If you have been through a divorce and share custody of minor-aged children in Texas, there may be benefits to periodically updating your parenting plan with your former spouse and the court.
When Should You Update Your Parenting Plan?
When spouses first divorce, a custody schedule is often created and signed off on by a judge. But inherently, family situations will grow and evolve in the ensuing years. It is in the best interest of each parent and their children to keep an up-to-date parenting plan that accurately reflects the family’s life circumstances.
A changing financial situation is one indication that it may be time to update your parenting plan. Each spouse’s grounds for custody of their children will be significantly impacted by their financial situation and ability to provide for themselves and their children. If one of the custodial parents has experienced a dramatic increase or decrease in their financial situation, it might be time to obtain the expertise of a family lawyer who may be helpful in guiding you through the process of updating your parenting plan.
If you or your spouse is experiencing long-term unemployment, it may be wise to update your parenting plan. Similarly, if one spouse has received a significant promotion or salary increase, this increased ability to provide for your child could be viewed favorably by the court and may be grounds for an update to the parenting plan.
Benefits of Updating your Parenting Plan
Your parenting plan may also need to be updated upon the remarriage of either spouse. A significant change in the family dynamic, such as the introduction of a step-parent and the merging of multiple incomes and households, could be grounds for making updates to your parenting plan.
The court expects to remain updated on each spouse’s financial situation as it relates to their ability to provide for their children. As a remarriage may significantly change a parent’s financial situation, it is important to take this time to update your parenting plan to accurately reflect the family’s situation.
It is important to remember when seeking to update your parenting plan through the court system (the only way to do so), the court will be evaluating the changes to your parenting plan to determine what will be in the best interest of your child. The court is not interested in an arrangement that seems more “fair” to one spouse or “inconvenient” for another; it is the duty of the court to ensure the interest of the child or children throughout every step of the separation and the proceedings following.
A lawyer may be helpful in providing advice as to whether or not the court may rule in favor of a newly proposed parenting plan and how the welfare of the child or children will be taken into account.
One benefit of updating your parenting plan in Texas is to obtain documentation signed off on by the court that accurately reflects the state of your family and the parenting situation of your children
Without updating your plan, one or both of the parents may risk acting in defiance of the original court-ordered parenting plan, which may come with additional consequences, such as fines, attorneys’ fees, and potential future loss of visitation.
If one spouse has moved out of state, for example, it is important that your parenting plan is updated to reflect this change. The court may find that it is not in the best interest of the children involved to no longer be able to spend time with the parent who is not moving. Should you, as the custodial parent, move out of state and prevent the other parent from receiving the visitation guaranteed in your parenting plan, you may become the subject of a court ruling meant to ensure that the plan is following.
Another benefit to updating your parenting plan is to ensure that the primary caregiver of shared children has proper documentation to prove custody in the event that the other parent is no longer able to care for the child of the relationship. Unfortunate situations, including alcohol and drug abuse, physical violence, mental health struggles, or job loss may necessitate the updating of a parenting plan. An updated parenting plan to reflect these unfortunate circumstances may be necessary for the custodial parent to obtain government or other assistance necessary for caring for the child or children of the relationship.
How to Prepare for Updating Your Parenting Plan
If you are exploring updating your parenting plan in Texas, it would be wise to have an initial conversation with a family law attorney. As an expert experienced in advocating for clients with parenting plans in Texas, a family attorney such as Wendy L. Hart can be useful in guiding you, as a parent, through a custody change or other update to your parenting plan.
Throughout the process of updating your parenting plan, it is important to understand your legal options. The courts do not take requests for custody changes lightly, and a family attorney can ensure that you as the child’s parent have grounds to motion for such a change.
If an extreme change to your parenting plan is being sought, such as switching full custody from one parent to the other, the court will expect to see the evidence. A parent who is considering the benefits of updating their parenting plan in Texas should begin to compile such evidence, either physically or electronically, in preparation for providing these materials to your family attorney.
In preparation for speaking with a family attorney about updating your parenting plan, you may want to consider if asking the court for a temporary update to your plan is appropriate. One parent may file a motion to designate either parent as a primary conservator on a temporary basis.
Change of Primary Custody
In Texas family court, the three instances where a temporary change of primary custody would be considered by the court are when the child’s present circumstances would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development; when the person designated in the final order has voluntarily relinquished the primary care and possession of the child for more than six months; or when the child is 12 years of age or older and has expressed to the court in chambers the name of the person who is the child’s preference to have the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child.
A modification case should be filed in the Texas county where the current parenting plan was created. If the child has lived elsewhere in Texas for 6 months or more, you must still file the modification in the original country where the current parenting plan was filed, but you have the option of asking the court to transfer the case to the new county where the child now resides.
If the child has been living out of state for at least six months, it is important to seek the counsel of a lawyer to determine where the request to update an existing parenting plan should be filed.
Tarrant County Divorce Lawyer
Wendy L. Hart is an experienced family law attorney helping people throughout Tarrant County with parenting plans and other divorce issues. We represent both men and women in family law cases. We’ll make sure you’re treated fairly and will protect your interests and your children.
Visit our Mansfield office, use our online contact form, or call us at (817) 842-2336. We’re ready to help.
