Measures modification
Regardless of the agreements reached after divorce, the lives of each spouse may be impacted by changes that make it necessary to review those agreements. If this is your situation, we assist you in modifying these agreements, considering the new circumstances, in the most suitable way for you and your family. You have our full attention.
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In recent years, the rulings issued by the Supreme Court have represented a clear shift in established jurisprudence regarding issues such as joint custody or the assignment of the family home’s use to adult children.
This change, coupled with substantial alterations in the circumstances assessed at the time the separation or divorce decree was issued, such as a significantly lower economic situation resulting from the loss of employment for a long period of time or the existence of new children, implies the need to modify the judgment through the corresponding procedure for modification of measures.
In recent years, the shift in jurisprudence regarding joint custody or the use of the residence, restricting this use to the majority age of the children, has often required adjusting measures to the new situation in many cases.
Legal solutions tailored to your current situation
We carefully assess your case to help adapt the existing arrangements to the real needs of your family.
When can existing measures be changed?
A divorce judgment is not set in stone, but neither can it be reopened simply because one party is unhappy with it. Spanish law requires a substantial, lasting and unforeseen change in the circumstances that were taken into account when the original measures were agreed or imposed. A temporary dip in income, or a change the parties could reasonably have anticipated, will not be enough.
The changes most frequently accepted by the courts are a significant and lasting drop in income, a new job or relocation that makes the existing arrangements unworkable, a child reaching an age at which their needs or wishes have genuinely changed, the birth of new children, a serious illness, or persistent non-compliance by the other parent.
Two routes: agreement or court proceedings
Where both parties agree, the change can be formalised through a joint application, which is faster and considerably cheaper. Where there is no agreement, the modification must be requested through contested proceedings, with a lawyer and a procurador, and the party requesting the change bears the burden of proving that the circumstances have genuinely changed.
One point is frequently misunderstood and causes real harm: until the court approves the change, the existing measures remain fully enforceable. Unilaterally reducing maintenance payments because your income has fallen does not protect you. It generates arrears that can be enforced against you, together with interest and costs.
Modifying measures when one parent lives abroad
International families face an additional question before any of this: which court can hear the application. Within the European Union, jurisdiction over parental responsibility is governed by Regulation (EU) 2019/1111, Brussels II ter, in force since 1 August 2022, which replaced the former Brussels II bis. As a general rule, jurisdiction lies with the courts of the State where the child is habitually resident, not the State that issued the original judgment.
Maintenance follows its own rules under Regulation (EC) 4/2009. Importantly, the parties cannot choose the competent court for maintenance concerning children under eighteen: that possibility is expressly excluded.
The practical consequence is significant. If the children have moved abroad and settled there, the Spanish court that granted the divorce may no longer be the court with jurisdiction to modify the arrangements. Establishing this at the outset avoids months of wasted proceedings.
Where a foreign judgment already exists and needs to take effect in Spain, or the other way round, see our page on recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. Where the other party simply refuses to comply, the route is enforcement proceedings.