understands the ramifications of former spouse dissension and can work to settle these issues as quickly as possible. Call today to discuss your case with a compassionate and hardworking family law attorney.
