Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Assuming that you and your son currently reside in Texas, if your son's dad files a Petition to Modify Parent-Child Relationship, he can submit a motion for your son to speak with the judge in chambers.

By law, the judge is required to speak with a child over 12 years old if a party requests such a meeting. Your son does not automatically get to choose who he will live with, but the court tends to give great weight to the preference of a child older than 12 years old.

The judge will probably evaluate your son's maturity level and rationale for wanting to live with his dad. If your son has questionable or immature reasons (e.g. "Dad never makes me do homework, and I never need to do chores!"), then the judge may give less weight to the son's preference. Also, if the dad has a questionable lifestyle or other problems, such as history of domestic violence, the court will consider those factors. The ultimate standard is, what is in the child's best interests. Thus, the judge must consider the son's wishes, but he or she is not bound by them.

You should consult with an experienced family law attorney in your area to determine your options. If you are served, then definitely retain an attorney immediately. Even if you agree to a change in primary custody, you need to make sure that the court order protects your interests in other areas, such as child support, visitation, etc.

Good luck,

Marc A. Pederson

Attorney at Law

http://www.pedersonlaw.com

If everyone agrees and is willing to sign the paperwork AND the case is in Harris County, I offer a DO IT YOURSELF MODIFICATION KIT.

Then you do the legwork AND you pay the modification filing fee to Harris County.

My cost is $150 per hour to do the paperwork. It should take less than 3 hours for me to do the required paperwork. It might take more if you want to talk a lot. I do the required Harris County forms and the required TX required forms. Yes, it takes awhile to do all the paperwork.

You can try to do it yourself -- go to the Harris County law library. But they don't have the Harris County or TX forms.

The forms sold on-line MUST SAY "APPROVED TEXAS FORMS". If the forms are sold by a company OUTSIDE of the State of Texas BEWARE!!!!!!

Email me at [email protected] for an appointment.