Virginia Custody Modification Agreement

VIRGINIA CUSTODY MODIFICATION AGREEMENT

Stipulation to Modify Existing Custody and/or Visitation Order

Pursuant to Va. Code §§ 20-108 and 20-124.5

VIRGINIA MODIFICATION STANDARD

Under Virginia law, a custody or visitation order may be modified when two conditions are met:

Prong 1 -- Material Change in Circumstances: The party seeking modification must demonstrate that a material change in circumstances has occurred since the entry of the existing order. See Keel v. Keel, 225 Va. 606 (1983); Va. Code § 20-108.

Prong 2 -- Best Interests of the Child: Even if a material change is established, the court must still determine that the proposed modification serves the best interests of the child under the factors enumerated in Va. Code § 20-124.3.

Important Virginia Distinctions:

• Under Va. Code § 20-108, the court "may at any time afterwards, on petition of either of the parents ... revise and alter such decree concerning the care, custody, and maintenance of the children and make a new decree concerning the same."
• Under Va. Code § 20-124.6, the intentional withholding of visitation without just cause may itself constitute a material change in circumstances justifying a change of custody.
• When modifying a consent order that has been incorporated by the court under Va. Code § 20-109.1, the court applies the same two-prong Keel v. Keel standard; the consent nature of the original order does not create a higher bar. See Visikides v. Derr, 3 Va. App. 69 (1986).

Virginia Court Structure:

• Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (J&DR Court): Original jurisdiction over modification petitions filed independently of divorce (Va. Code § 16.1-241).
• Circuit Court: Jurisdiction over modifications filed in connection with an existing divorce action. Appeals from J&DR Court go to Circuit Court for a de novo hearing.

1. COURT AND CASE INFORMATION

Commonwealth of Virginia

☐ Circuit Court for [________________________________] (County/City)
☐ Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court for [________________________________] (County/City)

Current Case Number: [________________________________]

Original Case Number (if different): [________________________________]

1.1 Parties

Parent A / Petitioner:
Full Legal Name: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

Parent B / Respondent:
Full Legal Name: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

1.2 Minor Child(ren)

(Each individually a "Child" and collectively the "Children.")

1.3 Existing Order Being Modified

This Modification Agreement ("Modification") amends the following existing order(s):

Original Custody/Visitation Order:

• Court: [________________________________]
• Date Entered: [__/__/____]
• Case Number: [________________________________]
• Type of Order:
  ☐ Consent Order (Va. Code § 20-109.1)
  ☐ Contested Order after hearing
  ☐ Pendente Lite Order (Va. Code § 20-103)
  ☐ Order from J&DR Court
  ☐ Divorce Decree incorporating custody provisions
  ☐ Other: [________________________________]

Current Custody Arrangement Under Existing Order:

• Legal Custody: ☐ Joint Legal ☐ Sole Legal to [________________________________]
• Physical Custody: ☐ Joint Physical ☐ Sole Physical to [________________________________]
• Current Visitation Schedule: [________________________________]

1.4 Effective Date

This Modification shall become effective as of [__/__/____], or upon the date of the Court's order incorporating this Modification, whichever is later.

2. MATERIAL CHANGE IN CIRCUMSTANCES

2.1 Description of Changed Circumstances

The Parents stipulate that the following material change(s) in circumstances have occurred since the entry of the existing order, warranting modification:

☐ Parent's Relocation: [________________________________] (Parent) has relocated or intends to relocate to [________________________________], which substantially affects the current custody/visitation arrangement.

☐ Change in Parent's Employment or Work Schedule: [________________________________] (Parent) has experienced a change in employment or work schedule as follows: [________________________________]

☐ Child's Changing Needs: The Child(ren)'s needs have changed due to: [________________________________] (e.g., school transition, medical condition, developmental needs, behavioral issues, extracurricular commitments)

☐ Child's Preference: [________________________________] (Child), now age [____], has expressed a reasonable preference regarding custody/visitation. Under Va. Code § 20-124.3(8), the court considers the reasonable preference of a child of sufficient intelligence, understanding, age, and experience.

