Circumstances in life change. When Arizona parents who have been divorced for a while with a specific child custody agreement in order go through those inevitable changes with their kids, perhaps a modification to the custody agreement may be in order. If a modification is in the best interests of the child, a court may grant the request.
A child custody modification may also be necessary for a dire straits situation such as domestic violence. When one parent is living in a violent situation with a child, the child may be in harm’s way. The court will want to protect the child from such situations. A court will ascertain if a child is in imminent danger and make any modifications to a custody agreement it sees fit.
If a parent plans to move a long way away — out of state or country, for instance — the child custody order may need to be modified. It may be difficult to stick to the visitation schedule that is in place, especially if it interrupts a child’s schedule. If both parents agree in this instance that a modification is necessary, a court may see fit to make that change.
There are other reasons a child custody agreement would need to be modified such as the untimely death of a parent or if a noncustodial parent doesn’t live up to an agreement already in place. An Arizona family law attorney may be able to offer advice in other circumstances that would merit a child custody modification. A savvy attorney will know what may be and what may not be permissible under Arizona law.
Source: verywellfamily.com, “Reasons to Request Child Custody Modification“, Debrina Washington, Accessed on May 4, 2018