Modification & Enforcement Attorneys
Florida court orders are binding, but they're not unchangeable. When circumstances shift or someone stops paying what they owe, our family law attorneys help clients across Volusia, Flagler, and Central Florida pursue modifications or enforce existing orders.
A Florida family court order is binding the day it's entered. Years later, the facts on the ground often look nothing like they did when the order was signed. Jobs change, families relocate, payors retire, payments stop. Our family law attorneys help clients update orders that no longer fit, and enforce orders that the other side is ignoring. With offices in Daytona Beach, Port Orange, and DeLand, we represent clients across Volusia and Flagler County. Call us at (386) 255-1400 to talk through your situation.
Modifying an existing court order
Florida courts can modify most family law orders when a party shows a "substantial change in circumstances" that was not anticipated when the original order was entered. Under Fla. Stat. § 61.14, that includes things like:
- Loss of a job or a significant change in income
- A required relocation for work or family reasons
- Retirement at a reasonable age for the payor's occupation
- A receiving spouse entering a "supportive relationship" under the 2023 alimony reform
- Substantial changes in a child's needs, school, or living arrangement
Modifications are not automatic. The party seeking the change has to file a petition, prove the substantial-change standard, and let the court decide whether the new circumstances justify adjusting child support, alimony, or the parenting plan. The earlier counsel is involved, the better positioned you are to make the record the court will need.
Enforcing an order someone is ignoring
When the other side stops paying child support, falls behind on alimony, or refuses to follow the parenting plan, the order does not enforce itself. Florida law gives families several tools to compel compliance, including:
- Motions for contempt and the threat of jail for willful non-payment
- Wage garnishment and income withholding orders
- Judgment liens against real estate and other property
- Suspension of driver's licenses and professional licenses for support arrears
- Make-up time-sharing when the other parent has withheld parenting time
Choosing the right remedy depends on what the other side has done, what you actually need (compliance, money, a corrected schedule), and how willing the other party is to come back into compliance once the petition lands.
Child support changes
Recalculating support after an income, custody, or expense change.
Alimony changes
Modification or termination after retirement, job loss, or a supportive relationship.
Parenting plan changes
Updating time-sharing or decision-making as the children grow.
Order enforcement
Contempt, garnishment, and other remedies when the other side won't comply.
The bar for modification keeps moving
The 2023 reforms changed several long-standing assumptions about when Florida courts will modify support orders, and courts across the state are still working out how the new statutes apply in practice. Decisions on supportive relationships, reasonable retirement, and parenting plan modifications under the equal time-sharing presumption continue to develop. A family law attorney who tracks how Volusia and Flagler judges are applying the new framework can help you build a petition on the rules as they are actually being applied today.
Court orders should reflect today, not yesterday.
Whether you're seeking a modification or enforcement, we represent parents and ex-spouses across Volusia, Flagler, and Central Florida.
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