Modifications of Texas Family Court Orders

Do You Have Grounds for a Modification?

Not every change means a court order needs to be modified. We’ll start with what has happened since the judge signed the order and how it is affecting your child. Then we can help you decide if returning to court makes sense for your family.

Changing the Child’s Primary Residence

A custody order will spell out who can choose the child’s main residence or whether that residence must remain within a certain geographic area. In other cases, the order may restrict the child’s residence to a particular geographic area without giving either parent that exclusive right.

Changing that part of the order requires more than showing that one parent prefers a different arrangement. The judge will look at what has changed and whether moving the child’s primary residence would serve the child’s best interests. A change to the primary residence may be based on:

• A material and substantial change since the existing order or qualifying agreement
• The preference expressed to the judge by a child who is at least 12 years old
• A voluntary relinquishment of the child’s primary care and possession for at least six months, subject to exceptions under Texas law

A child’s preference is only one part of the court’s decision. It does not give the child the authority to choose where to live.

Different and more restrictive requirements can apply when a request to change the person with the right to establish the child’s primary residence is filed within one year of the current order. Consider these requirements before filing a modification case.

Changing Specific Parental Rights

Sometimes the living arrangement is not the problem. The conflict may be over school enrollment, medical care, counseling, or another decision addressed in the custody order. If one of those responsibilities needs to be reconsidered, we can review what has changed and discuss whether there may be a reason to return to court.

When Your Possession Schedule No Longer Fits

Maybe the order was written when your child was in elementary school, and now practices, games, or a part-time job fill the calendar. A parent’s work hours or home address may have changed too. If the old schedule is creating ongoing problems, it may be time to ask whether a modification makes sense.

You can agree to swap a weekend or change an exchange time, but that agreement does not rewrite the order. The schedule signed by the judge remains the one the court can enforce.

Changes to Child Support

A layoff, promotion, or change in the cost of the child’s health insurance can raise questions about the current support amount. However, the payment does not go up or down on its own. The parent asking for a change must return to court, and the existing amount generally remains due in the meantime.

In some cases, a support order that is at least three years old can be modified when a new guideline calculation differs by $100 or 20% from the current payment. If the parents originally agreed to an amount outside the guidelines, different requirements can apply.

When Your Child Support Balance Looks Wrong

Few things are more frustrating than being told you owe support that you believe you already paid. This can happen when payments were handed or sent directly to the other parent and never appeared in the official payment history.

Do not throw away receipts, transfer records, bank statements, or messages about those payments. Bring them with the support order and payment history so we can look at where the numbers stopped matching and what may need to happen next.