Relating to requirements for certain orders and judgments rendered in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship.
Summary
SB 1404 amends the Texas Family Code to change how certain orders and judgments are handled in suits affecting the parent-child relationship. The bill requires courts, when issuing protective orders that prohibit disclosure of a party’s information, to obtain an email address for service and notice unless the court finds that doing so would likely endanger the party’s safety. It also authorizes clerks to send orders, notices, and other documents to that email address through the state’s electronic filing system.
The bill also requires attorney’s fee and expense judgments in certain family-law proceedings to be entered separately from judgments confirming child-support arrearages. Specifically, it amends provisions governing attorney’s fees in suits affecting the parent-child relationship and in child-support enforcement actions so that fee awards are not combined with arrearage confirmations. The changes apply to pending cases and new cases filed on or after the effective date, September 1, 2025.
Impact
SB 1404 affects the Family Code provisions governing notice, service, and judgment formatting in family-law cases, especially child support modification, enforcement, and other suits affecting the parent-child relationship. It expands the use of electronic notice by requiring an email address in certain confidential cases, while preserving judicial discretion to waive that requirement when safety is at risk. It also changes court practice by requiring attorney’s fee judgments to be separated from arrearage-confirmation judgments, which may affect how orders are drafted, enforced, and appealed in these cases.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial overall. It passed the Senate unanimously and the House by a wide margin, with only a small number of dissenting votes on final passage. The voting pattern suggests general agreement with the bill’s administrative and procedural changes to family-law practice, particularly its emphasis on electronic notice and clearer judgment structure.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is the email-address requirement for parties whose information is otherwise protected by court order. Supporters likely view this as a practical way to improve notice and service through electronic filing, while opponents may worry about privacy, confidentiality, or safety in sensitive family-law matters. The bill addresses that concern by allowing courts to exempt a party from providing an email address if requiring it would likely endanger the party, which appears to be the principal safeguard and the likely focus of any debate.
Relating to the requirements for certain court orders in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed by the Department of Family and Protective Services.