Custody and Support Modification Lawyers in Austin, TX

When a Texas court will change a child custody order

Custody orders are written for the family you were when the judge signed them. Kids grow, people remarry, jobs move, and a schedule that worked for a toddler may not work for a teenager. A child custody modification is possible, but the law does not let anyone reopen the case just because they are unhappy with the result. Under Texas Family Code Section 156.101, the judge must find that the new arrangement is in the child’s best interest and that at least one of these is true:

• The circumstances of the child, a parent, or another party affected by the order have materially and substantially changed since it was signed, or since the mediated settlement agreement it was based on.
• The child is at least 12 years old and has told the judge in chambers which parent the child prefers to have the right to designate the primary residence.
• The parent with the right to designate the primary residence has voluntarily given up primary care of the child to someone else for at least six months.

“Material and substantial” has no fixed definition, so evidence matters. Common examples include a move, a new job with a very different schedule, a remarriage that reshapes the household, a child’s new medical or educational needs, or safety concerns in one home. Asking to shift conservatorship, meaning who makes decisions about school and health care and where the child lives, is a bigger request than adjusting a schedule, and judges treat it that way. If these terms are new to you, our page on how Texas courts decide child custody the first time explains how conservatorship is set up.

Timing matters too. If you want to change which parent designates the primary residence within one year of the decree, Section 156.102 requires a sworn affidavit with supporting facts. It must show that the child’s present environment may endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair the child’s emotional development, that the parent who holds that right is asking for or agrees to the move, or that this parent has voluntarily given up primary care for at least six months. If the affidavit falls short, the judge will not set a hearing.

Adjusting the visitation schedule

Texas law calls visitation “possession and access,” and it follows the same Section 156.101 test as conservatorship. Families often ask to adjust the schedule when a child starts school, when one home moves farther away, when work hours shift, or when the current schedule is not being followed. Many decrees use the Standard Possession Order, and a modification can move to an expanded schedule, drop weekday visits that no longer make sense with a long commute, or add supervision when there are real safety concerns.

If the problem is that the other parent is ignoring the schedule or not paying, the answer may be enforcing the order you already have instead of rewriting it. Some families need both, and the two requests can often be raised together.

Modifying child support orders

Modifying child support follows its own test in Texas Family Code Section 156.401. A judge can adjust the amount if either of these applies:

• The circumstances of the child or a person affected by the child support order have materially and substantially changed since it was signed.
• At least three years have passed since the order was signed or last modified, and the current amount differs by 20 percent or $100 from what the state guidelines would set today.

The three-year review is often the simpler path, because it turns on numbers instead of an argument about what is different now. There is one important exception. If the parents agreed to an amount that was different from the guideline amount, it can be modified only on a material and substantial change since that order was signed. A job loss, a large raise, a new child the paying parent also supports, or a different health insurance situation are common reasons parents ask. A joint custody arrangement, on its own, is not grounds to adjust support. For how the base amount is figured, see our page on Texas child support guidelines and payments.

Act as soon as you see a significant change in income or financial needs. Under Section 156.401(b), a new amount generally applies only to payments that come due after the other parent is served or appears. Until a judge signs a new child support order, the old amount keeps accruing, even if you have lost your job or the other parent has informally agreed to accept less.

Relocation and which county hears the case

A move is one of the most common reasons families come back to court. Many Texas custody decrees include a geographic restriction on where the child can live, often limited to one county and the counties around it. Moving outside that area without first modifying the decree can lead to an enforcement action, so the restriction usually has to be addressed before the move, not after. While modifications are pending, Section 156.006 limits a judge’s power to shift the primary residence or the geographic area on a temporary basis, allowing it only in narrow situations, such as when the child’s present circumstances would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development.

Every family case also has a home court. Under Chapter 155 of the Family Code, the court that signed your final order keeps continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over your child, so a modification is filed there even if no one lives in that county anymore. If the child has lived in another Texas county for six months or longer, Section 155.201 requires a transfer on a timely motion, and for the parent who files, timely means with the first pleadings. Our article on what happens when a parent moves from Austin to Bastrop walks through that kind of transfer step by step, and parents along I-35 can read about geographic restrictions for Buda and Kyle commuters as Hays County grows.

Spousal maintenance modifications

Court-ordered spousal maintenance after a divorce can also be modified. Under Section 8.057, either former spouse can file a motion in the court that issued the order and must show a material and substantial change in circumstances since the divorce decree. The judge can reduce or end payments but cannot raise spousal maintenance above the original amount or past the original end date, and any adjustment applies only to payments due after the motion is filed. Contractual alimony written into an agreed divorce decree generally follows the terms of that agreement instead, so bring your decree to your consultation.

How a modification case works

Every case starts with the order you have now. We read it closely, because the exact wording of the possession schedule, the geographic restriction, and the support terms decides what has to be rewritten. From there, a typical case moves through these steps:

• Gathering proof of what is different, such as financial records, school records, or a new work schedule.
• Filing a petition to modify with the court of continuing jurisdiction, plus any affidavit or transfer motion it needs.
• Serving the other parent, who then has a deadline to file an answer.
• Asking for temporary orders if something cannot wait until the final hearing.
• Mediation, where many modification cases settle.
• A final hearing, or an agreed order signed by the judge.

If you and the other parent already agree, the process can be much simpler. An agreed modification still needs to be written as a proper order and signed by a judge. A side agreement by text or email does not replace the decree, which stays enforceable until a new one is signed. If the other parent filed first, we can help you respond and protect the parts of the current arrangement that are still working for your child.

How our family law firm can help

Key Law Office is a family law firm with offices in Austin, Buda, Bastrop, New Braunfels, and Victoria, and our attorneys regularly appear in the Travis, Hays, Bastrop, and Comal County family courts. That local practice helps when a case has to move from one county to another, or when parents live on opposite ends of the I-35 corridor. Our goal is a workable arrangement your family can live with, reached by agreement when possible and presented clearly in court when it is not. If you’d like to talk through whether your situation meets the legal standard, request a consultation and we’ll review your current order with you.