What is Required to Change Child Custody?
If your current court order is no longer working, you may be able to change 
your child custody arrangement.
When one party has sole legal custody there must be a substantial change in circumstances with the legal custodian’s living situation or conduct before the court would consider modifying the existing child custody arrangement. In a shared parenting situation, the court must only find that a change in the shared parenting arrangement would be in the child’s best interest.
The following factors are considered by the courts to determine whether or not the child custody arrangement should be altered. The factors are used by the court to determine whether there is a substantial change in circumstances, and if the change will be in the child’s best interest.
– parent’s medical problem or disability;
– special need on the part of child, such as an education or a medical problem;
– parent’s addiction to alcohol or drugs;
– parent’s failure to exercise parenting time with the child;
– parent’s failure to pay child support;
– developmental change in the child that indicates a need to change the custody and parenting time visitation arrangements; or
– parent’s relocation out of the geographic area.
Some factors are weighed more heavily than others by the courts, and often the weight of the factors varies from judge to judge.
If you are in need of a change to your child custody arrangement, contact the Ohio Divorce Attorney, Jamie L. Anderson, for a free in-office or telephone consultation today at (937)879-9542.
