Custody Cases

These fears can sometimes negatively affect parents’ reasonable concerns about how a divorce will affect their children. But in most cases, the final orders governing parents’ post-divorce relationship with their minor children will include provisions for both parents to have significant and appropriate involvement in raising their children. That important goal is accomplished by setting out specific orders governing conservatorship, possession, and support of the children.

Conservatorship pertains to the decision-making rights and duties of parents. Texas law presumes that it is in the best interest of a child for the parents to be Joint Managing Conservators. In a Joint Managing Conservatorship, the court order sets out procedures for the parents to make decisions affecting their children, including decisions about the children’s education, invasive medical care, and mental health care. The conservatorship arrangement may provide that the parents must jointly agree upon such a decision, or that one parent will make the decision after consulting with the other parent. Many parents work out a conservatorship arrangement that sets out procedures for “tie-breaking” decision-making—that is, agreeing to follow the recommendations of a third party—if in the future they cannot agree on a major issue, such as what school a child will be enrolled in or whether a child should receive a particular medical treatment. 

Often a major dispute regarding conservatorship revolves around where the parents expect to live after their divorce. One parent may be awarded the exclusive right to determine the children’s primary residence, either within a specified geographic area such as the county of residence and surrounding counties, or without a geographic restriction. The parties may also by agreement omit the allocation of this exclusive right to one parent, essentially providing that they each will establish a residence for their children within a specified area. 

This is an example of a Joint Managing Conservatorship order. While this order is not appropriate for all parents, it suggests ways that parents may approach the issue of how they will make decisions for their children after divorce.

Possession orders set out the terms and schedule for when the children are with each parent. The Family Code sets out a Standard Possession Order specifying a schedule for the parent who does not have primary custody of the children. Under a Standard Possession Order, the parent has possession of the children at the following times:

1st, 3rd & 5th weekends from Friday after school or at 6 pm to Sunday at 6 pm or Monday morning