If you lost your job, partially or fully, or were furloughed due to Covid-19 you need to act now to seek a modification of your alimony and/or child support orders. If you feel that in fulfilling your visitation orders your child or children may be in danger from the coronavirus you need to act properly. Protect your rights and your children but be certain to do so in accord with the court’s rules. Fail to do so and you may find yourself in contempt.
COVID-19 CHANGES TO THE COURT SYSTEM
Covid-19 has seriously impacted everyone’s life. Rush hour has an all new meaning. It now refers to the electrical and internet supply jam that occurs as everyone working and schooling from home cranks up the workplace. Most major crises normally do not impact our access to the courts. We need the courts open to protect all our rights. Covid-19 indiscriminately infects everyone though. Our courts had to rightfully take emergency measures. Access to our courts had to be impacted like everything else in this age of the coronavirus.
The court closures has meant those in need of hearings on non-payment of support or in need of a modification of support, alimony, visitation, or custody with potentially no courts to hear them immediately. However there are still solutions that can allow you to get the resolutions you need.
One thing before we get to what you can’t do at our courts. Understand that an experienced attorney still has a lot to offer you despite court access being restricted. Your attorney will most importantly know how the courts will handle your legal problems once the world returns to normal. An experienced attorney stays up on current court decisions, changes to our laws, and legal trends. We also have tools you can use. We can negotiate agreements for you. You attorney will know how to memorialize that agreement so it may be submitted to court and entered as an Order when the courts begin hearing these matters. You will be ahead of everyone else.
ALTERNATIVES
As an alternative to a full court hearing we can offer mediations and arbitrations, all done using virtual conferencing to protect the safety of all involved. These too can become Orders of the court as above. Your attorney will also know how your legal issue fits into available emergency order availability of the courts. At the very worst your attorney can prepare your matter now to be ready when the courts get back to full business.
NEW PLANNED COURT CLOSURES
This week saw more Connecticut State Court closures. Yesterday the remaining open courts were order closed every Tuesday and Thursday starting April 7 and continuing until further orders are issued. Previously the courts were closed to all but Priority 1 Business Matters, defined as filing or have a hearing for a temporary Restraining Order, Civil protection order, emergency Ex Parte motion for custody; or those involved in a criminal arraignment or other criminal proceeding. The full instructions on what the court is handling can found at the court’s coronavirus update. Access has since reduced to only Fairfield, New Haven, Hartford, New Britain, New London, and Waterbury courts along with all juvenile matters only being heard in Hartford and Bridgeport. The Supreme and Appellate courts are also available but limited. Adult Probation and Support Enforcement also closed.
WHY WE NEED THE COURT CLOSURES
The reduced access to the courts and the closure of departments like Support Enforcement makes it difficult to all. However not taking these necessary and rightful measures would take an even tougher result on all of us. We need to protect those working our courts just like we protect everyone else. Forcing the courts to open more now will just endanger those keeping access available for at least the Priority 1 Business Matters. If the courts were not closed now we would certainly not have the court here for us later.
Working at a courthouse is no immunity to the coronavirus infection. We can temporarily close the courts now or more permanently close the court later after too many court personnel become ill from Covid-19. The courts took the more prudent solution, as should we all. Home sheltering and social distancing will get us all back to our regular daily lives quicker. It is up to all of us to do our part.
VISITATION CUSTODY IMMEDIATE NECESSARY CHANGES
Shifting children between households holds many problems unique to family law without adding the coronavirus. Switching households for children for visitation greatly increases the chance of infection in the best of circumstances. Add in a parent who works in an essential job and you just increased that chance of infection as home sheltering protections are not in place.
The problem with visitation is you usually have two parties who see life differently. Each parties version of what they deem is proper can vary greatly. Being able to tolerate the other parents life choices in raising a child varies greatly. Intolerance is often the reason people return to court to fight over visitation and custody orders. Another reason we get calls asking to end visitation or custody is when the other parent remarries. They can’t live together but don’t want the other party to move on. Add in a pandemic and emotions can get in the way.
Child custody modifications are complicated and require court approval. Each parent may think they know best but the courts will be the determining authority of what is in the best interest for the child or children, which is the deciding rule for modifications. Factors can include a parent moving, being unable to physically or emotionally care for the child(ren), or if the child(ren)’s health or welfare is in question. Facts in every case are different which makes deciding these issues difficult but not impossible. Just remember. it is the child’s best interests that matter, not yours.
