Medina County Post-Decree Modification Attorneys

Reviewed by Stephanie Green · Managing Partner & Co-Founder · Last updated June 8, 2026

Medina County, Ohio · Medina

Life changes — incomes shift, parents relocate, schedules stop working. Medina County lets you modify custody, parenting time, or child support by motion filed in the original Domestic Relations case, on a showing of changed circumstances and the children's best interest under R.C. 3109.04(E).

Hire Gavvl for your Medina County modifications case

Flat-fee and full-representation options: we handle the filings, the Medina County local forms, the court strategy, and the hearings — and you know the price before we start.

Start with a $25 consultation and talk through your options with an Ohio family-law attorney before you commit to anything. Get started online or see payment plans & financing.

How do I modify a custody or support order in Medina County, Ohio?

Under Civ.R. 75(J), the court's continuing jurisdiction is invoked by a motion filed in the original action at the Medina County Domestic Relations Court, 225 East Washington Street, Medina — file a written post-decree motion with the Case Designation Form and Instructions to Clerk for Service from medinadr.org/forms.html, attach the Post-Decree Mandatory Documents required by Local Rule 2.04, and the motion must be set for hearing. For support, file the Ohio uniform Motion for Change of Child Support (Form 28) or ask CSEA for a review. The post-decree filing fee is $200 (child support or parenting time only, multi-branch, or show cause). You must show a substantial change of circumstances — for support, generally a 10%+ change — and that the change serves the children's best interest (R.C. 3109.04(E)).

Modify a Medina County order with Gavvl Law

When incomes shift, a parent relocates, or a schedule stops working, Medina County lets you change custody, parenting time, or child support — but only by motion filed in your original Domestic Relations case at 225 East Washington Street, invoking the court's continuing jurisdiction under Civ.R. 75(J). A custody change needs a change of circumstances plus the children's best interest under R.C. 3109.04(E). Gavvl Law files the motion the way the court requires and proves the change, for a flat fee agreed up front.

Filed the way Civ.R. 75(J) demands. A post-decree motion has to go into the original case with the Case Designation Form, Instructions to Clerk for Service, and the Post-Decree Mandatory Documents required by Local Rule 2.04, and it must be set for hearing. We file the complete package from medinadr.org/forms.html so your motion is heard, not returned.
Meeting the change-of-circumstances bar. Custody modifications turn on a genuine change of circumstances since the last order; support modifications generally need a 10%-or-more change in the calculated amount or a substantial change under R.C. 3119.79. We document the change and, for support, rebuild the Ohio Income Shares worksheet to prove it.
Every filing type, one flat fee. The post-decree deposit is $200 for support, parenting time, or show cause, while registering a foreign order is $200 and transferring jurisdiction is $100. We quote a flat fee with payment plans and handle whichever filing your situation needs.

Medina waives the fee on procedural motions submitted with a proposed order, so not every post-decree step costs $200 — and knowing which filings carry a deposit keeps your case efficient. We use the court's own Case Designation Form and Local Rule 2.04 checklist at 225 East Washington Street so the modification is docketed and set for hearing without a bounce-back.

Flat-fee options

Flat-fee limited scope: we draft and file the motion to modify an existing custody, parenting-time, or support order. You appear at any hearing.

Modify custody or parenting time: $1,450
Modify child support: $950

Prefer full representation? An Ohio attorney can carry the entire case on a $3,500 retainer.

Split any flat fee with Gavvl Direct — our in-house plan at 19% APR, $500 minimum — on a 60%-down schedule of 18 weekly, 8 bi-weekly, or 4 monthly payments, or full financing where work begins once 60% is paid. Affirm, Klarna, and PayPal Pay Later are also available through LawPay.

Start your modifications case or see payment plans & financing.

