Home / Divorce Guides / Changing Orders

Divorce Guide No. 6 — After the Decree · After Divorce

Changing Custody, Support & Maintenance After Divorce

By Attorney Charles E. Liken Jr., Colorado court-appointed Child and Family Investigator. Life moves — orders don't, until a court changes them. The post-decree guide to modifying parenting time, child support, and maintenance the right way.

Charles E. Liken Jr., Esq. — On the Legal Front Lines · Former Government Investigator, Denver Human Services · Licensed Colorado Attorney · 20+ Years in Private Practice · Former Colorado Deputy District Attorney · Colorado Court-Appointed Child and Family Investigator

What can change, and what it takes

Every order has its own modification standard. Knowing which bar you have to clear — before you file — is most of the strategy.

Child support: the 10% rule

Support is modifiable when changed circumstances are substantial and continuing. A recalculation that changes support by less than 10% is deemed not substantial and continuing (C.R.S. § 14-10-122(1)(b)); a change of 10% or more clears that threshold, but the court still must find a substantial and continuing change. New job, new schedule, new child: run the math.

Where The Longmont Law Firm comes in: We run the worksheet both ways before filing so you know whether the motion is worth filing — and we file fast, because changes only reach back to the filing date.

Parenting time: best interests again

Ordinary schedule adjustments track the child's best interests as circumstances change — new school, new work shift, a teen's changed life. Courts expect plans to evolve.

Where The Longmont Law Firm comes in: We package schedule changes as practical solutions with specifics — calendars, school data, logistics — not complaints about the other house.

Restricting time or flipping primary residence: the high bar

Restricting a parent's time requires endangerment. Changing the child's primary residence over objection faces heightened standards — and repeat motions inside two years face extra limits.

Where The Longmont Law Firm comes in: Whether you're seeking the change or fighting it, we build (or dismantle) the record the statute actually requires — this is not a do-it-yourself motion.

Maintenance: substantial & continuing — if it's modifiable

Maintenance changes on a substantial and continuing change in circumstances — retirement, disability, real income shifts. But contractual non-modifiable maintenance means exactly what it says.

Where The Longmont Law Firm comes in: We read your separation agreement first; the answer is often written there. Then we time the motion to the real change, not the argument about it.

Side deals don't count

“We agreed to change it between ourselves” is the most expensive sentence in post-decree law. Informal changes leave arrears accruing and violations technically stacking — even when both of you meant well.

Where The Longmont Law Firm comes in: We turn working informal arrangements into stipulated orders — usually without a hearing — so the deal you're living is the deal on paper.

Ready when you are — talk it through with Attorney Liken.

Start here: a no-charge 20-minute phone call directly with Attorney Liken.

Free 20-Min Call with Attorney Liken

Written & reviewed by Charles E. Liken Jr., Esq.Colorado Attorney · Former Deputy District Attorney · 700+ investigations · Reviewed for accuracy as of July 2026

Quick answers

How soon after divorce can I modify custody or support?

Support can be modified whenever a substantial and continuing change exists (a recalculated change under 10% is deemed not substantial and continuing). Schedule changes track best interests as circumstances change, but motions to change the primary residence face heightened standards and two-year refiling limits.

Do informal agreements to change support count?

No. Until a court adopts the change, the original order controls — arrears keep accruing at the ordered amount even if both parents agreed otherwise in texts or conversation.

What counts as a substantial and continuing change?

Durable real-world shifts: significant income changes, relocation, remarriage affecting expenses, disability, a child's changed needs — not temporary blips or strategic career downgrades.

Can maintenance ever be non-modifiable?

Yes. If the separation agreement made maintenance contractual and non-modifiable, courts cannot change the amount or term regardless of later hardship — which is why that clause deserves real thought at settlement.

Timing & Tactics

When to file (and when to wait)

Modification motions are forward-looking: support changes generally apply from the filing date, never before it. If the change is real, waiting is the one strategy that reliably costs money.

Courts read filing patterns. A parent who returns with a new motion every few months reads as the problem; a parent who documents patiently and files once, with evidence, reads as credible. We help you be the second one.

Step by step

1 · Diagnose the standard — 10% threshold met? Best interests? Endangerment? Contractual bar? The standard picks the strategy.
2 · Update the financials — Fresh sworn financial statements and worksheets — modifications live and die on current numbers.
3 · File & serve the motion — JDF 1403 (support), 1406 (parenting time), 1407 (relocation), 1415 (decision-making), 1401 (maintenance) — with the evidence attached, not promised.
4 · Stipulate or be heard — Most modifications settle into stipulated orders; the rest get a hearing where preparation matters.

Watch: the Child Support Worksheet seriesModifying support? Watch how the worksheet recalculates when incomes change — free official Colorado videos, in plain English.

Emergencies are their own lane

True endangerment — abuse, dangerous instability, abduction risk — supports emergency restriction motions on days' notice, not months. If children are at risk, call us and the right authorities today.

Related: Custody Guide · Child Support Guide · Enforcement · modification forms in the Forms Library.

Charles E. Liken Jr., Esq.

Attorney & Counselor at Law

Plan the next chapter. We'll close this one right.

A no-charge 20-minute call with Attorney Liken can help you sort out your next step.

Directly with Attorney LikenStrictly ConfidentialFormer Colorado Deputy District Attorney30+ Years in the Legal Field