Circumstances change.  If the circumstances of either parent or the children change substantially, it may be necessary to ask the Court to modify the Court’s orders regarding child custody, visitation, rights and duties of parents, or child support.

If the parties all continue to live in the county where the last order was entered, the modification will be filed in the same court that entered the prior order.  If all of the parties remain in Texas, but the child does not live in the county where the previous order was entered, the modification will still be filed in the original court.  However, either party may request the court to transfer the case to the county where the child has been residing for the six months prior to the filing of the modification lawsuit. If either party lives outside of Texas, special interstate laws apply.

CHILD CUSTODY MODIFICATION

To change custody in Texas, it is normally necessary to present evidence that there has been a material and substantial change of circumstances for the child or one of the conservators and that the requested modification is in the best interest of the child.  Normally the parents will continue to share joint legal custody of the child, even if the judge switches the parent with the right to determine the child's primary home. If you seek to modify custody within one year of the prior order, it will also be necessary to prove that the present environment of the child may endanger the child’s physical health or emotional development.  A custody modification may also be filed if the custodial parent has voluntarily relinquished the primary care and possession of the child to another person for at least six months. 

As in the original divorce action, if the custody modification lawsuit is contested, the Court may order a social study be performed on both conservators seeking custody, and either party may request a jury trial to determine which parent should be granted the right to determine the child’s primary residence.

CHILD SUPPORT MODIFICATION

To increase or lower child support in Texas, it is normally necessary to prove either that the circumstances of the child or either parent has materially and substantially changed since the last order was entered.  If the last order is more than three years old, the Texas courts will modify child support if the amount of child support in the last order deviates from the current child support guidelines calculation by 20% or $100.00.  When the Judge modifies child support, he can order that the child support will be modified retroactively, so the child can get back child support up to the date the modification lawsuit was filed and served on the other party.

Although either party may request the Attorney General's child support office to process the child support modification case, most parties prefer to retain an experienced family law attorney who will be able to obtain faster and often more advantageous results.  At the Guerra Law Firm, the client gets the best of both worlds.  We quickly file and process the court action, while coordinating our efforts with the Attorney General's office so the client will have the benefit of using the vast technological and informational resources that the State agency can provide.

CHILD VISITATION MODIFICATION

To increase or reduce visitation or otherwise modify the schedule for possession of children,  it is necessary to prove that the circumstances of the child or a parent has materially and substantially changed since the last order was entered and that the requested change is in the children's best interest. Quite often parents can agree to changes in their visitation periods and have no need to modify the court order.  However, if the parents are not good at co-parenting, and conflict about the visitation schedule cannot be resolved, the court will help fashion a parenting plan.  Although the courts presume that the Texas Standard Possession Order is appropriate most of the time, judges will modify that order when the travel distance between parents or a parent's work schedule make it impractical to follow the Standard Possession Order. The Court will consider the best interest of the children, including the children's rights to have a relationship with both parents, and the children's right to protection from potential harm.