Other modifiable orders: Other types of orders set forth in your divorce judgment may be modifiable. It depends on the nature of the order. Was the order intended to permanently resolve particular issues regardless of any future changes in circumstances? If so, it is probably not a modifiable order. However, if the nature of the order is such that you and your spouse intended the order to be subject to change if there was a material change in circumstances, then the order may be modifiable. You have to consider the nature of the order you want to modify. For example, assume the divorce judgment awards your ex-spouse use and possession of the family home until the youngest child graduates from high school in five years, at which time the home is to be sold and the proceeds equally divided. This is an order that divides property and would normally not be modifiable. However, let’s assume that two years after the divorce, your ex-spouse is not making the mortgage payments and a foreclosure proceeding has been initiated by the bank. You could file a motion to modify the terms of the divorce judgment and request that the court issue a new order for an immediate sale of the home.
