Divorcing South Carolina parents must work out a child custody arrangement. These arrangements are not set in stone, though. There are situations in which it is necessary to make modifications. Today we will see what some of them are.
VeryWell Family looks at reasons to request child custody modifications. They include:
- A parental death
- A parent relocating
- The endangerment of your child
- Protecting your child’s best interest
- Refusal to abide by visitation schedules
The first two are somewhat self-explanatory. If a parent passes away, they are no longer an active part of the custody arrangements. Likewise, what do you do if a parent is relocating to somewhere far away? It may be impractical to enforce a visitation schedule.
Endangerment to a child comes in many different forms. The most common is via domestic abuse or violence. If a child expresses an unwillingness to stay with a parent, courts may make changes. This is particularly true if the child is in danger.
“The best interest of the child” is a well-circulated term. Courts use it when looking at all custody modification requests. They check to ensure that any change made has the child’s best interests in mind. Will they be safe and happy? Do they have opportunities provided to them? These are all important.
Finally, does your ex refuse to follow the visitation schedule? Do they miss multiple appointments? Are they otherwise are not cooperative with a visitation schedule? If so, the court may examine this further. They could come to the decision that the current visitation schedule does not work and enforce a new one.