Family law
Florida post-judgment modification attorney
What can be changed after the judgment, and what is already final
A Florida family judgment is not permanent, but it is not easily moved either, and the threshold differs by what you are trying to change. Child support runs through the guidelines: under Fla. Stat. § 61.30 the difference between the existing obligation and the guideline figure must be at least 15 percent or $50, whichever is greater, before the guidelines establish a substantial change. A parenting plan and time-sharing schedule require a substantial and material change of circumstances under § 61.13. Alimony amount can be modified on a substantial change under § 61.14 — but the length of a durational award may not be modified except under exceptional circumstances. And equitable distribution is generally final once entered.
01 Quick answers
- Can my judgment be changed?
- Parts of it. Support, alimony amount and time-sharing can be modified on the right showing. Equitable distribution generally cannot.
- What is the standard for changing support?
- The guideline figure must differ from the existing monthly obligation by at least 15 percent or $50, whichever is greater, before the guidelines provide a substantial change.
- What about the parenting plan?
- A substantial and material change of circumstances. Wanting a different schedule is not that, and neither is a child simply getting older.
- Can alimony be changed?
- The amount of durational alimony can, on a substantial change under § 61.14. The length cannot, except under exceptional circumstances.
- Can we just agree to change it?
- You can agree, but a child support figure is still reviewed against the guidelines, and an agreement that is not entered as an order is not enforceable as one.
- Is a modification retroactive?
- It can be. One provision is unusually sharp: where a parent stopped regularly exercising time-sharing that had reduced their support, modification is retroactive to when they first stopped.
02 Different thresholds
Each part of a judgment has its own standard
People ask whether a judgment can be changed as though it were one question. It is four.
Child support runs through § 61.30. The guidelines may provide the basis for proving a substantial change — but only where the difference between the existing monthly obligation and the guideline amount is at least 15 percent or $50, whichever is greater.
Time-sharing runs through § 61.13, which requires a substantial and material change of circumstances. The court then evaluates the best-interest factors again, with written findings.
Alimony runs through § 61.14. The amount of durational alimony may be modified or terminated on a substantial change. The length may not be modified except under exceptional circumstances.
Equitable distribution is the outlier: once property has been divided and the judgment entered, it is generally final. That asymmetry is the strongest argument for getting distribution right the first time, because it is the part with no second chance.
Support, schedule and alimony amount can move. The property division generally cannot.
03 What counts
What a substantial change actually looks like
The standard filters out most of what people bring to it, and that is deliberate.
A genuine change in income — involuntary job loss, a real and lasting change in earnings — is the usual ground for support. A voluntary reduction, or underemployment, is treated very differently and may produce imputed income instead.
A relocation, a change in a child’s needs, a change in a work schedule that makes the existing plan unworkable — these are the ordinary grounds on the time-sharing side.
What does not qualify: preferring a different arrangement, the ordinary passage of time, a child aging into a new stage that everyone could foresee, or dissatisfaction with a judgment that was agreed to.
And one that catches people out. Where a parent obtained a support adjustment for exercising at least 20 percent of the overnights and then does not regularly exercise that time, not caused by the other parent, the statute deems it a substantial change of circumstances — and the modification is retroactive to the date they first failed to exercise the schedule, rather than to the date anyone filed.
04 Doing it properly
Why an informal arrangement is not a modification
This is the most common and most expensive mistake in post-judgment family law.
Two parents agreeing between themselves to change support does not change the order. The obligation in the judgment continues to accrue. Years later, an arrears calculation can run against a parent who paid a different agreed amount in good faith the entire time, because what was agreed was never entered.
The same applies to a schedule. An informal arrangement both parents followed for years is not the order, and the order is what gets enforced on the day one of them decides to rely on it.
An agreement is not a bad thing — it is the cheapest route. It simply has to be reduced to writing and entered as an order to be worth anything.
And a child support figure is reviewed against the guidelines even when it is agreed, so an agreed number that departs from them needs a reason the court will accept.
05 The statutes
- Fla. Stat. § 61.14 Modification of support and alimony The general modification provision, and the limit on changing a durational term.
- Fla. Stat. § 61.30 Child support guidelines The 15 percent or $50 threshold, and the retroactive time-sharing provision.
- Fla. Stat. § 61.13 Time-sharing Substantial and material change, with written findings on the best-interest factors.
Post-judgment modifications questions, answered
What can actually be modified after a judgment?
Child support, the amount of alimony, and the parenting plan and time-sharing schedule — each on its own standard.
Equitable distribution generally cannot. Once property and debt have been divided and the judgment entered, that part is final.
That asymmetry is worth knowing before a case concludes, because the distribution is the piece with no second chance.
How much does income have to change to modify support?
Enough to move the guideline figure by at least 15 percent or $50, whichever is greater, compared with the existing monthly obligation.
Below that, the guidelines do not establish a substantial change, which is why a modification is worth calculating before it is filed rather than after.
A separate and lower threshold applies to orders reviewed by the department — a difference of at least 10 percent but not less than $25.
What is a substantial and material change for time-sharing?
A real change in circumstances — a relocation, a lasting change in a work schedule that makes the plan unworkable, a change in the child’s needs.
What does not qualify is preferring a different arrangement, the ordinary passage of time, or a child reaching a stage everyone could foresee.
Where the threshold is met, the court evaluates the best-interest factors again and makes written findings, exactly as when the plan was first created.
Can alimony be reduced or ended?
The amount of durational alimony can be modified or terminated on a substantial change in circumstances under § 61.14.
The length is treated differently: it may not be modified except under exceptional circumstances.
Durational alimony also terminates on the death of either party or on the remarriage of the person receiving it, without anyone needing to file.
We agreed to change things ourselves. Is that enough?
No, and this is the most expensive mistake people make after a judgment.
An informal agreement to pay a different amount does not change the order. The obligation in the judgment keeps accruing, and an arrears calculation years later can run against a parent who paid an agreed figure in good faith the whole time.
The same is true of a schedule both parents followed informally for years. The order is what gets enforced the day one of them relies on it.
Agreeing is still the cheapest route — it just has to be written down and entered as an order.
Can a modification reach backward?
It can, and one provision is unusually sharp.
Where a parent obtained a support adjustment for exercising at least 20 percent of the overnights, and then does not regularly exercise that time through no fault of the other parent, the statute deems it a substantial change of circumstances.
A modification on that basis is retroactive to the date the parent first failed to regularly exercise the schedule — not to the date of filing.
How are fees handled in a family case?
Consultations and attorney’s fees are billed hourly. Court costs and case expenses are billed separately, and payment plans are available.
There is no contingency fee in family work and no free consultation — those are injury terms and they do not apply here.
Consultations and attorney’s fees are billed hourly. Court costs and case expenses are billed separately. Payment plans are available.
06 Keep reading
Talk to Jose A. Dapena about your post-judgment modifications matter
You speak with the attorney who would handle the case, not an intake department. Practicing in Florida since 1998, Florida Bar number 152358.
Consultations and attorney’s fees are billed hourly. Court costs and case expenses are billed separately. Payment plans are available.