Discovery Phase for Child Custody Modification

[harriscountytexasmom]

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Texas in Harris County

Argument as filed to court: unworkable or inappropriate, not in best interest of child, circumstances of the child or person affected have been materially and substantially changed.

The person posting is the Respondent.

For the documents requested in discovery, does anyone have knowledge on what information is used from the financial records they are seeking? For bank statements, is it beginning and ending balances, total transactions, non-relevant transactions? How does this apply to the case if the needs of the child (shelter, food, hygiene, clothing) have been sufficiently met?

For the legal arguments, is it best to break down what the law sees as unworkable, inappropriate, best interest of the child and material and substantial changes and give arguments for how the agreement is still in fact workable and appropriate, modifying it per the request of the Petitioner would not be in the best interest of the child and that although the situation has materially and substantially changed that it does not negatively affect the child of the suit? Is this the time to give the examples or is it best to just provide the reasoning and gather the detail for the mediation and court hearing?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Mr. Knowitall]

The manner in which the party seeking information through discovery will use it is, ultimately, up to them. It sounds like the attorney may conduct boilerplate discovery, the same in every case, and is seeking financial information because child support issues are often decided or modified along with custody determinations.

In child custody litigation, particularly when the other side is represented by counsel (but even if not), it's a very good idea to be represented yourself.

The manner in which parties prepare their trial brief or organize the information they gain through discovery and trial is ultimately a personal decision. A common approach is to get the child custody guidelines for the state and to organize facts and information by factor. (Some information will be relevant to more than one factor.)

[harriscountytexasmom]

We do both have counsel representing us. I am submitting the documentation to my attorney Monday for her review and any corrections to be due to opposing counsel during the month. I was hoping to eliminate any further back and forth need in the formatting and level of detail in the interest of timeliness and cost. I do not oppose providing the financial documents, I was simply curious what factors they may or may not play into the case. Thank you for your response.