Difference between revisions of "Changing Orders in Family Matters"

Before embarking on the rest of this chapter, it is useful to know the following:

*There is a difference between a "review" of a final order and a "variation" of a final order:   

A review does not require that the party seeking the review establishes a material change of circumstance (as is required to get a variation of a court order).  Rather, a review is treated as if the issue were being considered by the parties (and the court) for the first time.  It is usually made available to parties if circumstances were uncertain at the time the order was made (for example, if one party was to undergo retraining before entering (or re-entering) the workforce, that party would likely need a higher amount of spousal support while attending school but would not know how much income that party could expect to earn after they finished school).

*There is a difference between varying a final order made by a judge after a hearing or a trial and varying a final order made by consent (meaning both parties agreed to it):  

The threshold to change or set aside a contract is pretty high and the categories of grounds include fraud, undue influence, duress, coercion, fresh evidence that was not known at the time the original contract (or in this case consent order) was entered into, and abuse of process.

*Although it is sometimes possible to vary an interim order, this chapter mostly applies to final orders.