Modifying Custody & Support Orders in PA

Orders Can Be Modified

A custody or support order reflects the circumstances that existed when it was entered. Life does not stand still. People lose jobs, get promoted, remarry, move, develop health issues, or watch their children's needs evolve. When the facts change enough, the order should change to match.

Pennsylvania law provides clear mechanisms for modifying both custody and support orders. The process and the standard differ depending on whether you seek to modify custody, child support, or spousal support. For support, the statute is explicit: a petition may be filed at any time and shall be granted if the requesting party demonstrates a substantial change in circumstances. 23 Pa.C.S. § 4352(a). For custody, the test is the child's best interest.

Modifying Custody Orders

The Standard: The Child's Best Interest

Under 23 Pa.C.S. § 5338(a), a court may modify a custody order upon petition to serve the best interest of the child. The statute sets no separate changed-circumstances threshold. The court applies the same best-interest factors under 23 Pa.C.S. § 5328 it used originally, but evaluates them against the current circumstances.

In practice, the first thing the judge will want to hear is what has genuinely changed since the last order. A petition that identifies nothing new rarely persuades a judge to disturb a working schedule. Courts will not modify custody because one parent is unhappy with the arrangement or believes they could have gotten a better deal. The change must be real, significant, and relevant to the child's welfare.

The Process

A modification begins by filing a Petition to Modify Custody with the court that entered the original order (filing fee: $130.00 in Bucks County). The parties attend a conciliation conference with a custody conciliator, and if they cannot reach agreement, the matter proceeds to a hearing before a judge.

At the hearing, both parties present evidence: testimony, documents, and sometimes expert witnesses. In an action between the parents, neither side starts with a presumption in its favor. 23 Pa.C.S. § 5327(a). The judge works through the best-interest factors and enters a modified order if the evidence supports one.

Relocation

Relocation is one of the most common triggers for custody modification. Under 23 Pa.C.S. § 5337, a parent who wants to move with the child to a location that would significantly impair the other parent's ability to exercise custody must give notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, generally no later than the 60th day before the proposed move. No relocation may occur unless every individual with custody rights consents or the court approves it. If the other parent files a counter-affidavit objecting within 30 days of receiving the notice, the court holds an expedited full hearing before the move, unless it finds exigent circumstances and approves the relocation pending that hearing. If no objection is filed, consent is presumed, but the relocating parent still has to file with the court before moving: an affidavit of notice, proof that notice was given, a petition to confirm the relocation and modify the existing custody order, and a proposed order. Silence from the other parent is not permission to leave without filing. The burden of proof in a relocation case is on the relocating parent, and the court considers a separate set of relocation-specific factors in addition to the standard best-interest analysis.

Modifying Child Support Orders

When Support Can Be Modified

A child support order can be modified when there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances. Under Pa.R.C.P. 1910.19, the most common grounds include a significant change in either parent's income (up or down), a change in the custody schedule that affects the amount of time each parent has the child, a change in the child's needs (such as new medical expenses or educational costs), or the emancipation of one child in a multi-child order.

Pennsylvania also allows automatic review and adjustment. The Domestic Relations Section will review an order at either party's request and may recommend a modification if the recalculated guideline amount differs from the existing order by a meaningful margin.

The Process

A modification begins by filing a Petition to Modify Support with the Domestic Relations Section. The parties attend a support conference where a conference officer reviews both parties' financial information and calculates support under the Pennsylvania guidelines. If either party disagrees with the recommendation, they can request a hearing before a judge.

Modifying Spousal Support and Alimony

Spousal support (paid after the spouses separate, typically before a divorce action is filed) and alimony pendente lite (APL, paid while a divorce is pending) can be modified through the Domestic Relations Section, the same process as child support. The standard is the same: a material change in circumstances.

Post-divorce alimony can also be modified, but the rule depends on how the alimony was set. Alimony awarded by the court is modifiable by statute. Under 23 Pa.C.S. § 3701(e), an alimony order is subject to further order of the court upon changed circumstances of either party of a substantial and continuing nature, and the order may then be modified, suspended, terminated, or reinstituted, or a new order made. No permissive language in the decree is required. As with support, any further order applies only to payments accruing after the petition is filed, so file promptly when circumstances change.

Alimony set by a marital settlement agreement runs the other way. Under 23 Pa.C.S. § 3105(c), a provision of an agreement regarding alimony is not subject to modification by the court in the absence of a specific provision to the contrary in the agreement. Many agreements make alimony non-modifiable, and others specify the conditions under which it can change. Read the agreement carefully before filing.

Alimony terminates on the death or remarriage of the recipient spouse. It also terminates on the death of the paying spouse unless an agreement or court order provides otherwise. Cohabitation by the recipient spouse may also be grounds for termination or modification, depending on the circumstances.

Common Questions

Legal and factual content on this page was last verified: Aug. 2026. If you are reading this significantly after that date, confirm key provisions with current statute text or contact our office.