Living under a custody or support order that no longer fits your family can make every week feel like you are stuck waiting for the court to catch up. Maybe your hours were cut, you lost a job, your child’s schedule changed, or the other parent is not following the parenting plan. You feel the impact in your bank account and in your day to day routines, but the piece of paper from the court stays the same.
Parents in the St. Louis area often tell us the same thing: they know they need a change, but they have no idea how long a modification will actually take. Some expect the court to update everything in a few weeks if both parents agree. Others assume a contested custody change will drag on for years. The reality usually falls somewhere in the middle, and it depends on the type of modification, the court, and how the case is handled.
At The Kallen Law Firm, LLC, we handle modifications in St. Louis County, West St. Louis County, St. Charles, and the surrounding courts on a regular basis. We intentionally keep our caseload low so we can pay close attention to timelines, deadlines, and local court scheduling. In this guide, we share the same practical, St. Louis focused timeline overview we walk through with parents during free consultations, so you can see what the process usually looks like and where you can influence how long it takes.
Why Modification Timelines Vary So Much In St. Louis
Many parents search for a simple answer to how long a modification takes in St. Louis, but there is no single timeline that fits every case. Missouri law does not allow a change just because some time has passed or because one parent is unhappy with the old order. The court looks for a substantial and continuing change in circumstances, and that legal standard affects how complicated your case will be and how long it tends to last.
Support modifications and custody modifications often move at different speeds. Changing child support usually centers on income, childcare costs, and other financial factors. If income changes are clear and both sides provide documentation, support modifications can often be resolved more quickly. Custody or parenting time modifications involve questions about a child’s best interests, school schedules, distance between homes, and sometimes concerns about safety or parenting practices, which usually take longer to sort out.
Local court conditions matter as well. A motion to modify filed in St. Louis County will typically be handled on that court’s family docket, which may be more or less congested than a similar docket in St. Charles County or another nearby court. Judges’ calendars, the availability of courtroom time, and the number of contested cases already set for hearing all influence how soon you can get in front of a judge. Because we regularly appear in these specific courts, we see how similar cases tend to move, and we use that knowledge to give clients realistic ranges at the very beginning.
Phase 1: Deciding To File And Getting Ready (Days To A Few Weeks)
The timeline for modifying a support or custody order in St. Louis really starts before anything is filed with the court. Once you realize the current order is not working, the first phase involves talking with an attorney, gathering information, and deciding whether your situation meets the legal standard for modification. This preparation can be done in a matter of days in some cases, or it may take a few weeks if you need time to collect documents or think through your goals.
During an initial consultation, we typically review your existing judgment or parenting plan, ask about what has changed, and discuss whether those changes are likely to qualify as substantial and continuing. Common examples include a significant income drop or increase, a change from full time to part time work, a child starting school or changing schools, or persistent problems following the parenting schedule. This conversation helps you decide whether to move forward now or continue monitoring your situation.
Once you decide to pursue a modification, preparation becomes very practical. For support, that means gathering recent pay stubs, tax returns, information about health insurance and childcare costs, and sometimes proof of job loss or a job search. For custody or parenting time, it may include school records, calendars showing parenting time, screenshots of communication, and notes about specific issues. Because we keep our caseload limited, we can usually move from receiving these materials to drafting a motion to modify within a relatively short period. Parents who come in with organized documents often find that this first phase takes days instead of weeks, and that early effort can make later stages go more smoothly.
Phase 2: Filing Your Motion To Modify And Serving The Other Party
Once the motion to modify is drafted and reviewed, it must be filed with the correct court, usually the court that issued your original order. In the St. Louis area, that is often the family court division of St. Louis County or St. Charles County, but it may also be another nearby county depending on where your case started. Filing itself is usually quick, but it officially starts your case and sets the stage for the next timing factor: service of process.
Service of process is the formal way the other parent is notified of your request for modification. The court generally will not move forward until the other party has been served. In many cases, the sheriff or a special process server is able to personally serve the other parent at home or work within a couple of weeks. If the other parent is cooperative and already expects the paperwork, this step can be faster.
