A family law order that once worked may no longer fit your family's circumstances. A new work schedule, a significant change in income, or your child's changing needs may require you to desire to revisit custody, parenting time, or support. In Nebraska, you can ask the court to modify certain family law orders when your circumstances meet the legal requirements for a change.
At ACW Law, we help parents in Nebraska determine whether changed circumstances support modifying an existing family law order. Because the requirements depend on what you want to change, identifying the current order and what has changed since it was entered is an important first step.
What Family Law Orders Can Be Modified in Nebraska?
Nebraska courts can modify certain orders involving custody, parenting time, child support, and division of health care expenses, and childcare expenses when the applicable requirements are met. Alimony may also be modified or revoked for good cause in appropriate circumstances.
The legal standard depends on the provision you want to change. A custody or parenting-time modification, for example, requires different considerations from a change to child support or alimony. Understanding which standard applies can help you determine whether your circumstances may support a modification.
When Can a Custody or Parenting Order Be Changed?
To modify custody or a parenting plan in Nebraska, the court must find that a material change in circumstances has occurred since the previous parenting plan was ordered that did not exist at the time it was ordered, and that the proposed change is in the child's best interests.
A material change is more than simply preferring a different arrangement. Nebraska's Judicial Branch describes it as something that, had the court known about it when entering the previous parenting plan, would have persuaded the court to rule differently.
The court must also determine that the proposed change serves the child's best interests. Parenting arrangements that worked when a child was younger may become harder to maintain as school, activities, transportation needs, or family schedules change. Even when those changes create real practical difficulties for a family, the court must evaluate whether modifying the existing arrangement is legally justified and in the child's best interests.
If the court approves a change to custody or parenting time, the new order will include a parenting plan reflecting the modification. Parents who have been informally following a different schedule should not assume that their agreement has changed the existing court order. Seeking a formal family law order modification can make an approved change part of an enforceable court order.
When Can Child Support Be Modified?
A significant financial change may support modifying child support, but not every income change establishes a material change in circumstances.
Under the Nebraska Child Support Guidelines, a rebuttable presumption of a material change arises when applying the guidelines would change the current child support, childcare, or health care obligation by at least 10 percent and at least $25, upward or downward. The relevant financial circumstances must have lasted for three months and reasonably be expected to continue for another six months.
A substantial increase or decrease in the cost of health insurance or childcare expenses may also provide a basis for modification in appropriate circumstances.
If you seek to lower child support because your earnings have decreased, the reason for the decrease matters. Nebraska's modification guidance requires a parent using that basis to show that the reduction in earnings was not voluntary.
A job loss or other financial change may affect what your household can afford well before a court order changes. Reviewing the existing order and your current financial information can help determine whether your circumstances may satisfy Nebraska's requirements for modification.
Can Parents Simply Agree to Change an Existing Order?
Parents can agree that a different arrangement would work better, but an informal agreement does not, by itself, modify the existing court order. This distinction can become important if you have been following a different parenting schedule and a disagreement later develops. The court order remains the legally controlling arrangement until it is modified.
Parents who agree on proposed changes can present a new parenting plan as part of the modification process. The court must still find a material change in circumstances and determine that the proposed change in custody or parenting time is in the child's best interests.
What Is the Process for Requesting Modification?
For a Nebraska custody or parenting-plan modification, the process begins by either attending mediation or by filing a Complaint for Modification with the clerk of the district court in the county where the original order was entered. You must notify the other parent of the filing.
You should be prepared to explain what has changed since the existing order was entered and why the requested modification satisfies the applicable legal standard. Depending on what you want changed, relevant information may include financial records, work schedules, information about your child's needs, or other evidence related to the requested modification.
If the parents disagree, the court may need to hear evidence before deciding whether a modification is warranted. Nebraska's modification process may also require a parenting class, mediation, financial information, or a proposed child support calculation, depending on the circumstances and court.
Can an Alimony Order Be Modified?
Nebraska law allows an alimony order to be modified or revoked for good cause. Nebraska courts have defined good cause in this context as a material and substantial change in circumstances, with the determination depending on the facts of the particular case.
There are important limits. A divorce decree cannot later be modified to award alimony if the original decree did not award it. A written agreement or court order may also limit or preclude modification in some circumstances.
Alimony amounts accrued before the complaint to modify was filed generally cannot be modified or revoked. If your financial circumstances have substantially changed, waiting to seek a modification may therefore have consequences for obligations that continue to accrue.
Family Law Attorneys Serving Lincoln, Nebraska
When a court order no longer fits your family's circumstances, it may not be obvious whether the change is significant enough to justify returning to court. We can review your existing order, discuss what has changed, and help you determine whether seeking a modification may be appropriate.
Our team works together to provide responsive representation and careful legal work. In a modification matter, we can help you identify the applicable legal standard, prepare information to support or respond to a requested change, and present the issue to the court when necessary.
We serve families in Lancaster County, Gage County, Saline County, Seward County, Otoe County, Cass County, and Saunders County. If you need family law attorneys in Lincoln, Nebraska, contact us to discuss your existing order, what has changed, and the options available to you.
