Thank you for joining me. My name is LaSheena Williams, and I am a Maryland family law attorney. My firm helps our clients take control of out-of-control domestic situations. Today we will be discussing dealing with the aftermath of a bad custody agreement.
Understand the Parameters of What Your Agreement Actually Says
If, for some reason, you enter into a custody agreement with a lawyer or even without a lawyer, it’s important for you to understand what your obligations are under the agreement you signed. There are a lot of communications that can happen between attorneys, there are a lot of communications that can happen between the parties, but if those communications are not memorialized in the agreements, then those communications are not a part of the agreement and that’s very difficult for some people to understand and some people to deal with. Sometimes you enter into a bad agreement and that bad agreement can impact your relationship with your child for years to come. So, it’s very, very important that you understand what is clear really included in your agreement and that the terms are defined appropriately, that there are backup plans, and that there are options involved in case of a breach and you want to understand what all those terms and concepts mean and your obligations under those terms.
Request Mediation
If you are no longer comfortable with the terms of your bad custody agreement, you may want to seek mediation with your co-parent. that might be a requirement under your agreement. It might be something that you feel you need to do because you entered into this agreement, and you did not know that the terms were what they are, and now you want a resolution that can fix the situation for you. The first course of action might be to try to see if you and your co-parent can work out additional terms to clarify or correct any terms that no longer work for you and your family.
Seek a Modification of the Terms (Timing is Important)
If you enter into an agreement and/or a court order is granted based on the terms of an agreement and those terms no longer work for you and your co-parent does not want to mediate, you can file a request for a modification with the court. You can request a modification based on a material change in circumstances. It’s important to note that timing is key here. If you entered into this agreement two months ago and there has not been a material change in the past two months except for your understanding of the terms, that may not be a material change in circumstance however if you enter into this agreement eight months ago and as a result of your child going to a completely different school or your child’s needs changing, whether they’re now in an IEP or they now have a disability or there are some other concerns, that may be enough of a change to warrant modifying the terms of your custody agreement. You have to speak with an attorney to understand when a more appropriate time for you may be to seek a modification of any custody agreement or custody order you currently have in place.
If you have any questions about what to do in a situation when you have entered a bad parenting plan or any other custody or domestic related issues, contact the Law Office of LaSheena M. Williams at (301) 778 – 9950 or leave an online request for a consultation.
