Post-Divorce Modification of Custody or Support Decrees
Few legal processes are as concerned with the future as divorce. While a personal injury claim or criminal defense matter will usually focus on facts that took place in the past, a family court judge is generally more concerned about the future welfare of the children of the marriage than about each spouse's past mistakes.
Texas family law takes full account of the possibility that these future arrangements might need to be modified over time. If you need advice about modification of a child custody decree, child support obligation, or child visitation schedule, please contact an experienced Dallas-Ft. Worth family law attorney at the Plano office of Laurence A. DePlaza, P.C.
Modification of a family court order or agreement of the parties generally depends on the moving party's ability to show a substantial change in material circumstances. In other words, the new situation must relate directly to the ex-spouse's ability to make payments, the needs of the children, or the other parent's need for support; and the new circumstances must be significantly different from those in place at the time of the original arrangement.
It is up to the court to decide whether the circumstances have changed enough to justify changing the terms of the original order. Texas Super Lawyer Laurence DePlaza knows how to evaluate and analyze the facts of your situation so that you can get a good idea of your prospects of success in obtaining or opposing modification. Examples of the kinds of issues and situations that may merit a potential court order modification include:
- Remarriage of a former spouse receiving spousal support
- Disability or serious health problems of a former spouse making child or spousal support payments
- Significant changes in income to either former spouse due to promotion, layoff, disability, or market conditions
- Substantial changes in a child's needs due to accident, illness or disability
- Job transfers or changes in working hours that will affect child visitation schedules
- Plans to relocate to another state on the part of a parent with primary physical custody of the children
We also advise divorced parents who have remarried about their rights and responsibilities when a stepparent is willing to adopt a child from a previous marriage upon termination of the biological parent's rights. For additional information about our ability to represent your interests on either side of a post-divorce modification, contact an experienced lawyer at the law firm of Laurence A. DePlaza, P.C., in Plano.
