Things change. What may have been the situation at the time of the child custody hearing may not be the situation now. But is a child custody order set in stone? The quick answer is no: When circumstances change a child custody order can be modified in order to take changes of circumstances into account. However, getting a modification order is a separate legal process in itself that must be initiated by one of the original involved parties.

A modification of a child custody order will be granted when the court believes that it is in the best interest of the child to alter the original custodial order. Typically, a court will grant a modification order with specific changes, including:

                       

• Changing the home of the child from that of the custodial parent to that of the home of the non-custodial parent
• Changing sole custody to joint legal or joint physical custody (or vice versa)

In making its decision, the court is always guided by the Best Interest of the Child standard. Further, the court looks to see if there has been a significant change in circumstances as related to the care of the child.

If you think your child custody order should be modified to better reflect the current situation, you need to talk to your Michigan Child Custody Attorney. Your Michigan Family Law Attorney will be able to provide you an expert examination and evaluation of the original child custody order and any changes in circumstances that have occurred.

Picture courtesy of vt_bengal_fan of flicker

Unlike spousal support, child support payments are not tax deductible by the parent making the payment. However, child support is tax free in terms of federal income tax purposes. What this means is that neither the recipient nor the child receiving the support is required to pay any taxes on it. Although this basic rule is rather straight forward, it is essential that you keep taxes in mind when negotiating child support. When you meet with your Michigan Child Support Attorney, ask them how your child support obligation or award may or may not affect your taxes.

Your Michigan Family Law Attorney knows the relationship between child support payments and tax requirements. For instance, just the way a support obligation is characterized in your marital settlement agreement may have significant tax consequences. For example, in order to qualify as child support, payments must be designated in the divorce agreement specifically as child support. If they are referred to as family support or alimony, you will lose the tax protections afforded to child support payments. In other words, if the payments are not listed as Child Support, they will not be tax free for the receiving party.

Are you and your spouse going through a divorce? If so, you two are not the only ones who are affected. This is especially true if you have children. Simply put, you need to make sure that your children are included in the process. No, you do not want them to see everything and have a say in all the big decisions, but they do need to know what is going on. After all, a divorce is something that is going to affect your children now as well as into the future...

A common question most of my clients ask is "What factors do courts take into account when deciding who gets custody of the children?" Most family law courts in Michigan use a standard that gives the "best interests of the child" the highest priority when deciding in a custody battle. The court is looking out for the children's best interest, and not what is most convenient for the parents. The factors that are taken into account are:

Going through a divorce is both difficult and stressful. If you and your spouse have a child together, this situation can be even more difficult to deal with. After all, you have to decide who will have custody of the child. If possible, it would be in your best interest to settle this without going to court. After all, it is never good to put your child through additional stress.

If you are going through a divorce, it is safe to say that you are encountering plenty of stress. That being said, things can be even worse if you bring children into the equation. It is very important for you to keep their feelings in mind during the entire divorce process. After all, things can and will change quite a bit as the process begins to unwind. Where are the children going to live? Where will they get money? All of the questions that you think about are those that your children may be pondering as well.