Ohio Custody by the Numbers

Best interest The single standard that governs every Ohio custody decision Source: Ohio Revised Code § 3109.04
No set age There is no age a child can choose a parent — the judge weighs a mature child's wishes Source: Ohio Revised Code § 3109.04(B)
Change in circumstances Required, plus a best-interest finding, before the residential parent can be changed Source: Ohio Revised Code § 3109.04(E)(1)
Shared parenting Either parent may ask the court for a joint parenting plan Source: Ohio Revised Code § 3109.04(G)

Compare Types of Custody in Ohio

Custody type	Who makes major decisions	Where the child lives	Best when
Shared parenting	Both parents jointly, under a written plan	Time is split per the plan (not always 50/50)	Parents can communicate and cooperate on decisions
Sole legal & residential	One parent	Primarily with that parent	One parent is unable or unwilling to co-parent
Split custody	Each parent for the child in their care	Siblings are divided between the two homes	Rare — only when it serves each child's best interest
Legal custody to a non-parent	The relative or caregiver granted custody	With the non-parent caregiver	Neither parent can safely care for the child

Where to File: Medina County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division

225 East Washington Street, Medina, OH 44256
Phone: (330) 725-9740
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Website: Court website

Post-Decree Modifications is the right path if…

There's a real change of circumstances since the last order (move, job change, schedule, child's needs).
The existing parenting time or support no longer works.
You can show the modification is in the children's best interest.
You already have a final order to modify.

Filing Fees

$200 post-decree filing (support/parenting/show cause) · Foreign Order Registration $200 · Motion to Transfer Jurisdiction $100 · Procedural motions with a proposed order: no charge

Forms & Filing Packets

Modify custody or parenting time — $200 post-decree filing

Post-decree motion packet — Case Designation Form + Instructions to Clerk for Service (Medina DR) — File a written post-decree motion in the original case to invoke continuing jurisdiction under Civ.R. 75(J) and modify custody or parenting time, with the Case Designation Form, Instructions to Clerk for Service, and the Post-Decree Mandatory Documents required by Local Rule 2.04. The motion must be set for hearing. Medina has no standalone 'General Motion' form.
Parenting Proceeding Affidavit (UCCJEA · R.C. 3127.23) — Lists where each child has lived for the last 5 years and with whom. Confirms Ohio's jurisdiction over custody.

Modify child support — $200 post-decree filing

Motion for Change of Child Support (Ohio uniform Form 28) — Asks the Medina County Domestic Relations Court to recalculate support after a change of circumstances. You can also request a CSEA administrative review.
Ohio Child Support Computation Worksheet — Run the official Ohio 2024 Income Shares calculator, print, and sign. Required any time you're asking the court to set support.

How to File Post-Decree Modifications in Medina County

Confirm a real change of circumstances. Identify the move, income change, schedule conflict, or child's-needs change that happened since the last order.
File the motion in the original case. File a written post-decree motion with the Case Designation Form and Instructions to Clerk for Service (for support, Form 28 or a CSEA review) in the Domestic Relations case that issued your order, and attach the Local Rule 2.04 Post-Decree Mandatory Documents.
Pay the post-decree deposit. Post-decree motions for support, parenting time, or show cause are $200; procedural motions with a proposed order have no charge.
Attend the hearing. The motion must be set for hearing; bring evidence of the changed circumstances and the children's best interest.

