How much would it cost to seek a modification of child custody if I attempted this pro se (court costs, etc.)?
How much would it cost if I hired an attorney to do this (approximately)?
I understand that there must be a serious change in circumstances to get the court to modify the custody. What are some examples of circumstances that meet this requirement?
-Age of child - for example - original order written when child was infant and now in school.
-increased custody and overnights
-one parent moves/relocates
-child expresses desire to spend more time with a parent
-issues with how one parent is caring for child such as leaving young child alone for extended period of time
-drug or alcohol abuse on the part of one parent
-death of a parent
Thank you.
And do you know approximately what the cost would be?
Was your custody agreed upon with a separation agreement or is it an actual court order?
It was an actual court order.
There must be a substantial change in circumstances impacting the welfare of the minor child in order for a custody order to be modified.
Some examples of changes that are substantial are listed below.
We have a fee calculator on our website, but depending on the complexity of the issues and assuming you actually went to trial, the costs would be at least $24,000. Our fee calculator can give you a specific range of the costs. Most attorneys charge by the hour, and so they normally do not estimate the costs and may end up charging much more.