When parents divorce in Kentucky, child custody is one of the first matters dealt with. The court will decide on a custody arrangement based on current life circumstances. But courts also understand that circumstances change with time. What if you get to a point in your life where your circumstances change?
Valid reasons to modify custody arrangements
If they change so much that your child custody order no longer applies, what do you do? You can submit a modification request to the court. They will look over each request and determine whether to grant you a modification. You cannot request a modification for any reason, though. There are valid reasons to request a change. For example, the absence of a parent is one valid reason to change a custody order. Parental absence usually stems from:
- Incarceration of the parent
- The death of the parent
- The parent deploying because they are active military
In some cases, a parent refuses to follow the custody schedule for whatever reason. You must first try to speak with them about this. But if you talk to them and nothing changes, you can ask the court to change the arrangement.
Risk to your child in another parent’s home
Another big reason is if the child is in immediate danger. Have they requested not to return to a spouse’s house? Are they in immediate danger, especially due to domestic violence? Courts can issue emergency changes to get kids out of these risky situations.
There are many different valid reasons for requesting child custody modification. If you wish to learn more about them, take a look at our link here. It will direct you to our page on child custody. This has more information and answers to questions you may have.