Texas Family Lawyers Podcast | Episode 145 | Material and Substantial Changes: Can you file? Should you file?

Episode 145: Material and Substantial Change Host: Holly Draper | Guest: Emily Doron | Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast It sounds like a basic concept, but it seems like a lot of attorneys and judges don't fully understand it: material and substantial change, the gatekeeper standard for any modification case. In this episode, Holly is joined by Emily Doron, a senior attorney at the Draper Law Firm, to unpack what the standard actually requires, where it comes from, and why the same set of facts can get a modification granted in one court and denied in another. The Texas Family Code never defines material and substantial change, which means attorneys are left piecing it together from case law — and, in practice, from the individual judge sitting on the bench. The conversation walks through the challenges in presenting material and substantial changes in court including what constitutes material and substantial changes, when it is and when it isn't in the best interests of the client to pursue them in court, how the specific court and judge might impact the outcome more than the facts, and how to protect your client's appeal when the finding goes against what those facts say. This is a conversation from which every family attorney can take away information that they can use, and the every new and young family lawyer will definitely want to hear! In This Episode, You'll Discover:  • What material and substantial change actually is • The two-part test clients need to understand • The one-year modification trap • Whether a promotion counts as a material and substantial change  • How to actually prove it in court • Why “I don’t like this order” isn’t a legal argument