Can you please explain the correct way to use the paragraph style because i'm not sure what you are referring to?

There are two ways a cross-reference is typically used for my purposes; A normal bookmarked text & Text Form Field. Both are used, and they're used for ease of use inside a document, and for created templates that will be edited. The issue occurs when the bookmarked item is altered.

During creating the document, the MERGEFORMAT is acceptable because the original bookmarked text isn't likely to be changed. During an edit however, the text included the bookmark may be altered. This is when MERGEFORMAT doesn't work as it brings the new text through without the cross-referenced format.

Altering the format during creation is a simple enough process. Performing it after during an edit is prone to errors. If there is a way to default choose the CHARFORMAT it would make creating much simpler. Alternatively i will have to manually change all of these every time.