Your custody order may have taken weeks to negotiate or required extensive litigation in the Texas family courts. Once you have an order in place explaining how you should divide time with the children and share other parental responsibilities, both parents should make a marked effort to comply with the order as written.
Eventually, the parenting plan that you drew up years ago may become so outdated as to be problematic for your family. When the existing order no longer works given the changing schedules or relationships in your family, you may need to go back to the Texas family courts for a modification hearing.
When will the courts agree to change your existing custody order?
When your ex never comes for the children
If your ex asked for as much parenting time as possible, you would expect them to show up for it. However, if their goal was just to reduce their child support obligations and not to protect their relationship with the children, then they might stop showing up or start frequently canceling their parenting time.
One parent frequently canceling on the children can be hard for them to accept or understand, so reducing the parenting time of your ex could reduce the heartbreak your children experience.
When parents or children have schedule changes
Maybe your custody order has worked well for your family, but the children are about to start a new season of sports which will drastically reduce how much family time they have every week. On the other hand, a parent could have accepted a new job, which could strain the existing schedule.
When there has been a substantial change to family schedules, the courts may update the custody arrangements to reflect the new needs in the family.
When the children have been put in dangerous situations
Did your ex leave the children alone with their new love interest, who has lost custody of their children or done jail time for violent offenses? Did the kids come home with bruises and complain that their other parent was violent?
If you have any reason to suspect abuse or neglect occurring during your ex’s parenting time, you may need to keep records of what makes you suspicious so that you can reduce their parenting time for the protection of your children. Knowing when you may have reason to ask for a custody modification in Texas can help you better bond with and protect your children.