☐ Safety Concerns: The following safety concerns have arisen: [________________________________] (e.g., substance abuse, domestic violence, neglect, criminal conduct, mental health crisis)

☐ Denial of Visitation: [________________________________] (Parent) has intentionally withheld visitation without just cause, which under Va. Code § 20-124.6 may constitute a material change.

☐ Parent's Remarriage or Change in Household: [________________________________]

☐ Change in Parent's Health: [________________________________]

☐ Military Deployment or Service: [________________________________] (Parent) has been deployed or received military orders. See Va. Code § 20-124.8 (expedited hearing for deploying parent).

☐ Improvement in Previously Restricted Parent's Circumstances: [________________________________] (Parent) has demonstrated improvement by: [________________________________]

☐ Other: [________________________________]

2.2 How Modification Serves the Children's Best Interests

The Parents agree that the proposed modification serves the Children's best interests under Va. Code § 20-124.3, considering:

(1) Age and condition of child: [________________________________]
(2) Age and condition of each parent: [________________________________]
(3) Relationship between each parent and child: [________________________________]
(4) Needs of the child: [________________________________]
(5) Role each parent plays in upbringing: [________________________________]
(6) Each parent's support of contact with other parent: [________________________________]
(7) Child's reasonable preference (if applicable): [________________________________]
(8) History of family abuse (if applicable): [________________________________]
(9) Other relevant factors: [________________________________]

3. PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS

3.1 Modification of Legal Custody

☐ No Change -- Legal custody remains as set forth in the existing order.

☐ Modified as Follows:

• Current Arrangement: ☐ Joint Legal ☐ Sole Legal to [________________________________]
• Modified Arrangement: ☐ Joint Legal ☐ Sole Legal to [________________________________]
• Reason for Change: [________________________________]

☐ Modified Decision-Making Allocation:
If joint legal custody continues, the following decision-making responsibilities are modified:

• Education: [________________________________]
• Medical: [________________________________]
• Mental Health: [________________________________]
• Religious: [________________________________]
• Extracurricular: [________________________________]
• Other: [________________________________]

3.2 Modification of Physical Custody

☐ No Change -- Physical custody remains as set forth in the existing order.

☐ Modified as Follows:

• Current Arrangement: ☐ Joint Physical ☐ Sole Physical to [________________________________]
• Modified Arrangement: ☐ Joint Physical ☐ Sole Physical to [________________________________]
• Reason for Change: [________________________________]

3.3 Modification of Parenting Time / Visitation Schedule

☐ No Change -- The visitation schedule remains as set forth in the existing order.

☐ Modified Regular Schedule:

New Schedule:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

Exchange Location (if changed): [________________________________]
Transportation (if changed): [________________________________]

3.4 Modification of Holiday Schedule

☐ No Change

☐ Modified as Follows:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

3.5 Modification of Summer / Vacation Schedule

☐ No Change

☐ Modified as Follows:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

3.6 Modification of Primary Residence

☐ No Change

☐ Modified:

• Previous Primary Residence: [________________________________]
• New Primary Residence: [________________________________]
• New School Enrollment: [________________________________]
• Effective Date of Change: [__/__/____]

3.7 Modification of Supervision Requirements

☐ Not Applicable

☐ Supervision Added: Based on [________________________________], the following Parent's visitation shall now be supervised:

• Supervision type: ☐ Professional facility ☐ Approved third party ☐ Therapeutic
• Supervisor/Facility: [________________________________]
• Conditions: [________________________________]

☐ Supervision Modified: Supervision requirements are changed as follows: [________________________________]

☐ Supervision Removed: Based on [________________________________] (Parent's) completion of [________________________________] and demonstrated [________________________________], supervised visitation is no longer required. [________________________________] (Parent) shall have unsupervised visitation as follows: [________________________________]

