Rule 4.2.Motions After Judgment

Last amended January 1, 2026 · Last verified September 12, 2026

In one sentenceRule 4.2 governs motions to modify or enforce a Vermont divorce judgment after the case ends, requiring a motion supported by an affidavit, service on the party rather than the attorney, updated financial disclosure, and filing in the county that entered the judgment.

Full Text of Rule 4.2

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)

(a) Applicability. This rule applies to all post-judgment proceedings in actions for divorce under Rules 4.0 and 4.1 except motions for relief under V.R.C.P. 59 or 60, motions to intervene and for relief from a judgment of parentage under Rule 4.3(b) (1), and actions seeking wage withholding under Rule 4.3(b)(2). Notwithstanding the pendency of an appeal, the court may entertain motions under this rule as provided in Rule 12(d).

(b) Motion and Service. Any proceedings under this rule to modify or enforce the judgment in an action for divorce must be made on motion and supported by affidavit. Copies of the motion and affidavit must be served in the same manner as a complaint by the appropriate method provided in this subdivision.

(1) Cases Not Involving Minor Children.

(A) Except as provided in paragraph (2), service of a motion not involving minor children must be made on the party, and not the party's attorney, whether the party is within the state or not, by one of the following methods:

(i) by personal service;

(ii) by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, with delivery restricted to the addressee;

(iii) by delivery to the party by any method chosen by the moving party with a request that the responding party waive service by any other method. The motion with a request must be accompanied by the notice of hearing or case manager's conference if applicable and a waiver of service form. The responding party must sign and date the waiver of service and return it to the court no later than 21 days from the date the documents were delivered, or 60 days from that date if the documents and request are delivered to the responding party outside a state or territory of the United States. If the party served responds, that party must do so within 21 days of the date that the party signed the waiver or, if the waiver is undated, within 21 days of the date that the waiver is filed with the court. Failure to comply with a request to waive service may result in the imposition of costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, against the responding party for expenses incurred in effecting service by another means; or

(iv) by ordinary mail or by publication or both, if the court so orders on a showing by a party that service cannot with due diligence be made by any of the other methods permitted by this paragraph.

(B) If a hearing is to be held, the clerk will serve notice of the hearing by first-class mail on each party.

(2) Cases Involving Minor Children. In proceedings for modification or enforcement of a judgment for child support, maintenance supplement, or parental rights and responsibilities, service must be made on the party, and not the party's attorney, whether the party is in the state or not, as provided in Rule 4.1(a)(2). When a party seeks modification or enforcement of other provisions of a judgment simultaneously with modification or enforcement of child support, maintenance supplement, or parental rights and responsibilities, service must be made as provided in that paragraph.

(3) Party's Location Unknown. In any child support enforcement proceeding under this rule, upon sufficient showing that diligent effort has been made to ascertain the location of a party, the court may deem service sufficient if service has been made by delivery of copies of the motion, affidavit, and written notice of hearing to the most recent residential or employer address filed with the court pursuant to Rule 4.1(b)(2) by one of the following methods:

(A) mailing to the party by certified mail, return receipt requested and delivery restricted to the addressee, the expense being paid by the moving party; or

(B) if the certified mail pursuant to subparagraph (A) is refused by the party, mailing to the responding party by ordinary first-class mail and certifying that service has been made.

(1) Form. Affidavits required by this rule must set forth specific facts sufficient to warrant the required findings and must be on the affiant's own knowledge, information, or belief; and, to the extent based upon information and belief, must state that the affiant believes the information to be true.

(2) Affidavits of Income and Assets. When a motion to modify a judgment regarding child support or spousal maintenance is filed, all parties must file affidavits and documents pursuant to Rules 4.0(g)(6) or 4.1(b)(4), as appropriate, regardless of prior disclosures under Rule 4.0(g)(4) during that calendar year. Failure to comply will subject a party to the sanctions set forth in 15 V.S.A. § 662 and V.R.C.P. 37.

(3) Supporting Documents. An affidavit filed pursuant to paragraph (2) must be accompanied by:

• that party's pay stubs for the four most recent pay periods in which employment income was received, if any;

• monthly income and expense statements or equivalent documents covering the period following a self-employed person's last-filed income tax return; and

• documentation of all other income received during the period following any person's last filed income tax return (including social security, workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, disability, and pensions).

