Children (9)
Under the Texas Family Code, joint managing conservators share the parental rights and responsibilities of their children. This type of conservatorship can either be agreed upon by both parties or be put in place by a court order.
In general, the law presumes that it is in the best interest of the children to have an ongoing relationship with both parents. Due to this, it is often the opinion of a Texas judge to lean towards ordering a joint managing conservatorship.
Once a joint managing conservatorship has been granted, it doesn’t mean the children will divide equal time with each parent. While the rights and responsibilities are shared, it may not necessarily mean that it is practical or best for the children to split equal time with both parents. For example, the responsible parties may decide to have the children spend most of their time in one household as transitioning back and forth causes too much instability and stress in the children’s lives.
In some instances, a judge may decide that it isn’t in the children’s best interest for both parents to share conservatorship. When this scenario arises, the judge will name one of the parents, or if both parents are deemed unfit a non-parent, as the sole managing conservator.
Read Texas Family Code 153.074 for all of a parent’s rights and duties during their possession time.
There are several are several reasons that may be present in a family that could lead to a sole managing conservator. When a sole managing conservator has been appointed that individual obtains the exclusive right to make most decisions about the children involved.
Reasons a judge might name a parent (or nonparent) sole managing conservator include:
- family violence by the other parent,
- child abuse or neglect by the other parent,
- alcohol or drug abuse by the other parent, or
- absence of the other parent in the child’s life.
Read Texas Family Code 153.132 for a list of the rights and duties of a sole managing conservator.
If one parent is named the sole managing conservator, the other parent is usually named the possessory conservator. If a nonparent is named the sole managing conservator, both parents will usually be named possessory conservators. A possessory conservator still has the rights of a parent but will not have the final say on most decisions.
The Court is prohibited from making an order restricting possession of or access to a child based on the payment or nonpayment of child support.
Read Texas Family Code 153, subchapters D and E to learn the rights, duties, and guidelines for a possessory conservator.
Child custody is one of the most hotly contested issues in a divorce. There are a few different child custody arrangements in Texas.
Child custody is referred to as conservatorship in Texas. With a joint managing conservatorship, the children primarily reside with one parent, but both parents have a say in the children’s upbringing.
With a sole managing conservatorship, the children live with one parent, and the visitation rights of the other parent may be the same as joint custody arrangement. The visitation arrangement will change depending upon the facts of each case. A sole managing conservatorship is generally awarded if the parents cannot get along or if there has been a pattern of violence.
The parties can agree that neither party will have to pay child support. However, the court must go along with it. If the judge doesn’t believe that agreement is in the best interest of the child, child support could still be ordered.
Supervised visitation is when a child visits with a parent or other family member under the supervision of another adult. The supervisor can be someone agreed upon by both parents, such as a grandparent, or someone appointed by the court, such as a professional supervisor.
Supervised visitation is often ordered when there are concerns about the safety of the child or if the parent has a physical or mental illness.
A Standard Possession Order (SPO) is a visitation schedule developed by the Texas legislature. It contains a standard schedule for when a non-custodial parent can have possession of a child. The SPO is the default visitation schedule in Texas, but it can be modified by agreement of the parents or by court order.
The Standard Possession Order generally gives the non-custodial parent possession of the child every first, third, and fifth Friday weekend of the month. The non-custodial parent can ask for an extended version where visitation lasts from the time school dismisses on Friday to Monday morning.
The non-custodial parent also has access to the child every Thursday evening from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. It can be extended from when school dismisses on Thursday to Friday morning.
During the holidays, each parent alternates yearly between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. In summer, the child spends 30 days or 42 days with the possessory parent. If the possessory parent lives more than a hundred miles away, they spend the entire spring break every year with the child.
A modified possession order is a visitation arrangement that is different than the Standard Possession Order. A modified order can be created by agreement of the parents or ordered by the court. There are many different types of modified visitation schedules, but some common examples include:
- one parent has weekends with the child while the other has weekday visits.
- possession is split equally between both parents.
- the non-custodial parent has longer visits during the summer or holidays.
A modified possession order is generally based on the best interest of the child and what will work best for the family’s schedule.
In Texas, medical support is health insurance for a child. The non-custodial parent is usually responsible for providing medical support. If the non-custodial parent does not have health insurance available through their job, they may be required to purchase a separate policy for the child. If the non-custodial parent is unemployed or cannot afford a health insurance policy, the custodial parent may be responsible for providing medical support.