Modification and Enforcement of Settlement Agreements

For many who have gone through a separation or divorce, signing a settlement agreement brings feelings of closure and finality. Sometimes, however, a change of circumstances justifies a modification of the terms you and your spouse agreed to.

For example:

The amount of child support you receive may no longer be sufficient if your spouse’s income has increased.
Your child has been diagnosed with special needs.
The custody arrangement that worked when your daughter was four no longer works now that she is ten.
The alimony you pay may no longer be affordable if the business you run had a bad year.

Are Contractual Obligations Being Met?

In some cases, the problem is simply that your former spouse is not living up to his or her contractual obligations:

Child support or alimony payments come late – or not at all.
Your former spouse makes unilateral decisions about your child’s health or education, even though the two of you agreed to share legal custody.
Your alimony payments are supposed to terminate if your former spouse cohabits with a new partner, but your spouse has been actively concealing the status of her live-in boyfriend.

Resolve Current Issues, Avert Future Problems

Our attorneys are skilled at assisting clients to modify settlement agreements when circumstances change and to enforce them when a former spouse is noncompliant. We listen to you to develop an in-depth understanding of what is not working under the current settlement, so we can solve the current issues and anticipate – and avert – future problems.

We also probe your history with your spouse to determine what process – negotiation, mediation, or litigation – is the most expeditious and effective way to achieve results. And, once we have a strategy to move forward, we take swift action to protect your rights.

In the end, achieving the modification or enforcement you’re seeking can help address your or your child’s changed circumstances and/or relieve the aggravation or deprivations that you’ve experienced.