Modifying Your Child Custody in New York
Modification petitions and/or applications are filed when one or both parents seek to change the terms of their current child custody order or agreement. When asking the New York Courts to modify a child custody order, a parent must show a significant change in circumstances since the entry of the order. In situations where the child custody arrangement was reached on consent of the parents (through an agreement or stipulation), the alleged changes must have been unforeseen at the time that the agreement was entered.
Although it may seem like the standard for changing a child custody arrangement is the same or similar to the standard for changing a support support arrangement, it’s actually more complicated. While the New York courts allow you to revisit child support solely based on the passage of time, modifying child custody orders or agreements requires much more substantive issues in order for the court to consider a change.
Who Can Ask for A Change to the Child Custody Order or Agreement?
Either parent may request a change in the present custody order or agreement through the New York Family Court. For those whose agreement was made through a divorce action, he or she may request a modification in either the New York Supreme Court or the New York Family Court, depending on the terms of the agreement.
What Are Some Reasons to Seek a Change in Child Custody?
Oftentimes, parents include very specific schedules in their order or agreement for child custody and parenting time. Those schedules do not always stand up to the test of time. As the child or children get older and their schedules change, a request for a change of parenting time may be necessary. Likewise, in the event that a parent’s scheduled changes over time it may also be necessary to request a change in the parenting schedule.
As children reach their teen years, they also may wish to reside with one parent over another. Although it’s always best for parents to work through these changes without the need for court intervention, a request to modify the child custody arrangement may be necessary.
Last, if you feel that the parent with primary physical and/or legal custody of the children is not acting in the children’s best interests a parent may also seek to modify the custody arrangement. This type of request requires the highest level of proof and cannot be based solely upon opinion. For example, if a child is experiencing behavioral, educational or medical issues in the care of one parent that are not being properly addressed there may also be a basis for modification.
When Do the Terms of Child Custody End?
Legal custody, or the decision-making process on behalf of the children, ends when the child turns eighteen years old. Despite the fact that many people still heavily rely on their parents to help make major decisions well through their teens and twenties, the debate of making those decisions between the parties comes to an end at eighteen.
Physical custody, or where the children reside, tracks with child support. Until or unless a child emancipates, physical custody ends at twenty-one years old. That is true even if the child goes off to college. So long as the child requires support of the parents, he or she will always have a “home base” where the child will spend their time during school breaks and holidays.
Parenting time, or when the children spend time with their non-custodial parent, continues through eighteen years old, but weighs heavily on the children’s wishes and schedule once they reach their teenage years. For the most part, the New York Courts recognize that they cannot for a child of fifteen or sixteen years old to stick to a schedule, as they have their own activities, friends and even jobs to attend. At this point the court allows children to determine how and when they will see their parents.