Modifications

Experienced North Texas Lawyer

Any time after a divorce agreement is signed, it can be changed. But you must go through a formal legal process, or it won't be binding and enforceable. If you make an informal deal with your ex to change child custody, support, or other arrangements, you can't be sure he or she will honor it.

Attorney Jimmy Ira Carter can help you protect yourself and your children through formal, binding modifications. He has more than 12 years of experience helping people throughout the Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex, including Collin County, Denton County, Dallas County, and Tarrant County. Contact us to set up a consultation.

Support Modifications

According to Texas statutes, child support modifications can typically occur every three years or more. If you want a modification less than three years after the divorce agreement was signed or after the last modification, you have to demonstrate material and substantial changes in the finances of you or your ex. For example, if your ex's salary went up dramatically, you can probably get an earlier modification.

Child Custody Modifications

Sometimes, parents decide that it is necessary to change a child's primary household. One parent may move away and not want to move the child. Parents may decide that their two children should be split among the two different households. There is no end to the possible reasons.

Moving Away

With child custody modifications, it is important to know about Texas domicile restrictions. The statute requires that the order state whether there is a restriction or not; often the child is restricted from moving from the county or counties contiguous to the county lived in as of the divorce agreement. The idea behind this is to maintain relationships by keeping the child within the same school district and near both parents.

But courts can decide whether the statute applies to your situation, and thus whether you can move away with a child. And also, you can work with your ex to make an agreement that there are no restrictions about moving away.

Other Issues

There are many other kinds of modifications that a lawyer can help you with. For instance, child passports are often an issue. In the past, one parent would often refuse to give up a child's passport, which brought about an emergency hearing to allow the pending school trip. Now there is language in Texas court orders allowing punishment for people who withhold children's passports.

But these orders can also be modified. Recently, homeland security has started enforcing a rule saying that any time a parent leaves with a child, he or she must have written consent from the other parent. You can modify an order to take out the need for this.

Contact Us

Please contact us for a consultation with our experienced attorney about any issue concerning modifications. Call us at (972) 385-3952 and you will either get through immediately or we will get back to you within 24 hours. We take all major credit cards, and can make evening and weekend consultations by appointment.