Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota

Re: Change Custody and Child Support

You will need to file a motion and obtain a court order modifying custody and support. Otherwise, you will not be able to enforce her child support obligation, and you will continue to accumulate arrears yourself.

In some cases, custody orders can be difficult to change. Minnesota law, however, provides that you do not need to prove something extreme like endangerment or impairment of the child, if the children have come to live with the noncustodial parent with the custodial parent's consent. You will still need to establish, to the court's satisfaction, that the change was consented to by the other parent. The court will still have the power to deny the motion even then, but unless the custody arrangement is detrimental to the children for some reason, the change will most likely be approved under such circumstances.

Tom James

(320) 286-6425

Re: Change Custody and Child Support

You should file a motion to modify custody and child support. Without out formally changing custody and child support, you verbal agreement is not enforceable. In some cases, however, it might make sense to not push the issue immediately. I recommend you speak to an attorney regarding this matter.