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A custody order is written for a family at one point in time, but children grow and circumstances change. A parent may move, change jobs, remarry, or develop problems that affect the child’s safety, and a child’s needs at 14 can look very different from their needs at four. Custody modification covers requests to change legal custody, physical custody, or both after a court has already entered an order.
Indiana sets a higher bar for changing custody than for deciding it the first time, because courts value stability for children. A court may modify custody only if the change is in the child’s best interests and there has been a substantial change in one or more of the factors the court considers in custody cases. Those factors include the child’s age, the wishes of the parents and the child, the child’s relationships, the child’s adjustment to home, school, and community, the mental and physical health of everyone involved, any pattern of family violence, and whether someone has acted as a de facto custodian.
Common reasons for modification include a parent’s relocation, a change in the child’s needs or wishes, a parent’s substance abuse or unsafe home, ongoing interference with the other parent’s relationship with the child, or a breakdown in the parents’ ability to make joint decisions. The parent asking for the change has the burden of proving it. Courts generally won’t revisit issues they already decided based on the same facts, so the focus is on what has changed since the last order.
At RileyCate, we represent parents asking for a custody change and parents defending an existing order. For changes to the schedule rather than custody itself, see our Parenting Time Modification page.
Custody modification cases depend on clear evidence of what has changed and why a new arrangement serves the child. Keith L. Hancock leads our family law team. Keith is Of Counsel at RileyCate, LLC, and family law is the primary focus of his practice. His background includes work as a deputy prosecutor, deputy public defender, associate attorney, and founding member of his own prior firm, giving him a practical understanding of how cases are prepared, negotiated, and tried.
Keith personally oversees every family law matter we take on, working with the attorneys, associates, and staff the case calls for based on its size and complexity, so you get responsive, informed representation from the outset.
Nobody plans to need a lawyer. When something goes wrong, what you need first is someone who will listen, tell you honestly where you stand, and take the next steps off your plate. That is how every case at RileyCate, LLC begins.
We represent individuals, families, and small businesses across Fishers, Indianapolis, and surrounding counties in personal injury and complex litigation, business and real estate disputes, criminal defense, and appeals.
Will Riley and Russell Cate personally oversee every matter, staffing each case to its size and complexity. Both are recognized as Super Lawyers and have argued before the Indiana Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. Will also holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a Top 100 Trial Lawyer designation.
We are trial-tested, not just settlement-focused. We have tried hundreds of cases, because insurance companies, opposing businesses, and prosecutors negotiate differently with a firm willing to go the distance.
If your family’s circumstances have changed, or the other parent has asked to change custody, clear advice can help you protect your child’s stability. We offer a consultation to review your order and explain your options. Reach out to RileyCate today to speak with a family law attorney.