Medina County Practice Notes

Continuing jurisdiction under Civ.R. 75(J). After a decree, the court's continuing jurisdiction is invoked only by a motion filed in the original action, with notice served and the motion set for hearing. File your written motion with the Case Designation Form and Instructions to Clerk for Service from medinadr.org/forms.html, and attach the Post-Decree Mandatory Documents required by Local Rule 2.04.
Change of circumstances is the gate. For a custody change, you must show a change of circumstances since the last order plus that modification serves the children's best interest under R.C. 3109.04(E). Support modifications generally require a 10%+ change in the calculated amount or a substantial change of circumstances under R.C. 3119.79.
Best-interest standard governs. R.C. 3109.04(F)(1) lists 10+ factors: each parent's wishes, the child's wishes (when of sufficient age), the child's interaction with parents/siblings, adjustment to home/school/community, mental and physical health of all involved, the parent more likely to facilitate court-approved parenting time, child support compliance, criminal history, residence outside Ohio, and any history of abuse.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to file in Medina County?: Filing deposits at the Medina County Domestic Relations Court (effective 1/1/2024) are $400 for a divorce with minor children and $350 without; $350 for a dissolution with children and $325 without; and $200 for a parentage or post-decree filing. The deposit for cases with children covers the court's FOCUS parenting program. Clerk questions go to (330) 725-9722. If you cannot afford the deposit, ask about a payment plan when you file or submit a Poverty Affidavit asking the court to waive it.
How long does a Medina County case usually take?: A dissolution is heard 30–90 days after filing. An uncontested (default) divorce, where the other spouse won't respond, typically finishes in a few months. A contested divorce usually runs 8–18 months depending on temporary-orders activity, discovery, and the magistrate's calendar. The defendant has 28 days to file an Answer after being served. Docket questions go to (330) 764-8298.
Do custody and paternity cases go to Domestic Relations or Juvenile Court in Medina County?: Medina splits this work between two courts. Divorce, dissolution, legal separation, annulment, and parentage/paternity are heard in the Domestic Relations Court at 225 East Washington Street — for unmarried parents, the initial custody and support order can ride along with a Complaint for Parentage there (deposit $200), the route the DR court's own forms support. After parentage is established, a custody, parenting-time, or companionship action may instead be filed in the separate Medina County Juvenile Court under Medina Juvenile Local Rule 3 (new-case deposit $180); non-parent (grandparent or relative) custody is also a Juvenile matter under Med Juv L R 3.4. Married or divorcing parents decide custody inside the divorce, dissolution, or legal separation in the DR Court. Either court applies the R.C. 3109.04(F) best-interest factors. Confirm the right court and current deposit with the Clerk's Legal Division at (330) 725-9722.
What does Medina County CSEA do?: The Medina County Child Support Enforcement Agency (330-722-9398, mcjfs.us/child-support) opens IV-D cases, runs the Ohio Income Shares calculation, collects support by wage withholding, distributes it to the receiving parent, and enforces orders through license suspension, tax intercept, and contempt referrals. Payment questions go to Ohio Child Support Payments at 1-800-860-2555.

Free Local Resources in Medina County

Medina County Domestic Relations Court. Local forms, local rules, and case information for divorce, dissolution, custody, support, and protection orders at medinadr.org. The Forms page is medinadr.org/forms.html. Court staff cannot give legal advice or help complete forms.
Ohio Child Support Calculator. The state's official 2024 Income Shares worksheet at ohiochildsupportcalculator.ohio.gov. Run it, print, and sign it before any hearing that sets or changes support.
FOCUS — Family Court Resources parenting program. The court-provided parenting class for parents of minor children, prepaid through the filing deposit and coordinated by Family Court Resources (234-802-0944). Approved online alternatives are Children in Between and Two Families Now.
Community Legal Aid Services. Free civil legal help for income-eligible residents of Medina County and northeast Ohio. Intake line 1-800-998-9454.

Related to your modifications case

Child Support — Calculate, establish, or modify support under Ohio's guidelines.
Paternity & Custody — Establish parentage and build a parenting plan that protects your children.
Spousal Support — Pursue or respond to alimony requests during and after divorce.

Related guides

In-depth, attorney-written guides on modifications and related Ohio family law topics.

Post-Decree Modifications in Ohio: Changing Your Order After Divorce — Your divorce decree isn't carved in stone. When life changes, Ohio lets you modify custody, parenting time, and support — but each requires meeting a specific legal standard. Here's how.
How to Modify Child Support in Ohio — Child support orders aren't permanent. When income or circumstances change substantially, Ohio lets you modify support — through a CSEA review or a court motion. Here's how.
Contempt Motions in Ohio Family Court: Enforcing Your Order — When the other parent ignores a court order — withholding the children or refusing to pay support — a contempt motion is how Ohio courts enforce it. Here's how the process works.