How Do I Change a Family Law Agreement?

The most common family law agreements are:

• cohabitation agreements, used when a couple plan on living together but don't plan on marrying,
• marriage agreements, used when a couple plan to marry, and
• separation agreements, used when married spouses or unmarried spouses have separated.

All of these agreements can be changed once they've been executed, as long as the parties to the agreement agree that the agreement should be changed.

What can be changed

Normally, people only want to change one or two parts of an agreement while keeping the rest of the agreement intact. If you want a brand new agreement altogether, be careful. If the other party won't agree to throw out the old agreement, he or she will be entitled to go to court to enforce the old agreement, whether you're still happy with that agreement or not. This is, after all, why people execute contracts in the first place: they expect them to be permanent and they expect that the courts will hold people to the agreements they have made.

Making the new agreement

Since, in most cases, the original agreement is being kept, changes to that agreement are made in new agreements called "amending agreements", "addendum agreements," or some other language to that effect. The new agreement is a separate contract that says in what ways the original contract is being changed. The new agreement will:

• state, in the recitals, the name and the date of the agreement that is being changed,
• briefly, also in the recitals, explain why the change is necessary, and
• state, for each change, the paragraph affected in the old agreement and how that paragraph is to be changed.

You might handle the first and second points by saying something like this: "this agreement amends the Separation Agreement executed by the parties on 1 April 2010," and "following the execution of the Separation Agreement, the schedule of the parties' parenting time has become unworkable as a result of certain changes in their hours of employment." The individual changes might be handled like this:

4. Paragraph 12 of the Separation Agreement will be cancelled and is replaced with the following:

"Sally will return the children to Harry's care at 7:00pm or at the end of the evening shift, whichever is earlier. Sally will give Harry 24 hours notice in the event she is scheduled to work the evening shift on the days she is to return the children to Harry's care."

5. Paragraph 36 of the Separation Agreement will be replaced with the following:

"Sally will pay child support to Harry in the amount of $425 per month for as long as the children remain children of the marriage as defined by the Divorce Act."

The key points here are that you must specifically identify the parts that are to be changed and how they are being changed, and the new language must be as clear and unambiguous as the language of the original agreement.

Executing the new agreement

The new agreement must be executed in front of witnesses in the same manner as the original agreement was executed. The witnesses to the new agreement do not need to be the same people who witnessed the original agreement.

For more information

You can find much more information about changing a family law order in the chapter Family Law Agreements.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by JP Boyd, March 24, 2013.

Normally referred to as the "Supreme Court of British Columbia," this court hears most of the trials in this province. The Supreme Court is a court of inherent jurisdiction and has no limits on the sorts of claims it can hear or on the sorts of orders it can make. Decisions of the Provincial Court are appealed to the Supreme Court; decisions of the Supreme Court are appealed to the Court of Appeal. See "Court of Appeal," "jurisdiction," "Provincial Court" and "Supreme Court of Canada."

A court established and staffed by the provincial government, which includes Small Claims Court, Youth Court, and Family Court. The Provincial Court is the lowest level of court in British Columbia and is restricted in the sorts of matters it can deal with. It is, however, the most accessible of the two trial courts and no fees are charged to begin or defend a family law proceeding. The Family Court of the Provincial Court cannot deal with the division of family property or any claims under the Divorce Act. See "Divorce Act," "judge" and "jurisdiction."

In law, a person named as an applicant, claimant, respondent, or third party in a court proceeding; someone asserting a claim in a court proceeding or against whom a claim has been brought. See "action" and "litigant."

In contract law, to complete or accomplish; to complete the legal formalities necessary to give a document effect. One "executes" a separation agreement, for example, by signing it in the presence of a witness.

Under the Family Law Act, a term which describes the time a guardian has with a child and during which is responsible for the day-to-day care of the child. Under the Divorce Act, a term which describes the time a spouse has with a child and during which is responsible for the day-to-day care of the child. See "guardian" and "spouse."

Money paid by one parent or guardian to another parent or guardian as a contribution toward the cost of a child's living and other expenses.

A mandatory direction of the court that is binding and enforceable upon the parties to a court proceeding. An "interim order" is a temporary order made following the hearing of an interim application. A "final order" is a permanent order, made following the trial of the court proceeding or the parties' settlement, following which the only recourse open to a dissatisfied party is to appeal. Failing to abide by the terms of an order may constitute contempt of court. See "appeal," "consent order," "contempt of court," "decision" and "declaration."