Texas Child Custody Modification Lawyers

Circumstances change after a divorce or original suit affecting the parent child relationship and these changes may require a change in the possession and access or rights and duties provisions in your Child Custody Order and even increases or decreases to Child Support.

At Nick Davis Law, our Child Custody Modification Lawyers in The Woodlands, Texas and Bryan | College Station will analyze the circumstances of your case and advise you on the legal options you have to modify your custody order to address the changes in the lives of the parties or the children.  This process can be simple or complex depending upon your goals and the extent to which the other party will contest or agree the proposed modifications.  Whatever the circumstances are in your case, our Child Custody Modification Lawyers can help pursue your goals and prepare your case to succeed.

A Child Custody Modification is not always available nor is it automatically granted as certain requirements of the Texas Family Code must be satisfied to obtain modification of the possession and access and rights and duties of the parents.  The experienced Child Custody Modification Lawyers at Nick Davis Law serving Montgomery, Harris, Grimes, Waller, Walker, Brazos, Washington and Surrounding Counties can help determine if you qualify for a Child Custody Modification Suit.

Nick Davis Law offers all prospective Child Custody Modification clients a Free Case Evaluation by phone or virtual conference as well as payment plans.  Contact our office at (936) 262-7474.

What are the Grounds for Pursuing a Child Custody Modification Suit in Texas?

1. Agreement of the Parties
2. Child’s Preference
3. Voluntary Relinquishment
4. Material & Substantial Change

The Best Interest of the Child, How Does this Apply in a Child Modification Suit?

1) Caring for the Child

2) Maintaining Family Relationships, and

3) Parental Fitness

In each of these categories an experienced Child Custody Modification Lawyer will consider a number of areas that could provide their client with an advantage in court and work to gather evidence supporting these areas.

Caring for the Child

Typically, when comparing which parent has the greater ability to care for the child, the court will consider things like the Physical & Emotional Needs of the Child and the ability of a parent to protect a Child from Physical and Emotional Danger. The court will clearly favor the parent that is better suited to provide for the child in these areas.  For instance, which parent has more financial resources or the proving ability to put in place structure, boundaries, and reasonably discipline the child.  Additionally, the court will be interested in any previous conduct of a parent that was either proven to be physically or emotionally dangerous to the child.

Within this same category, the court will consider the stability of the homes, parenting skills, as well as each parent’s proven track record for demonstrating their ability to be the Primary Caretaker of the child.

Maintaining Family Relationships

This category can include evidence such as the following:

• Child’s Preferences;
• Geographic Proximity of the Parties and the distances between schools, after school activities, health-care providers and other daily issues;
• The effect the modification may have on siblings, for instance if the siblings are going to be divided between the parents;
• The extent to which the parties encourage and accept positive relationships between each parent.

Parental Fitness

Finally, parental fitness will be considered by the court.  Much like the other categories, the evidence to support or attack a parent’s character is extremely broad except with the exception of bad conduct that occured either (1) before the birth of the children involved in the case or (2) before the entry of the most recent Child Custody Order.  Additionally, there are a few factors that the court is specifically prohibited from taking into consideration.

Evidence the court will consider:

• Current Fitness of a Parent;
• Recent Past Conduct either good or bad of a parent;
• Drug or Alcohol Abuse
• Secual Conduct.  However, the court have held that a party’s secual conduct is relevant only if the child was exposed to it or had access to evidence of the conduct.  Additionally, courts have specifically held that homosexual conduct should be treated no differently than heterosexual conduct.

Facts the Court is Prohibited from Considering:

• The Marital Status of a Party.  That is, the court isn’t to take into consideration whether a party is married, single, or divorced.  However, the court can take into consideration the stability of each parent’s marriage;
• Gender of a party or child.  Technically, the court cannot consider the gender of the parties or the child.  A Houston court has previously held that there is no longer a presumption that the mother is the better parent to raise a child.  However, in reality there still appears to be some bias toward’s mother’s, especially in small conservative counties, however, this bias is no where what it used to be.
• Race.
• Religion.  Religious beliefs that are, “unusual, abnormal, religious beliefs” are not proper considerations in a child custody case.  However, to the extent the beliefs are illegal, immoral, or harmful, this evidence can be considered.