Reaching the end of your divorce or parentage case can feel like closure—but when kids are involved, the legal journey is far from over. As children grow and life circumstances change, custody and visitation orders may need to evolve too. But how exactly does that work? Can the court modify a final judgment? What standard does the judge use to decide whether a change is warranted? In this video, we’ll break down everything you need to know about modifying custody orders after a divorce or parentage ruling in California.  

At Mohajer Law Firm, we specialize in helping parents navigate these complex post-judgment issues. Whether there’s been a major change in your schedule, a relocation, safety concerns, or evolving needs for your child, the court does retain jurisdiction until your youngest turns 18—or even 19 if they’re still in high school. We’ll explain what qualifies as a “significant change in circumstance,” how to file a post-judgment request, and the best way to protect your rights and your child’s well-being.

If you need to talk with a child custody attorney to discuss your situation, contact Mohajer Law Firm to schedule a confidential one-on-one consultation today.

Transcript:
So your case is finally done. You’re either divorced or you got a final judgment in your parentage case, but your kids are still young. What happens next? Does the court even have power to change the order that it once made before? If so, what does the court look at? How do they analyze it? And what are the proper steps that you need to make as a parent to ensure the best interests of your kids are being met? Well, in this video, we’re going to address all those questions today.

Hi, I’m Sina Mohajer with Mohajer Law Firm. We specialize in family law, estate planning, criminal defense and personal injury. In these videos, I like to tackle complex legal issues and try to simplify it for my viewers in order to give you a better position to protect your legal rights. So if you like the content of this video, go ahead and hit that like button. And don’t forget to subscribe. So you’re always in the know of any new videos being posted. So without further ado, I welcome you all to our new series called A Walk in the Park.

Child Custody and Parenting After Divorce

So does a court lose jurisdiction? No! The court never loses jurisdiction until the youngest child reaches the age of 18, or at times, 19 if they’re a full time high school student. So any time before that, the court always has the inherent power to be able to modify any type of custody or visitation orders that were once made before to ensure that the best interests of the kids are being met.

Best Interest of the Children

But what is exactly the court looking to do, or what is it that the court looks at before they determined to modify any type of custody order? Well, before a judgment was entered, there was a simple standard of review, and that was what is in the best interest of those kids.

Significant Change in Circumstances

But when you’re talking about after judgment, post judgment, there’s an extra hurdle that you have to overcome when seeking a modification. You have to demonstrate that there’s been a significant change in circumstance before the court can then consider what is in the best interest of those kids.

For example, a change in your work schedule. It could be one parent who has relocated to a different state. It could be safety concerns for the kids. For example, any type of abuse, whether it’s physical, emotional, sexual. It could be the fact that one parent is no longer fit to maintain the same schedule that they once had. Perhaps there’s a substance abuse issue.

Whatever the case is, as long as you can establish that there’s a significant change in circumstance that opens the door for the judge to look at what’s in the best interest of those kids.

Post Judgement RFO (Request for Order)

But what’s the proper way of going about it? Well, it’s a post judgment RFO, but that doesn’t change anything. You’re still going to follow your request for order to get your hearing date. And during that phase, you’re going to gather your evidence. You’re going to put your best foot forward and try to convince the judge that what you believe is in the best interest of those kids, that they should believe it as well, and you’ll hopefully get the orders you’re requesting.

Discuss Alternatives with the Other Parent

But there’s also another avenue you can take other than court intervention. It’s always good to try to maintain that control, because when you go to court, you’re giving up that control to a third party to decide what happens with your children. But when you try to maintain that control and try to discuss an alternative with the other parent, you can at least ensure that whatever you are agreeing to you’re okay with and you’re not just stuck with it.

But in any event, if the two of you cannot come to an agreement, that is why the court system is there. They are designed to help out parents who cannot agree to what needs to be done, and they’ll make the decision for you.

Now, custody and visitation is such a huge part of a divorce case, and it’s a main part of any parentage case. So there’s a lot of nuances and complexities that come with it.

Contact a Child Custody Attorney

So if you have questions about your particular case, I welcome you to contact our office and schedule a consultation. I’m happy to sit down with you one on one to explore your options and strategize what’s the best approach for you and your children. And like I said earlier, don’t forget to hit that like button if you like what you heard today in this video. And please don’t forget to subscribe either. So you’re always in the know about any new videos being posted.