ABA Family Legal Guide

Family Law

3.4 Separation, Annulment, and Divorce

Custody

Can custody decisions be changed?

Yes. A court may always change child custody to meet the changing needs of the growing child and to respond to changes in the parents' lives. Because courts favor stability for the child and do not want to encourage contentious litigation, a parent seeking to change custody must show that the conditions have changed substantially, and usually unpredictably, since the last custody order. The parent must also show that changing the custody arrangement would be better for the child. Sometimes the parent must show that not changing custody would be harmful to the child.