How do you change Court Order or Existing  Agreement Related to Support or Parenting?

A “Motion to Change” is a court proceeding which one can use to change court order or agreement between the parties if there has been a “material change in circumstance” since the initial proceeding warranting a change in a court order, or an agreement previously entered into between parties. This means that something has happened for one of the parties since the date of the making of the order or entering into the agreement which no longer allows the existing agreement or court order to be followed at all or easily.

Some examples of orders frequently sought to be varied are as follows:

  • A motion to change child support when a child support payor’s income has varied or been reduced since the child support order or agreement, warranting a reduction in child support payments;
  • A motion to change spousal support for the when a spousal support payor’s income has varied or been reduced since the child support order or agreement, warranting a reduction in the child support payments – sometimes this happens as a result of a job loss or as a result of a medical issue for the support payor;
  • A motion to change child support when a support recipient finds out or believes that a child support payor’s income has varied or increased since the child support order or agreement, warranting an increase in the child support payments – sometimes this happens as a result of a job loss or as a result of a medical issue for the support payor;
  • A motion to change child support when a support recipient finds out or believes that a spusal support payor’s income has varied or increased since the spousal support order or agreement, warranting an increase in the spousal support payments;
  • A motion to change when an event ending child or spousal support has happened, and the support payor seeks to terminate support payments;
  • A motion to change custody or parenting time related to children as a result of a material change in circumstances affecting the existing order or agreement. As an example, this could happen when parties have agreed to joint custody in an agreement or the court has ordered joint custody but the parties’ relationship becomes increasingly conflicted over time such that they can no longer make decisions related to their child or children’s welfare together and jointly.

This would warrant seeking to change court order to sole custody to one parent. It is important to note that Motion to Change proceeds are not deemed to be a re-trial of the original case if the matter was already before a court and the court made a final court order. In order to qualify for a motion to change, there must be a factor that has change significantly enough since the existing court order (a material change in circumstance) that affects one party’s ability to follow the order. In most cases the existing court order or agreement must be followed until changed/varied by a new court order or agreement. Call us today to speak to on of our Toronto Motion to Change lawyers today to seek to vary a child support, spousal support, custody or parenting Order or Agreement.