Delays often occur when service is not straightforward. If the other parent has moved, works irregular hours, or is difficult to locate, tracking them down can add weeks or more to the front end of your timeline. Sometimes alternative methods, such as service by publication, may be required, which also take extra time to set up. Because we keep our caseload manageable, we are able to monitor the status of service closely, follow up with process servers, and explore alternatives where appropriate so this stage does not drag on longer than necessary.
Phase 3: Waiting, Temporary Orders, And Early Negotiation
After the other parent is served, there is a built in waiting period while the court allows them time to respond to your motion to modify. Under Missouri procedure, the responding party generally has a set number of days to file an answer. During this time, parents often feel like nothing is happening, but this period is important for both sides to review the motion, talk with counsel, and begin forming their position.
In some situations, waiting for a final hearing is not realistic because the current order is causing immediate problems. That is where temporary orders may come into play. For example, if a parent has lost a job and cannot meet the current support amount, or if a parenting schedule is unworkable due to a new work shift, we may ask the court for a temporary support adjustment or a temporary change in parenting time. In St. Louis area courts, getting a date on the calendar for a temporary hearing can take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months, depending on the court’s schedule and the urgency of the situation.
At the same time, judges in St. Louis County, St. Charles County, and nearby courts often encourage early settlement. That might involve informal negotiations between counsel or more structured mediation. When both parents are open to compromise and prepared with their documentation, an agreed modification can sometimes be drafted, signed, and submitted to the court without the need for a full hearing. In those cases, the overall timeline is usually far shorter than in contested matters. Drawing from our own experiences as an understanding single parent and a professional career woman, we work with clients during this phase to balance the need for a timely change with the realities of work schedules, parenting duties, and children’s routines, so any temporary or early resolution fits real life.
Phase 4: Discovery, Evaluations, And Setting A Hearing Date
When the other parent disputes your requested changes, or files their own motion to modify in response, the case usually moves into a more formal stage: discovery and preparation for a contested hearing. Discovery is the process where both sides exchange information and documents. In a support modification, this may involve detailed financial records, such as bank statements, pay histories, tax returns, and documentation of expenses. In a custody modification, discovery can extend to school records, medical records, communication logs, and information about each parent’s schedule and living situation.
Discovery sometimes includes written questions, called interrogatories, and requests for production of documents. In more complex cases, it can also involve depositions, where parties or witnesses answer questions under oath before a court reporter. Each of these steps has deadlines, and delays in responding or incomplete responses often lead to continuances, which lengthen the overall timeline. Because we intentionally limit the number of active cases we handle, we have more room to keep up with discovery deadlines, review documents promptly, and follow up when the other side is slow to respond.
Custody focused modifications in the St. Louis area may also involve a guardian ad litem, who is appointed to represent the child’s best interests, or other evaluations such as parenting assessments or home studies. These professionals have their own caseloads and schedules, and coordinating interviews, home visits, and reports takes time. In practice, once discovery and any evaluations are underway, it often takes several months for St. Louis County, St. Charles County, or nearby courts to find a full day or half day on the calendar for a contested modification hearing. This is one of the biggest surprises for parents, because the work in this phase often feels slow and paperwork heavy, but it is a major driver of the overall modification timeline.
Phase 5: The Hearing Or Settlement And Waiting For A Ruling
Eventually, the court will set a date for a contested hearing, or the case will resolve through a negotiated settlement before that date arrives. A modification hearing is essentially a focused trial on the limited issues you are asking the court to change. For a support modification, the hearing might take a few hours, with each side presenting testimony and financial records about income, expenses, and changes since the last order. For a contested custody or parenting time modification, hearings can take a half day or full day, particularly if there are multiple witnesses or expert evaluations.
Many modification cases settle shortly before the hearing. As both sides see the evidence and understand the risks of leaving decisions to a judge, it often becomes easier to find middle ground. When parents reach an agreement, their attorneys can prepare a stipulation to modify, which is a written agreement that sets out the new terms. The judge then reviews and signs it, usually without a full evidentiary hearing. This can significantly shorten the amount of time you spend in court, even if the overall timeline from filing to resolution still spans several months.
