MODIFY VISITATION (31) Common Pleas Court 1 . Pro Se Cover Letter 2. Instructions for Motion to Modify Visitation 3. Motion to Modify Visitation Rights a. Notice of Hearing b. Instructions for Service 4. Affidavit Containing Child Custody Information 5. Poverty Affidavit 6. Order for Hearing 7. Grievance Form American LegalNet, Inc. www.USCourtForms.com>>>> 2 MOTION TO MODIFY VISITATION RIGHTS (Parents Divorced) INSTRUCTIONS This packet contains three (3) legal forms and samples of each that yo u can use to request a modification in your visitation rights. The forms enclosed are: (1) Mo tion to Modify Visitation and Order, (2) Poverty Affidavit, and (3) Affidavit Containing Child Cus tody Information. These instructions are intended to be a general guide to help you get the form s filled out, filed with the court, served on the opposing party and to get your request properly bef ore the judge. These instructions are not intended to be a legal analysis of your request or whether you should win your motion but merely to assist you in preparing and presenting your request . PLEASE READ ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO COMPLETE THE FORMS. A. FILLING OUT THE FORMS: 1. Except for the blanks under the words Notice of Healing, you shou ld fill out the form before you go to the courthouse to file it. Other than telling you the time and date of the hearing and telling you the proper case number, the Clerk of Courts staff will not help you in completing the forms. 2. At the top, fill in the name of the plaintiff, the defendant, and the case number as written on your divorce or dissolution papers or other court documents giving your visitation rights. If you do not have the case number you can get it from the Clerk of Courts when yo u go to file the motion. 3. In the first paragraph of the motion there is a space for you to list the reason(s) you have for wanting the visitation rights changed. You should be specific. You must write down what has happened since the visitation rights were made that entitles you to have visitation changed. For example, if the visitation rights were originally limited to your ex-spo uses home because the child was very young, and the child is now old enough to go elsewhere and stay , you could say that. If you have moved away since the visitation rights were determined and the orde r originally provided that the child visit every weekend and now you cannot afford to do that and w ant half of the summer and time at Christmas instead of every weekend, you should say that. 4. In the second part of the first paragraph, you need to write down wha t visitation rights you want the judge to grant you. American LegalNet, Inc. www.USCourtForms.com>>>> 3MOTION TO MODIFY VISITATION 5. You must sign the form and print your current address. Do this on the three lines under the words Respectfully submitted. 6. Under the words Instructions for Service print the name of the pe rson who has custody of the child(ren) in the first blank and the street address, city, state and zip code in the second blank. You must have a valid address of the absent parent for the Clerks offic e to mail the motion to. If you do not have a valid address for the absent parent, dont bother fili ng the motion. The judge has no authority to grant your motion unless the other person has been serve d with a copy of the papers and has been given an opportunity to be heard on the motion. 7. Leave the Notice of Hearing blank until you are at the courthouse and ready to file the motion. The Clerks office may give you the date and time of the hearing . If they do, fill in the blank on each copy while at the Clerks office. 8. Fill out the top portion of the Order by putting in the name of t he county, the Plaintiff s name, and the Defendants name. 9. To complete the Affidavit of Inability to Prepay and Affidavit Containing Child Custody Information, you should fill out the top part of the forms exactly lik e you filled out the top part of the motion form. All you have to do on the rest of the forms is answer t he questions to the best of your ability. Once the forms are completed, they need to be signed by yo u, in front of a Notary Public. DO NOT SIGN THE POVERTY AFFIDAVIT UNLESS YOU ARE BEFORE A NOTARY PUBLIC. You may be able to get the Clerk of Court to notarize the form f or you when you file the motion. B. FILING THE MOTION: 1. After the forms are filled out, make three (3) xerox copies of it a nd go to the Clerk of Courts office of the Common Pleas Court at the county courthouse where the last order for visitation was made. This is the only place you can file the motion. 2. There will be a filing fee. If you do not have the money to pay the f iling fee, you can use the poverty affidavit form enclosed in this packet to file your motion. 3. The Clerk of Court staff will tell you the time and date of the heari ng. It will be scheduled approximately one (1) month from the date you file your motion. You sh ould fill in the date and time on all three (4) copies of the motion. That way, the copy that the oth er person receives will have the correct time and date on it and so will your copy. 4. The Clerk of Court staff will take the original and two(2) copies o f the motion. You should ask the Clerk to time-stamp your copy of the motion. This is your proof that you filed it. American LegalNet, Inc. www.USCourtForms.com>>>> 4C. PREPARATION FOR THE HEARING: 1. It helps a lot if you are ready for the hearing. You should be neat a nd clean and must have with you at the time of the hearing any witnesses that you want to verif y why the visitation should be changed. You should also have with you any papers or other documents or evidence (such as work schedules, etc.) that you want the judge/referee to see during you r case. 2. You should have in front of you at the start of the hearing the speci fic part of the courts prior visitation order that you want to have changed. You should tell the judg e/referee in clear and simple terms why you want the change and why it is in the best interest of your child(ren) to have the visitation changed. The hearing is the only opportunity you will have to present your side of the story, so make sure that you include everything in your testimony. It ma y be helpful if you sit down before the hearing and make a written outline of everything that has hap pened that you believe entit