So you’ve been to Family Court in Nova Scotia, negotiated a settlement, or received a judgment, and you are now have a Court Order setting out terms like parenting time, and child or spousal support. Hopefully that’s the end of it and you can carry on with your life. Unfortunately, life can change in ways your Court Order can’t predict. Maybe you or your children’s other parent has an amazing career opportunity in Australia. This would be great but your Court Order says you have 50/50 parenting time with the kids. If you have a good relationship with your ex you can probably work things out without involving lawyers or the courts. If not, well that’s what Variation Applications are for. 

When will the Court consider changing my Custody or Spousal Support Order?

Variation Applications are used to change existing Court Orders. To be successful in applying to vary a Court Order you have to prove two main things.

1. .    There has been a material change in circumstances.

2.     Changing the Court Order is in the best interest of the kids.

What does a Nova Scotian court consider a ‘Material Change’?

A material change in circumstances has to be something big. It means that something important has changed in your lives that the court hadn’t predicted. Some examples of material changes in circumstances are as follows:

1.   You got into a car accident and you are no longer able to work. In this situation you could apply to vary child support.

2.  Your children’s other parent moved to some far off location. In this situation you could apply to vary parenting time.

3.  Your ex got an amazing job making twice the money you do. In this situation you could apply to vary spousal support.

The Court won’t change a Court Order on a whim. However, they do recognize that there are times when it is necessary. When there are children involved the court will always consider their needs first. If you are considering whether you need to change a Court Order you should contact a Family Lawyer.

If you have any questions about varying your custody or support agreements or orders you can call us at (902) 826-3070 or email us at info@highlanderlaw.ca to set up a meeting with one of our lawyers at our Tantallon law firm. You can also schedule a no commitment Issue Review Consult for $500+HST where you have the opportunity to explain your situation to a lawyer and get basic advice before deciding whether or not you'd like to retain us.  

The information and materials on this blog are provided for general informational purposes only and are not intended to be legal advice. Nothing contained on this blog is legal advice or constitutes a legal opinion. While it is our goal to provide information which is current, legislative changes and court decisions, among other matters, may result in some information no longer being current or accurate. You should consult a lawyer before relying on any information. The views expressed herein by individual contributing lawyers posting entries to the blog are solely those of the authors and should not necessarily be attributed to or considered representative of the firm of Highlander Law Group Lawyers