3.8 Modification of Relocation Restrictions

☐ No Change

☐ Modified: Geographic restrictions are changed to: [________________________________]
Reason: [________________________________]

3.9 Modification of Communication / Virtual Visitation

☐ No Change

☐ Modified: [________________________________]

3.10 Modification of Right of First Refusal

☐ No Change
☐ Added -- Threshold of [____] consecutive hours
☐ Removed
☐ Modified -- Threshold changed to [____] consecutive hours

3.11 Other Modifications

☐ Change in decision-making procedures: [________________________________]
☐ Change in dispute resolution process: [________________________________]
☐ Change in exchange locations or procedures: [________________________________]
☐ Change in transportation responsibilities: [________________________________]
☐ Updated contact information requirements: [________________________________]
☐ Other: [________________________________]

4. PROVISIONS REMAINING UNCHANGED

Except as expressly modified in Section 3, all other provisions of the existing order(s) identified in Section 1.3 remain in full force and effect, including but not limited to:

☐ Child support provisions (or as separately modified)
☐ Non-disparagement provisions
☐ Substance use restrictions
☐ Firearms safety provisions
☐ Information sharing and record access
☐ Communication protocols
☐ Other: [________________________________]

5. GUARDIAN AD LITEM

☐ A Guardian Ad Litem ☐ was / ☐ was not appointed in the underlying matter.
☐ The Parents request / do not request appointment of a Guardian Ad Litem for purposes of this modification pursuant to Va. Code § 16.1-266.
☐ The existing GAL, [________________________________], has been consulted regarding this Modification and ☐ concurs / ☐ does not concur with its terms.

6. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CONSIDERATIONS

☐ No Change in Circumstances -- There have been no new incidents of family abuse since the existing order.

☐ New Circumstances:
☐ A protective order has been entered since the existing order. Case No.: [________________________________]
☐ New allegations of family abuse have arisen: [________________________________]
☐ A previously existing protective order has expired and has not been renewed.
☐ The basis for this modification relates to domestic violence concerns. Additional safety provisions are included in Section 3.

7. CHILD SUPPORT IMPACT

☐ This Modification does not affect child support.
☐ The modification of custody/visitation may require recalculation of child support under Va. Code § 20-108.2. A separate petition or stipulation for child support modification ☐ is being filed concurrently / ☐ will be filed separately.

Virginia Note: Under Va. Code § 20-108.2(G), a change from sole custody to shared custody (or vice versa) may substantially affect the child support calculation because Virginia uses different formulas for sole custody vs. shared custody (more than 90 days per year with each parent).

8. DISPUTE RESOLUTION

8.1 Direct Communication

Parents shall first attempt to resolve disputes regarding this Modification through direct communication.

8.2 Mediation

If direct communication fails, Parents shall participate in mediation with a Virginia Supreme Court certified mediator before seeking court intervention.

8.3 Court Proceedings

The ☐ Circuit Court / ☐ J&DR District Court for [________________________________] (County/City) retains jurisdiction. This Modification is governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

8.4 Attorney's Fees

☐ Each Parent bears own fees ☐ Prevailing party entitled to fees ☐ As Court may award

9. REPRESENTATIONS

9.1 Material Change

The Parents represent that the circumstances described in Section 2 constitute a material change sufficient to warrant modification under the Keel v. Keel standard and Va. Code § 20-108.

9.2 Best Interests

Each Parent represents that this Modification serves the Children's best interests under Va. Code § 20-124.3 and is not motivated by improper purposes.

9.3 Voluntary Agreement

Each Parent enters this Modification voluntarily, without coercion, duress, or undue influence.

9.4 Full Disclosure

Each Parent has disclosed all material information relevant to this Modification, including current living situations, employment, relationships, and any circumstances affecting the Children's welfare.

9.5 No Pending Adverse Proceedings

Except as disclosed herein, neither Parent has pending criminal charges, CPS investigations, or other proceedings affecting custodial fitness.

