What happens procedurally when a motion to change is contested by the other party?

When a motion to change is contested, it generally moves through a similar procedural path to other contested family court matters — the responding party files their own materials setting out their position and any opposing evidence, and the matter typically proceeds through at least a case conference, since a contested motion to change is still subject to the usual requirement of a conference before it can be argued, followed by a hearing where the judge considers both sides' evidence and decides whether the alleged change in circumstances is made out and what, if any, variation is justified.

Because both the threshold question, whether a genuine material change has occurred, and the substantive question, what the new order should actually say, are often contested together, these motions can involve real back-and-forth over updated financial disclosure, evidence about a child's circumstances, or other relevant facts, depending on what's being varied. A contested motion to change is generally more involved and takes longer than one brought on consent, and can, in some cases, end up proceeding much like a smaller version of the original case. Anyone facing a contested motion to change should prepare for a genuine evidentiary dispute, not a quick formality.