After a hearing, the judge may announce a decision from the bench, or may take the matter under advisement and issue a written order later. In our local courts, it is common for judges to take some time to review evidence and draft a judgment, especially in more complex custody disputes. That period might range from a few weeks to a couple of months. The new order becomes effective when it is entered by the court, and that is when new support amounts or parenting schedules usually begin. We prepare our clients for this final stretch so that this last waiting period does not come as a surprise and they understand what is happening behind the scenes.
How Long Modifications Usually Take In St. Louis And What You Can Control
When you put all of these phases together, a typical modification in the St. Louis area spans months, not weeks. An uncontested child support modification, where both parents provide clear income documentation and quickly agree on new numbers, may resolve within a few months from the time of filing, sometimes faster if everyone is organized and the court’s docket allows. A contested custody modification, especially one involving a guardian ad litem or evaluations, often stretches closer to a year, and sometimes beyond, depending on court availability and the complexity of the issues.
Some parts of this timeline are outside your control. You cannot dictate how many other cases are ahead of yours on the St. Louis County family docket, how long it takes a guardian ad litem to complete their investigation, or when a particular judge has open hearing dates. You also cannot force the other parent to respond promptly or cooperate in settlement. Understanding these external factors can ease some of the frustration, because you see that delays are not necessarily a sign that your case is being ignored.
Other parts of the timeline are very much within your control. Getting your documents together before filing, responding quickly to your attorney’s requests, and being realistic about what changes the court is likely to approve can all shorten the process. Being open to negotiation, when appropriate, often leads to earlier agreements. Because we intentionally keep our caseload low and focus on individualized plans, we can move quickly on the pieces that depend on us and help you use waiting periods productively, instead of losing months to avoidable back and forth.
Why Informal Agreements Are Not Enough For Long Term Changes
A common belief among parents is that if they both agree on a new support amount or a different parenting schedule, there is no rush to change the court order. They assume that their verbal agreement or text messages will be enough if a dispute ever comes up. From a legal standpoint, the written court order is what controls, and that has serious consequences for both support and custody timelines.
On the support side, if you and the other parent agree to reduce or pause payments but never file a motion to modify, the original order usually keeps running in the background. If the other parent later decides to enforce the order, the court generally looks at what the written order required, not what the two of you discussed informally. That can result in a sudden claim for back support, even if you thought you were both on the same page. The court also may not retroactively adjust support back to the date your circumstances first changed if you waited a long time to file.
With custody and parenting time, informal changes can be convenient in the short term, but they leave you unprotected if cooperation breaks down. If you have been informally exercising more time with your child for months, but the other parent decides to revert to the old schedule, law enforcement and the court will look to the written plan, not the recent pattern, when deciding what to enforce during a dispute. Filing a motion to modify sooner rather than later helps align the official order with the reality of your child’s life, and prevents you from spending long stretches of time living under an order that does not reflect what has actually changed.
Get A Realistic Modification Timeline For Your St. Louis Case
No attorney can promise exactly how long a modification will take, because judges’ schedules, court backlogs, and the other parent’s choices all play a role. What we can do is walk you through the specific phases you are likely to see in St. Louis County, St. Charles, or the surrounding courts, identify which factors apply to your situation, and help you make smart decisions about when and how to move forward. Having a clear roadmap often takes some of the fear out of the process and lets you plan for work, childcare, and finances while the case is pending.
At The Kallen Law Firm, LLC, we offer free initial consultations, flexible payment options, and evening or weekend meetings by appointment, so you do not have to wait until everything calms down to get answers. We will review your current order, talk through what has changed, and give you a realistic sense of the modification timeline for your specific county and circumstances, along with a tailored strategy that reflects your family’s needs and goals.
Call (314) 441-7793 to schedule your free consultation with The Kallen Law Firm, LLC.