On or before the date when the affidavit must be filed, the parties must exchange tax returns for the two most recent years in which returns were filed, together with all schedules and other documentation that were submitted to the Internal Revenue.

(4) Protective Order. A party may request that tax records or other private information be sealed by filing a motion for protective order under V.R.C.P. 26(c).

(d) Determining a Change of Circumstances. If a hearing is to be held on a motion under this rule to modify a judgment, the court may bifurcate the hearing and first determine and make findings as to whether there has been a real, substantial, and unanticipated change of circumstances; if no such change is found, the court may dismiss the motion without reaching the merits of the action.

(e) Venue.

(1) Filing and Place of Hearing. A motion pursuant to this rule must be filed in the county where the most recent final judgment was entered. If either party resides in that county or if neither party is a resident of the state, venue remains in that county unless the court orders otherwise. If the filing party is a resident of Vermont and the filer affirms in writing that neither party resides in that county, absent a request otherwise, the court on its own motion will automatically transfer venue to the county where the filing party resides.

(2) Motions Pending in Different Counties. If motions by opposing parties are filed and are pending simultaneously in different counties, the matter may be heard in either county if the parties agree; if the parties cannot agree on a single county for hearing, the court where the earliest filed motion is pending will determine and order where the motions are to be heard.

(f) Automatic Child Support Hearing. When a judgment for physical responsibility is modified, the court will set a child support modification hearing and provide notice to the parties as provided in Rule 4.1(a)(2). Unless there is good cause, the court will simultaneously issue a temporary order pending the modification hearing, if adjustments to those portions of any existing child support or wage withholding order that pertain to any child affected by the modification are necessary to assure that support and wages are paid in amounts proportional to the modified allocation of responsibility between the parties. A temporary order pursuant to this paragraph does not affect any portion of a payment allocated to arrearages under a child support order. Unless the court orders otherwise, the parties must file and exchange all information and material required under Rules 4.0(g)(6) and 4.1(b)(4). In appropriate circumstances, the court may order a case management conference to be held as provided in Rule 4.1(a)(2)(B).

End

Notes

REPORTER'S NOTES--2026 AMENDMENT: V.R.F.P. 4.2(e) was amended in November 2024 on an emergency basis to streamline the change of venue for post-judgment motions in divorce matters. Those amendments are now made permanent. Under the emergency rule, if neither party resides in the county where the most-recent order was amended and the filer affirms that that the filer is still a resident of Vermont, venue shifts to the filer's county of residence. The rule is further amended to indicate that this venue change is automatic unless the filing party requests otherwise. There may be circumstances where such a motion remains appropriate. For example, a filer whose address is confidential as a result of a relief-from-abuse order may wish to request that the court consider changing venue to the county of the opposing party rather than the filer's county of residence in order to preserve the confidentiality of the filer's address. The amendment is not intended to permit a change of venue to a county where neither party resides.

REPORTER'S NOTES--2024 AMENDMENTS: V.R.F.P. 4.2(e) which determines the venue for post-judgment motions is amended to accommodate changes in process due to the advent of electronic filing using eFile and Serve. Under the prior rule, if one or both parties lived in Vermont but neither resided in the county where the most-recent final judgment was entered, the filing party could file a post-judgment motion in the county of current residence, and the court would move the paper file from the prior county to the county where the motion was filed. Efile and Serve will not accept electronic filings into a county different from that indicated on the case. Therefore, regardless of current residence, a post-judgment motion must initially be filed in the county where the most-recent judgment was entered. The amendment to paragraph (e)(1) seeks to maintain the simplicity of the paper system. If either party still resides in the county where the most-recent judgment was entered, venue remains in that county regardless of whether the filer continues to reside in that county. If neither party resides in that county and the filer affirms in writing that the filer is still a resident of Vermont, venue shifts to the filer’s county of current residence. The filer does not have to file a motion to change venue. The court on its own motion automatically changes the venue for the case to the county where the filer resides. The goal is to eliminate a bottle neck that has resulted in significant delays and confusion with respect to service. The amended rule essentially preserves the current rule related to simultaneously filed motions filed by opposing parties, but places that provision in a separate paragraph for this rule so that it is easier to find. Current subdivision (e)(2), related to additional documents that need to be filed by the moving party, is deleted because these documents are already part of the court’s electronic case record.