Connecticut General Statutes Section 46b-56(b) governs modifications of family visitation and custody orders. It states: “In making or modifying any order as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the rights and responsibilities of both parents shall be considered and the court shall enter orders accordingly that serve the best interests of the child and provide the child with the active and consistent involvement of both parents commensurate with their abilities and interests.” The interpretation of those words are defined by a litany of cases and the facts of your individual case. Motions to modify custody, which generally require a material change in circumstances differ from motions to modify visitation alone which do not require a material change.
To protect children the court is allowing emergency ex parte motions for custody to be heard even now. However you can be certain the court is holding any motion for modification in these difficult times to the highest of standards. With difficulty in access to the courts any decision to modify will carry with it the knowledge that the court does not want to increase unnecessary litigation.
Just because the other parent continues to go into work in an essential job is not on its own a reason to restrict custody or visitation. You will need to prove that the other parent’s job or handling of the emergency protocols is not in the child(ren)’s best interests. That the other party is a first responder or health care professional definitely is not is sole reason for a modification. Again, you will have that same standard of proof. Health care providors and first responders know the dangers of infection and are trained to take all precautions to protect from it. They are not infallible but this in itself is not a reason for a modification. Worse is having a truther parent who denies the truth of the coronavirus and refuses to follow the proper protocols. There the best interests of the child(ren) are not likely being met and an emergency change of custody may be in order.
The best way to handle ongoing visitation and custody issues in these times is to start with a discussion with the other party of your concerns. Try to find middle ground. Knowing how your fact pattern may be viewed by the court is helpful. That is where an experienced family law attorney can be helpful. That attorney can also provide help in the negotiations or assist you in a mediation before trying your case at court. That is even if the court now deems your facts warrant a review at this time. Otherwise you will be waiting for the court to set a hearing weeks to months away from now when it is able to reopen more fully.
SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT
Support Enforcement’s closing poses large problems to Connecticut families. That office is the lifeline for many to be sure that deadbeat non-custodial parents stayed current with support. With custodial parents out of work that support payment is more important than ever. Bringing deadbeat parents before the court will have to wait. When the courts re-open though, those same deadbeats need to know the court will take willful obstruction of support payments very seriously. A deadbeat is not someone who legitimately can’t meet his or her support obligations. Deadbeats are those with the means but who do not agree with their obligation to have to support their children. The good news is that this crisis will not last long and deadbeats will be caught up with and addressed by the court.
MODIFICATIONS
For those who legitimately have need to change their support obligations you should not wait for the courts to fully open their doors. Alimony and child support obligations may be modified under Connecticut General Statutes Section 46B-86(A). However alimony may only be modified “[u]nless and to the extent that the decree precludes modification.” Which means that to 
Alimony order you first need to look at the terms of your Divorce Agreement or Court Decree that set your alimony order to begin with. If your orders say alimony is non-modifiable, while not impossible, it will be extremely difficult to get the court to accept your motion for a modification. A number of road blocks will need to be worked through for the court to accept a non-modifiable modification. Anyone with non-modifiable alimony is looking at an uphill battle that is best handled by an experienced family law attorney. Going your own way with these type of modification requests in not recommended.
Child support has less road blocks to bring about a modification. That does not mean it is a certainty. The major requirement is that you must prove there has been a substantial change in circumstances. What is a substantial change? For that the court will compare the circumstances at the time of the last Support Court Order with the circumstances at the time you seek a modification. Income changes of fifteen percent or more may be sufficient but that change may not be due to voluntary reasons. Quitting a job you just don’t like with no other means of work will not do it.
If you lost your job and received a severance plan your severance plan may extend the time you may file for a modification. The severance plan continues your income as it was. Once that severance period is running its course you can then seek that modification. However you better have been doing proper job searched in that time period to prove your request for a modification is proper. Keep a written record that shows where you looked for work, who you contacted, and when. Be able to show how the searched job description meets your abilities and experiences.
IMPORTANCE OF FILING YOUR MOTION TO MODIFY NOW
Just know that these unprecedented times will bring an unprecedented number of modification filings that the court will need to deal with. You need to protect yourself. Waiting until the courts are back to hearing modifications to file your motion is a mistake. Personal service of your motion to modify your orders will allow the court to order your modification to go into effect retroactive to the date the motion was served. That means the court can rule that your motion to modify goes into effect long before the actual hearing on your motion occurs.
While your Motion for Contempt will not be heard immediately you still want to act now. Just filing your motion may enough to bring the payor into compliance. At the very least you will be ahead of the curve when the court starts hearing these motions again. While waiting you can try mediation to help you get help resolving the differences of opinions you are having with the other party. An experienced family law attorney can help you with finding the best mediators and represent your interests properly in that mediation. That attorney will also know how th take the proper steps to protect your interests in these uncertain times.
