Those factors have been commented upon, expanded and defined by several appellate court decisions. The best interest test is therefore rather broad and allows the Court significant discretion in fashioning it's award. When a party seeks to modify an existing child custody or visitation order a different standard may apply. To determine which standard applies the court must first look to the order itself to determine if it is an interim order or a final order. Dissolution, paternity or custody cases may require an interim order to provide predictability with respect to the care and custody of the minor child while the parties gather their evidence and prepare for their day in Court.
Interim orders are modifiable based upon the best interest test.
Final orders, however, are subject to the 'change of circumstance' rule. In that custody and visitation of a minor child may be litigated and reexamined until the minor child reaches the age of majority, the question arises as to what constitutes a final order. The term 'Judgment' seems to be synonymous with a final Order, but that is not always the case. With respect to custody, it depends upon whether or not the matter of child custody was actually in issue in the first instance. 3rd 531, the Court noted that very few states used the changed circumstance standard only when the custody order was determined through an adversarial hearing.