The El Paso County Domestic Relations Office will modify court orders for child support through the “Friend of the Court” program. When the DRO accepts an application for modification, the DRO does not represent the applicant, nor the responding party. The DRO represents only the interests of the court that rendered the order as the “Friend of the Court.” Each party to the case has the right to hire an attorney to represent him or her in any court action that may be taken by the DRO.

Any person that is a party to a case may apply for services through the Friend of the Court program, as long as the following criteria are met:

1) The order to be modified was issued by an El Paso court, or has already been transferred to El Paso if it was originally issued by a court outside of El Paso; and it has been at least one year since the last order was signed;
2) There is no litigation pending of any kind;
3) The obligee (for a child support case) is not receiving welfare (and has not otherwise assigned support rights to the State of Texas or the Attorney Generals’ Office), and the case is not already an Attorney General/Title IV-D case;
4) There has been a material and substantial change in circumstances;
5) Applicant is current in payment of the annual service fee and any other DRO fees.

NOTICE:
To be eligible for this service, the parties’ combined annual income should be $75,000 or less a year.

If you wish to apply for services with the Friend of the Court Division of the DRO, please complete an application (currently available at the DRO offices and on the DRO website, www.epcounty/dro) and return it to the DRO along with a copy of each pertinent court order. You will be notified in writing of the DRO’s acceptance of your case, and any actions taken by the office.

NOTICE:
If the respondent lives out of town, the applicant will be required to pay the costs of serving the respondent
(usually about $175.00, but it varies with location). If the applicant lives out of town, they may be required to attend a hearing or hearings in El Paso.

I certify that I have read, understood and agree to abide by the terms of these criteria.