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After the Family Court Changes an Order, is the Original Order Still Enforceable?

Family Law is all about changing family dynamics. Families do not stop changing just because a court makes a Final Order. Parenting arrangements and child support are particularly prone to changes because children’s lives change as they get older and child support is centred around parents’ incomes, which usually change every year. Consequently, there is a special, simpler, court process to change most Family Court Orders and an online child support recalculation service that is available to many parents to adjust Child Support Orders. Click here to go to a page that describes when you can change parenting and child support orders and the procedures available to make those changes. If you have to go to court to get the change, listen to this podcast for a detailed explanation of how to do that.

The whole simplified procedure around changing an order is based on the premise that almost all of the issues related to the separation have been addressed in the original final court order. The court process is shorter precisely because the Family Court Judge is not trying to decide every issue again, but is only making adjustments here and there to reflect how the family has changed since the original order. Since decisions and settlements on issues such as property division are not affected by ongoing changes to the family, those orders are very difficult to change.

When a judge changes a Family Court Final Order, he or she only changes the parts that MUST be changed because of a change in the family’s circumstances. If nothing has happened to make it necessary to change parts of a Family Court Final Order, then the Judge will leave things the way they were. In fact, the new Order will specify precisely which paragraphs of the original Order the new Order is changing. The rest of the Final Order remains in effect and the parties can enforce those remaining terms. One change that a judge can make is to “terminate” a term of an Order, such as a requirement that one party pay support to the other. If a Court “terminates” a term of a previous Order, then those terms are “dead” and the parties cannot enforce them.

Until a judge has specifically changed or terminated a term of a Final Order, that term remains in full force and effect.

Things are a little different for Temporary Orders. The purpose of a Temporary Order is to address issues between the separated spouses or parents until their matter gets to trial or is settled on a final basis. Once the case is finished, those Temporary Orders are no longer needed. So, Final Orders have the effect of terminating all Temporary Orders. Once a Final Order is in effect, all the Temporary Orders are finished and are no longer enforceable – unless the Final Order says that specific terms of a Temporary Order continue to be in effect.

John Schuman Guide to the Basics of Ontario Family Law book cover

You can get a lot more information about Ontario Family Law issues, including a comprehensive explanation of parenting cases (parenting time and decision making), child support, spousal support, property division, and most other common family law issues by downloading this $9.99 Kindle eBook, Kobo eBook, or iBook for your iPad or iPhone or ordering it from Amazon as a paperback. But to understand how the law works precisely in your situation, it is always best to speak to a good Family Law Lawyer.

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