The present invention provides a method that allows a developer to add complex dependency logic to an existing database without having to modify the underlying structure of the database. One embodiment of the present invention provides a way to flexibly handle record state transitions by using an event model. The event model is a set of one or more items called an event. Each event in the event model has an associated event type and contains dependency logic that interrelates the events in the event model with one another. Each event represents a set of actions that are optionally contingent upon a condition. The actions and conditions that comprise an event are determine when the event is created. Each event may have a different set of actions and conditions. This enables an event to represent a number of different things. An event can represent anything it is defined to represent. In one embodiment of the present invention an event metamodel is instantiated to represent a number of different event models and the corresponding dependencies that interrelate them. The event metamodel enables the model creator to control what happens to each and every event in the event metamodel without having to modify the underlying structure of the database.