Under TX family law procedure is there a way to change child support payments and custody without going back to court

Nice question. Simple answer. No.

It seems so simple — right? The reality is that if there is already a court order forcing child support in a specific dollar amount then that’s the way it is.

There are a few mechanics to understand here — the judge will be looking after the best interest of the child and that means that someone needs to pay child support. The judge is also bound by the fact that each state already has guidelines for how to determine how much a parent needs to pay for child support (and each state is different) however, once the child support is set to a specific figure — then you are stuck there (because it a judges order) and making personal changes to it is a violation of that rule. The parent (and possibly both parents) can be found in contempt for making an agreement outside of that order.
What the attorney does not tell you — is that each state receives money from the federal government for the collection of child support. So, the more the state collects the more money they get form the fed. This generally means that child support is set to a guideline amount which is specified in state statute. Getting a lower amount is about as easy as raising the dead. The judge can waver from these guidelines, but must specify reasons why and they generally try not to do that.

So, in summary — if there is already an order and no other radical financial /medical or employment issues are at hand — then the guidelines apply and your stuck.

You should look to review the child support obligation every so often — maybe every year or two years to make sure it still applies — but that requires heading back to the judge — since he ‘s the only one that can change it.