10. GENERAL PROVISIONS

10.1 Incorporation into Court Order

This Modification shall be submitted to the Court for approval and incorporation pursuant to Va. Code § 20-109.1. Upon incorporation, the modified provisions shall be enforceable as a court order.

10.2 Integration with Existing Order

This Modification, together with the unmodified provisions of the existing order(s), constitutes the complete custody and visitation arrangement.

10.3 Further Modification

Future modifications shall require a showing of material change in circumstances under the Keel v. Keel standard and Va. Code § 20-124.3.

10.4 Severability

If any provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force.

10.5 Counterparts

This Modification may be executed in counterparts and by electronic signature pursuant to Va. Code § 59.1-479 et seq.

10.6 Notice

All notices shall be sent to the addresses in Section 1.1 or as updated in writing.

11. EXECUTION

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parents have executed this Custody Modification Agreement and request that the Court approve and incorporate it pursuant to Va. Code § 20-109.1.

PARENT A:

Signature: _________________________________
Print Name: [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]

PARENT B:

Signature: _________________________________
Print Name: [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]

ATTORNEY FOR PARENT A (if applicable):

Signature: _________________________________
Print Name: [________________________________]
Virginia State Bar No.: [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]

ATTORNEY FOR PARENT B (if applicable):

Signature: _________________________________
Print Name: [________________________________]
Virginia State Bar No.: [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]

12. ORDER OF THE COURT

The Court, having reviewed the foregoing Stipulation to Modify Custody and/or Visitation and finding that:

(a) A material change in circumstances has occurred since the entry of the existing order dated [__/__/____]; and
(b) The proposed modification serves the best interests of the minor child(ren) under Va. Code § 20-124.3;

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Modification is approved and incorporated as an order of this Court pursuant to Va. Code § 20-109.1. The custody and/or visitation arrangement is modified as set forth above, effective [__/__/____].

All provisions of the prior order not expressly modified herein remain in full force and effect.

The Court has considered the best-interest factors of Va. Code § 20-124.3:
☐ (1) Age and physical/mental condition of the child
☐ (2) Age and physical/mental condition of each parent
☐ (3) Relationship between each parent and each child
☐ (4) Needs of the child, including important relationships
☐ (5) Role each parent has played and will play
☐ (6) Propensity of each parent to support contact with the other parent
☐ (7) Reasonable preference of the child
☐ (8) History of family abuse, sexual abuse, or child abuse
☐ (9) Such other factors as the court deems necessary

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________
Judge
☐ Circuit Court / ☐ Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
[________________________________] (County/City), Virginia

Sources and References

Virginia Code -- Modification of Custody Orders

• Va. Code § 20-108 -- Revision and Alteration of Decrees: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title20/chapter6/section20-108/
• Va. Code § 20-124.5 -- Modification of Existing Orders: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title20/chapter6.1/section20-124.5/
• Va. Code § 20-124.3 -- Best Interests of the Child: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title20/chapter6.1/section20-124.3/
• Va. Code § 20-124.6 -- Enforcement; Withholding of Visitation: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title20/chapter6.1/section20-124.6/

Key Case Law -- Modification Standard

• Keel v. Keel, 225 Va. 606, 303 S.E.2d 917 (1983) -- Two-prong test: material change in circumstances + best interests: https://law.justia.com/cases/virginia/supreme-court/1983/802029-1.html
• Visikides v. Derr, 3 Va. App. 69, 348 S.E.2d 40 (1986) -- Consent orders subject to same modification standard
• Cloutier v. Queen, 35 Va. App. 413, 545 S.E.2d 574 (2001) -- Relocation analysis; move must independently benefit the children

Military Deployment

• Va. Code § 20-124.8 -- Expedited hearing for deploying parent

Virginia Court Self-Help

• Virginia Judicial System -- Custody, Visitation & Support: https://selfhelp.vacourts.gov/page/13/custody-visitation-support
• Modifying Custody Orders in Virginia: https://www.livesaymyers.com/modify-custody-visitation-order-virginia/

Prepared for attorney review. This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed Virginia attorney before use.