Modifications / OSC's

While a case is going on a Court can make a wide variety of orders. These usually involve custody, visitation, support, attorney’s fees, and the use and possession of property. Many of these orders continue after the case is finalized and are included in a judgment.

These orders frequently need to be modified because circumstances change. The children don’t like the visitation arrangement, or one parent loses their job, or one parent has to move. Indeed, the vast majority of the court’s time is taken up by these requests.

The usual method to address these issues is by Order To Show Cause, or "OSC". This is a request that the other party come to court and "show cause" why the Judge shouldn’t order what you want, or change an order which has already been made.

Because an OSC can address so many different things, there is a huge amount of case and statutory law addressing how they must be handled. An experienced attorney is critical to success. For example, some OSCs must be personally handed to the other party, some can be served by mail. Some OSCs require additional documents like an Income & Expense Declaration. Some require specific exhibits like a deed, a title document or a copy of an old court order. Quite often these documents are mandatory, and if the request is incomplete, your request is doomed before you get there.

Another reason an experienced attorney is critical is that an OSC is not a trial. You address the court directly. For obvious reasons, an attorney who is known to the judge, who has followed the correct procedures, and who is making a request which is well reasoned and supported by precedent, is far more likely to be successful than a person who is not.

We have been appearing in the family law courts for more than 25 years during which time we have handled more than 5,000 OSCs. Call for a free consultation, and you will come away assured that we know what to ask for, when to ask for it, how to ask for it, and what your chances of getting it are. If we can’t get it, no one can.

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