FAMILY LAW
Plano Modifications Lawyers
Attorneys for Custody and Child Support Modifications
As life changes, so do the needs of your children and family. The Texas Family Code recognizes that changes in circumstances can make an existing order no longer fit your family’s needs, and it allows the parties to ask the court to modify a prior ruling when that change is in the children’s best interest.
When the last order was signed, the judge – and often the parents – believed it was the right order based on the facts that existed at that time. When those facts change, it may become necessary to revisit custody, possession, or support so the court’s ruling reflects your family’s current reality rather than the circumstances that existed when the prior order was entered.
Why Clients Choose The Price Firm for Modifications
Modification cases require both legal precision and factual preparation. Meeting the court’s legal standard – a material and substantial change in circumstances – takes more than a desire for a different outcome. It takes evidence, strategy, and an attorney who knows what the court is actually looking for.
When you work with our team, you deal directly with your attorney. Our family law practice is led by Eren Price, who personally handles modification cases across Collin County, Dallas County, and Denton County. In some cases, parents agree that the current order no longer works. In others, one parent must prove to the court that circumstances have genuinely changed. We represent clients on both sides.
Our approach is strategic and thorough. We prepare every modification case as if it’s going to trial, because that preparation is what produces the best outcomes – whether through agreement, mediation, or a contested hearing before the judge. Modification requires the filing of a petition with the court from which the most recent order was issued, and the same court will decide the outcome unless the child has relocated to a different county.
FAMILY LAW
Modification Matters We Handle
Sometimes parents discover that as their children grow, the current custody arrangement no longer works for the family’s circumstances. A modification of conservatorship or possession requires proving a material and substantial change since the prior order was entered – and that the proposed change serves the child’s best interest.
Common grounds for a custody or possession modification include a child’s expressed preference, a new step-parent in the home, a parent’s relocation, a change in employment, family violence, child abuse, substance abuse, criminal convictions, or a meaningful change in the parties’ financial circumstances.
If you are currently paying child support under an existing court order but your financial circumstances have changed, it may be possible to reduce the amount you are required to pay. If you have additional children to support since the last order, or if your income has changed significantly, you may have grounds to seek a reduction in your obligation.
If you are receiving child support and it has been at least three years since the last order was entered, you may be able to seek an increase if the recalculated support amount would differ from the current amount by $100.00 or twenty percent or more.
Modification does not always require a contested court proceeding. Parents can reach agreement through informal negotiation or mediation and submit an agreed order to the court for approval, so long as the revised terms remain in the children’s best interest.
An agreed modification allows families to update schedules and obligations to reflect current realities without the expense and uncertainty of a contested hearing. Our attorneys help clients negotiate, draft, and finalize agreed modifications efficiently.
When parents cannot reach agreement, the modification dispute proceeds to a contested hearing before a judge. The party seeking the modification must present evidence sufficient to establish a material and substantial change in circumstances and demonstrate that the proposed change serves the children’s best interest.
Our attorneys prepare contested modification cases with the same level of thoroughness we bring to any trial-ready matter. That preparation – including witness testimony, documentary evidence, and strategic cross-examination – often determines the outcome.
FAMILY LAW
Common Questions About Modifications
A court order can be modified when there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances since the prior order was entered and the requested change is in the child’s best interest. Courts look at the facts that existed when the last order was signed and compare them to the family’s current circumstances.
Yes. Modification does not always require a contested hearing. Parents can reach agreement through informal negotiation or mediation and submit an agreed order to the judge for approval so long as the updated terms serve the children’s best interest.
Common examples include a child’s expressed preference, a new step-parent, a change in employment, a medical diagnosis, family violence, child abuse, substance abuse, criminal convictions, relocation, or a meaningful change in the parties’ financial circumstances.
Yes. If income has changed, employment has changed, or there are additional children to support, a paying parent may have grounds to seek a reduction. A receiving parent may seek an increase when enough time has passed and the recalculated amount would materially increase the current support obligation.