REPORTER'S NOTES--2018 AMENDMENTS: Rule 4.2 is amended to extend its 20-day time periods to 21 days, consistent with the simultaneous “day is a day” amendments to V.R.C.P. 6, which adopts the day-is-a-day counting system from the Federal Rules. See Reporter's Notes to simultaneous amendments of V.R.F.P. 1.

REPORTER'S NOTES--2017 AMENDMENT: Rule 4.2(a) is amended to implement the simultaneous amendment of Rule 4.3(b) by making clear that motions to intervene and for relief from a parentage judgment under new Rule 4.3(b)(1), like wage withholding actions under what is now Rule 4.3(b) (2), are excepted from the provisions of Rule 4.2.

REPORTER'S NOTES: Rule 4.2 is adopted as part of the replacement of former Rule 4 by Rules 4.0-4.3 to make the provisions of the former rule more accessible by reorganizing them in a functional order and by “restyling” them. See Reporter's Notes to simultaneous adoption of Rule 4.0. Rule 4.2 incorporates the provisions of former Rule 4(j) concerning post-judgment motions. Rule 4.2(a) carries forward the provisions of former Rule 4(j)(1) in restyled format. Rule 4.2(b) carries forward the provisions of former Rule 4(j)(2) in restyled format. Subparagraph (b)(1)(A) incorporates the provisions of Rule 4.0(b)(2)(B). Rule 4.2(c) carries forward the provisions of former Rule 4(j)(3) and (g)(2)(D)(iii) and (F), and (3) in restyled format. Rule 4.2(d) carries forward the provisions of former Rule 4(j)(4) in restyled format. Rule 4.2(e) carries forward the provisions of former Rule 4(j)(5) in restyled format. Rule 4.2(f) carries forward the provisions of former Rule 4(j)(6) in restyled format. Its language was incorporated in 15 V.S.A. § 668(b), enacted by Act 119 of 2011 (Adj. Sess.), § 7.

Amendment History

[Adopted August 25, 2016, effective December 5, 2016. Amended December 15, 2016, effective February 20, 2017; September 20, 2017, effective January 1, 2018; November 4, 2024, effectively immediately; October 29, 2025, effective January 1, 2026.]

Plain-English Summary

Rule 4.2 picks up after the divorce judgment. Whatever a party wants changed or enforced later — child support, spousal maintenance, a maintenance supplement, parental rights and responsibilities — comes in as a motion supported by an affidavit, and it is served the way a complaint is served rather than mailed to opposing counsel. A few post-judgment fights travel elsewhere: requests for relief from the judgment under the civil rules, motions to intervene and for relief from a parentage judgment, and actions seeking wage withholding, all of which are handled under Rule 4.3 or the civil rules. A pending appeal does not shut the door, because the court may still entertain motions under this rule as Rule 12 provides.

Service goes to the party, not the party's attorney, whether the party is in Vermont or not. In a case with no minor children, that means personal service, registered or certified mail with delivery restricted to the addressee, or a delivered request that the other side waive service, which must be signed, dated, and returned within 21 days, or 60 days if the papers were delivered outside a state or territory of the United States. Ordinary mail or publication is available only if the court orders it after a showing that no other method will work with due diligence. In those cases, if a hearing is to be held, the clerk mails notice of it to each party by first-class mail. Where minor children are involved, service follows the file-then-serve path of Rule 4.1, and that path controls the whole motion when a party seeks to change other parts of the judgment at the same time as support or parenting. If a party cannot be found, the court may treat service in a child support enforcement case as sufficient — on a showing that diligent effort has been made to locate that party — when the papers went by certified mail to the most recent residential or employer address on file, or by first-class mail with a certificate after certified mail is refused.

The affidavit has to state specific facts good enough to support the findings the motion asks for, drawn from the affiant's own knowledge, information, or belief, and anything resting on information and belief must say the affiant believes it to be true. A motion to change child support or spousal maintenance also pulls a fresh affidavit of income and assets from every party, even from someone who already disclosed earlier in the same calendar year. The attachments match what the court sees at the start of a case: pay stubs for the four most recent pay periods in which employment income was received, income and expense statements for the self-employed, and documentation of other income, with tax returns for the two most recent years exchanged by the filing date. Failing to comply carries sanctions. A party worried about tax records or other private information can move for a protective order and ask that they be sealed.

