When a family court enters an order for the support or custody of a child, it retains continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify these orders when circumstances change. Two examples of modification cases are when child support needs to be either increased or decreased based on a change in employment or when a child 12 years or older wishes to reside in the primary care of the non-custodial parent.
A suit to modify is a new lawsuit, filed in the court that entered the original custody order. It requires the filing of a petition to modify and service of citation on the respondent. At trial, the family court will determine whether there has been a material and substantial change of circumstances and whether the requested modification is in the best interest of the child.
A suit to modify or change custody requires careful evaluation and thoughtful planning. At Schreier Housewirth Family Law we’ve adopted the following motto: “Don’t ever pick a fight you don’t have a really good chance of winning because the pay-back can be Hell.”
At our Fort Worth family law firm, we aren’t in a rush to collect a retainer. As experienced custody attorneys, our focus is on helping you evaluate your modification case and spending your money wisely. Contact Schreier Housewirth Family Law and let us help you decide if it’s time to modify your divorce decree.