Court orders about children are written for the family that existed on the day the judge signed, and El Paso families do not stand still. A parent takes a job in Horizon City or gets orders to Fort Bliss, a teenager asks to live with the other parent, a paying parent's income changes, or the two of you have quietly followed a different schedule for a year and want the paper to match. If you both agree, an agreed modification updates the divorce decree or SAPCR order officially, so schools, the Attorney General's child support division and the police honor the arrangement you actually live by.
Modifications are governed by Texas Family Code Chapter 156. Under section 156.101, a court may modify conservatorship or possession if the change is in the child's best interest and there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances, a child 12 or older has expressed a preference to the judge, or the primary parent has voluntarily given up care of the child for six months. Section 156.401 allows a child support modification on a material and substantial change, or if three years have passed and the guideline amount would differ by 20 percent or 100 dollars. When both parents sign an agreed order, the court still makes these findings, but the agreement itself is strong evidence that the change serves the child.
Robert Navar represents one parent, drafts the Petition to Modify and the Agreed Order in Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, obtains the other parent's signature and Waiver of Service, and files in the El Paso County court that issued the original order, which keeps continuing jurisdiction. If the Office of the Attorney General has a child support case open, we give the required notice so the order is honored in their system. The prove-up is short and usually held by Zoom; one parent testifies for a few minutes and the judge signs. Parents who simply text each other a new schedule have nothing enforceable, and a modification drafted from a form often misses the withholding order, medical support or possession details that make the order work.
What an agreed modification can change
Common agreed changes in El Paso County include switching which parent has the exclusive right to designate the child's primary residence, expanding or shrinking the geographic restriction so a parent can move to Las Cruces or beyond, replacing the standard possession order with a week-on, week-off or custom schedule, adjusting summer and holiday time, raising or lowering child support to match current income, adding or removing a child from the order, changing who carries health insurance, and giving a parent the right to make school or medical decisions independently. The order can also set a new step-down as older children age out.
Child support, the Attorney General and timing rules
Parents can agree to child support above or below the Chapter 154 guidelines, but the judge must find the amount is in the child's best interest and the order must explain any deviation. If the Attorney General is collecting support through a registry account, the agency must receive notice of the modification and a new income withholding order should issue, or the old amount keeps accruing in their records. Also note section 156.102: a request to change the primary residence within one year of the last order requires a special affidavit, though an agreed change is generally accepted because both parents consent.
Until the judge signs, the old order remains fully enforceable. We tell clients to keep following it, or to document the agreed departure in writing, so no one faces a contempt claim while the modification is pending.
What's included
- Review of your existing El Paso County order and consultation on the changes both parents want
- Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship drafted and filed in the court of continuing jurisdiction
- Waiver of Service for the other parent to sign before a notary
- Agreed Order in Suit to Modify covering conservatorship, possession, child support and medical support
- Updated child support calculation, income withholding order and notice to the Attorney General when applicable
- Prove-up hearing scheduled and attended with you, usually by Zoom
- Certified copy of the signed order for schools, employers and the child support registry
How it works
Agreement into a draft order
We review the current order, confirm the changes both parents want, run any new child support numbers, and draft the petition and agreed order. The other parent reviews, may consult their own lawyer, and signs with a notarized waiver.
File in the right El Paso court
We file with the El Paso County District Clerk under the original cause number so the case lands in the court of continuing jurisdiction, and we notify the Attorney General if a support case is open.
Zoom prove-up and signed order
We set a short hearing, usually by Zoom. One parent testifies that the change is in the child's best interest, the judge signs the modified order, and we deliver certified copies and any new withholding order.