The rest of the rule decides where the fight happens and how fast it gets there. On a motion to modify, the court may split the hearing and decide first whether there has been a real, substantial, and unanticipated change of circumstances, and if it finds none, it can dismiss the motion without reaching the merits. The motion belongs in the county where the most recent final judgment was entered, and unless the court orders otherwise venue stays there if either party lives in that county or if neither party lives in the state, but the court transfers the case on its own to the filing party's county when that party is a Vermont resident and affirms in writing that neither party lives in the judgment county. When opposing motions sit in two counties at once, the parties can agree on one, and if they cannot, the court holding the earliest filed motion decides where both are heard. Last, when a judgment for physical responsibility is modified, the court sets a child support modification hearing on its own and, absent good cause, issues a temporary order wherever adjustments are needed to keep support and wage withholding proportional to the new allocation in the meantime, without touching any part of a payment allocated to arrearages.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I ask the court to change my child support or parenting order after the divorce is final?

File a motion and back it with an affidavit. The affidavit needs specific facts sufficient to support the findings you are asking the court to make, and if part of it rests on information and belief, say so and say you believe the information to be true. A bare request with no sworn facts behind it gives the court nothing to work with.

Then serve it like a complaint — not by mailing it to opposing counsel. A motion to change child support, a maintenance supplement, or parental rights and responsibilities follows the service route used at the start of a case involving minor children. A motion that touches only spousal maintenance follows the other track, the one for motions not involving minor children, unless it is filed at the same time as one of those three. The next question covers that track.

Do I serve the motion on my ex or on their lawyer?

On your ex. Service under this rule is made on the party, not the party's attorney, whether the party is inside Vermont or not. That holds even if the same lawyer represented the party throughout the divorce.

In a case with no minor children, you can serve in person, by registered or certified mail with delivery restricted to the addressee, or by delivering the papers with a request that the other party waive service, which must be signed, dated, and returned within 21 days, or 60 days if delivered outside a state or territory of the United States. Ordinary mail or publication takes a court order and a showing that due diligence cannot get service done any other way.

What is a real, substantial, and unanticipated change of circumstances?

It is the threshold a motion to modify has to clear before the court will look at the merits. The rule does not define the phrase, but it sets the procedure: the court may bifurcate the hearing, take up the change of circumstances first, and make findings on it. If the court finds no such change, it can dismiss the motion without ever reaching whether the order should be rewritten.

Treat that first stage as the real event. Build the motion and the affidavit around what changed, when it changed, and why nobody saw it coming.

Which county do I file my post-judgment motion in?

The county where the most recent final judgment was entered. Unless the court orders otherwise, venue stays put if either party still lives in that county, and it also stays put if neither party lives in Vermont at all.

There is one automatic shift. If the filing party lives in Vermont and affirms in writing that neither party resides in the judgment county, the court moves the case on its own to the county where the filing party lives, unless someone asks otherwise. And if opposing parties have motions pending in different counties at the same time, they can agree on one county for hearing, and if they cannot agree, the court where the earliest filed motion is pending decides where everything gets heard.

Do I have to file a new income affidavit if I already filed one this year?

Yes. When a motion to modify child support or spousal maintenance is filed, all parties file affidavits of income and assets and the supporting documents, regardless of what anyone disclosed earlier in the same calendar year. The court wants current figures, not last spring's.

That means pay stubs for the four most recent pay periods in which you received employment income, monthly income and expense statements or equivalent documents if you are self-employed, and documentation of other income such as social security, workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, disability, and pensions. The parties also exchange tax returns for the two most recent years in which returns were filed, with all schedules. Skipping it exposes you to sanctions, and if the tax records worry you, move for a protective order and ask the court to seal them.

Source & verification. Rule text, official Reporter's Notes, and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Vermont Rules for Family Proceedings, adopted by the Vermont Supreme Court. Last verified September 12, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: motion to modify child support vermontpost judgment motion in a vermont divorcereal substantial and unanticipated change of circumstancesenforce a divorce judgment vermontmodify parental rights and responsibilities vermontvenue transfer post judgment motion vermont