HOW TO SAFELY FILE A MOTION TO MODIFY NOW
Aside from the need to have your motion to modify personally served filing a motion for modification carries all proper protections from the coronavirus. Motion for modification forms are available on the court’s website forms. Download it, fill it in on your computer, and print it. There may be an issue of reopening your case if it has been a long time since it was last heard by the court. You can e-file your motion with the court so you will not need to enter the courts now to get it into your file. The courts are still investigating a workaround on the personal service part. Once accomplished the process will be even safer.
Once you file your motion with the court you don’t want to sit tight. Normally a motion to modify is heard by the court relatively quickly. These difficult times means the court may not be setting a court date for you for weeks or months in to the future. Meanwhile you should be gathering the evidence you will need to prove your motions should be granted. Keep a written record of what you are doing to find work and correct your reason for the modification. If your reason for a modification is medical gather all notes, reports, and medical records that prove your inability to work as before. You should have something from your doctor that states clearly what you can and can not do. An employee manual from your job can provide a written job description that indicates what your job entails. Using that you can use the medical records to show how you can not now meet the requirements of the job and needed to reduce or end your employment. The final decision on your modification will be up to the judge hearing your motion and will depend on the facts presented.
Having an experienced family law attorney on your side is highly recommended. Shelton Attorney Jerome Goldstein, has over thirty years experience handling family law matters and motions for modifications. Hiring someone familiar with the process will help you find your way through the legal maze ahead of you.
NEVER JUST STOP PAYING OR REDUCE ALIMONY AND/OR CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS ON YOUR OWN
It is understood that these are difficult times. You are not the only one fully or partially losing your job, temporarily or permanently, due to Covid-19. Not paying your obligations without a court order can subject you to being held in contempt of court. You can even be incarcerated as a result when the courts return. You don’t want to be sitting in a cell when the world is returning to the “Go” position.
To avoid that contempt you can try to work out an arrangement with the recipient of the alimony and/or child support. Contact your ex or the parent of your child receiving that child support and discuss your situation. If you can come to an agreement to reduce your payments until the court hears your modification be sure to get it in writing and have that signed by the other party. While not an ironclad excuse for stopping or modifying payments it is better then unilateral actions. Remember that the recipient of the alimony and/or child support relies on that income from you as well. Being candid can get you what you need.
If the other party refuses to agree to allow you to stop or reduce your payments you will need to work harder to try to avoid that contempt. The court will look to see if there is clear and convincing evidence that there has been a willful violation of a clear and unambiguous Court Order. That decision will be up to a judge when the court is again hearing contempt motions. Be prepared with your evidence to prove you did everything in these times to meet your obligations. Again, having an experienced family law attorney by your side can go a long way.
TIME IS STILL OF THE ESSENCE
We have a long way to go before our world returns to its new normal. Before the courts stabilize they will have a huge backlog of filings to be scheduled for hearings. On a regular basis the courts worked under staffed due to cutbacks over the years. That is why you don’t want to wait to move forward with your legal matters.
As stated before, your motion for modification may be granted retroactively. In the meantime your present court orders are still in effect. Getting a jump on the mass of filings the court has to handle can put you ahead of the curve. Know that the court personnel not setting hearing dates on non-Priority 1 Business Matters for anytime soon. It may e months before the court can set any hearing dates. Those dates will likely be set in chronological order to the dates the motions were filed. Acting now will let you act sooner later.
Just remember, before you start any discussion for a modification of custody, visitation, support, and/or alimony, the person on the other side of your argument for a modification is the same person who will be there when these unprecedented times are over. Unless that other person is truly a danger to your child(ren) you will be having to deal with that person until the reasons for the orders being questioned have run their course. Working together is always the best interests of everyone in the long run. If not, hire an attorney and protect your rights and the rights of your child(ren).
Understanding all the changes the court is going through is difficult enough for those familiar with the court system. Going it alone now is just a mistake. Attorney Jerome Goldstein continues to study the court system to stay on top of the changes and allow him to best serve his clients. Consult with the Law Office of Attorney Goldstein to understand your rights. We are handling consultations by telephone and, as needed, via video conferencing. Payment plans are available and you can pay electronically if you decide to retain the office. Get your peace of mind now.
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To get answers now to your legal problems call Jerome Goldstein, Attorney at Law at 203-929-7773 or request a Consultation. I am here to help you. There are solutions.
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