Sec. 156.401. GROUNDS FOR MODIFICATION OF CHILD SUPPORT. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), (a-2), or (b), the court may modify an order that provides for the support of a child, including an order for health care coverage under Section 154.182 or an order for dental care coverage under Section 154.1825, if:
(1) the circumstances of the child or a person affected by the order have materially and substantially changed since the earlier of:
(A) the date of the order's rendition; or
(B) the date of the signing of a mediated or collaborative law settlement agreement on which the order is based; or
(2) it has been three years since the order was rendered or last modified and the monthly amount of the child support award under the order differs by either 20 percent or $100 from the amount that would be awarded in accordance with the child support guidelines.
(a-1) If the parties agree to an order under which the amount of child support differs from the amount that would be awarded in accordance with the child support guidelines, the court may modify the order only if the circumstances of the child or a person affected by the order have materially and substantially changed since the date of the order's rendition.
(a-2) A court or administrative order for child support in a Title IV-D case may be modified at any time, and without a showing of material and substantial change in the circumstances of the child or a person affected by the order, to provide for medical support or dental support of the child if the order does not provide health care coverage as required under Section 154.182 or dental care coverage as required under Section 154.1825.
(b) Except as provided by Sections 231.1015, 231.1016, and 231.1017, a support order may be modified with regard to the amount of support ordered only as to obligations accruing after the earlier of:
(1) the date of service of citation; or
(2) an appearance in the suit to modify.
(c) An order of joint conservatorship, in and of itself, does not constitute grounds for modifying a support order.
(c-1) Incarceration of a child support obligor in a local, state, or federal jail or prison for a period exceeding 180 days is a material and substantial change of circumstances for the purposes of this section.
(d) Release of a child support obligor from incarceration is a material and substantial change in circumstances for purposes of this section if the obligor's child support obligation was abated, reduced, or suspended during the period of the obligor's incarceration.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 911, Sec. 16, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 43, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1036, Sec. 21, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 916 (H.B. 260), Sec. 19, eff. June 18, 2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 363 (S.B. 303), Sec. 6, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 972 (S.B. 228), Sec. 15, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 508 (H.B. 1674), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2011.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 742 (S.B. 355), Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2013.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1150 (S.B. 550), Sec. 29, eff. September 1, 2018.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 552 (S.B. 286), Sec. 6, eff. September 1, 2021.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 152 (S.B. 870), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2023.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
244
cases (
39 in the last 5 years), 1996–2026 · leading case:
Nordstrom v. Nordstrom, 965 S.W.2d 575 (Tex. App. 1998).
Nordstrom v. Nordstrom, 965 S.W.2d 575 (Tex. App. 1998).
· cites it 4× “Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 156.401 (Vernon 1996).”
McGuire v. McGuire, 4 S.W.3d 382 (Tex. App. 1999).
· cites it 4× “See Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 156.401 (Vernon 1996).”
Rosscer Craig Tucker, II v. Lizabeth Thomas, 405 S.W.3d 694 (Tex. App. 2011).
· cites it 6× “STANDARD OF REVIEW To prevail in their respective modification suits Ross and Lizabeth, each a party seeking relief, had to show that the circumstances of the children or a person affected by the order had materially and substantially changed since the date of the divorce decree.”
London v. London, 94 S.W.3d 139 (Tex. App. 2002).
· cites it 2× “" Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 156.401(a)(1) (Vernon Supp.”
Kirk Brand Coburn v. Janet Moreland, 433 S.W.3d 809 (Tex. App. 2014).
· cites it 2× “See Tex. Fam.Code § 156.401(a)(1). The absence of a material and substantial change is a theme that underlies the core child-support dispute in this case.”
In the Interest of J.G.Z., 963 S.W.2d 144 (Tex. App. 1998).
· cites it 3× “We modify the order awarding $55,000 in future payments for retroactive support to a total of $7,637.50, representing child support from November 1995 to July 1996.”
BREJON v. Johnson, 314 S.W.3d 26 (Tex. App. 2009).
· cites it 2× “Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 156.401(a), (a-1) (Vernon 2008).”
In the Interest of D.S., 76 S.W.3d 512 (Tex. App. 2002).
· cites it 3× “Texas Family Code section 156.401, which sets forth the grounds for modification of a child-support order, states that a court may modify an order that provides for the support of a child if: (1) the circumstances of the child or a person affected by the order have materially…”
London v. London, 192 S.W.3d 6 (Tex. App. 2006).
“401 of the Texas Family Code allows a court to modify an order that provides for the support of a child if “the circumstances of the child or a person affected by the order have materially and substantially changed since .”
In the Interest of J.I.M., a Child, 281 S.W.3d 504 (Tex. App. 2008).
· cites it 7× “Relying on Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 156.401, the trial court determined that it could modify the order as of the date of service of citation or appearance.”
— Tex. Fam. Code § 156.401(2) — 1 case
— Tex. Fam. Code § 156.401(a) — 34 cases
BREJON v. Johnson, 314 S.W.3d 26 (Tex. App. 2009).
“Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 156.401(a), (a-1) (Vernon 2008).”
In the Interest of J.G.Z., 963 S.W.2d 144 (Tex. App. 1998).
“We modify the order awarding $55,000 in future payments for retroactive support to a total of $7,637.50, representing child support from November 1995 to July 1996.”
— Tex. Fam. Code § 156.401(a)(1) — 29 cases
London v. London, 94 S.W.3d 139 (Tex. App. 2002).
“" Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 156.401(a)(1) (Vernon Supp.”
Kirk Brand Coburn v. Janet Moreland, 433 S.W.3d 809 (Tex. App. 2014).
“See Tex. Fam.Code § 156.401(a)(1). The absence of a material and substantial change is a theme that underlies the core child-support dispute in this case.”
— Tex. Fam. Code § 156.401(a)(1)(A) — 24 cases
Kirk Brand Coburn v. Janet Moreland, 433 S.W.3d 809 (Tex. App. 2014).
“See Tex. Fam.Code § 156.401(a)(1). The absence of a material and substantial change is a theme that underlies the core child-support dispute in this case.”
London v. London, 192 S.W.3d 6 (Tex. App. 2006).
“401 of the Texas Family Code allows a court to modify an order that provides for the support of a child if “the circumstances of the child or a person affected by the order have materially and substantially changed since .”
— Tex. Fam. Code § 156.401(a)(2) — 9 cases
— Tex. Fam. Code § 156.401(a)(l)(A) — 1 case
— Tex. Fam. Code § 156.401(b) — 32 cases
— Tex. Fam. Code § 156.401(b)(1) — 1 case
In the Interest of J.G.Z., 963 S.W.2d 144 (Tex. App. 1998).
“We modify the order awarding $55,000 in future payments for retroactive support to a total of $7,637.50, representing child support from November 1995 to July 1996.”
— Tex. Fam. Code § 156.401(b)(2) — 1 case
— Tex. Fam. Code § 156.401(d) — 4 cases
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