If you’re on the verge of filing for divorce or splitting from a partner and you have children, it’s likely that you’re nervous about what sort of custody laws you might be facing in Texas. Of course nothing with divorce or custody of children is every simple, but we’ll try to help.
In Texas the court or the parties involved in the divorce or separation will appoint/agree to one of two situations. In the first situation, one spouse will be appointed as the Sole Managing Conservator of the children, and the other spouse will be appointed as the Possessory Conservator of the children. The Possessory Conservator will be the party who has visitation rights. The second option in Texas child custody situations is that both parents will be appointed as Joint Managing Conservators of the children. In this option, rights and responsibilities will be allocated between the parents.
The best situation for a separating or divorcing couple wondering about child custody is to come to an agreement between themselves. A mediator or an attorney can often help a couple splitting to reach this goal. Assuming that a couple can agree upon custody, the court will almost always approve this agreement. However plenty of couples can’t agree upon custody, and in this situation the court will make the decision for the couple. Custody battles can often be tiring emotionally and costly financially, so it’s usually best to work toward an agreement before it gets to that point.
If you’re on the verge of discussing custody of your children, it’s important to stay organized, stay calm and have a strategy in place. Like many things, collecting all of the facts involved in your case is a great place to start. While it’s not always easy, it’s very important to take the emotion out of your story if possible and be honest about the facts involved.
Even if you’re not ready to hire someone, it’s probably a good decision to have an initial consultation with either a lawyer or a mediator. We offer complimentary initial consultations at the Shane Pellerin Law Firm to help you get together the facts of your case and let you know what we think you should do next.
Many times, the most important first step is getting organized and having your facts straight. And while it’s not always easy, it’s usually better in the long run if both members of a couple can work together to try to come to an agreement when it comes to child custody issues.
Here are a few resources that may help you as you try to understand child custody laws in Texas:
- Child Custody Laws in Texas from FindLaw with Alimony and Chid Support Facts
- Texas Child Support Calculator
- Five Apps to Help You Through Your Divorce
Image from Flickr User Cuito Cuanavale
[…] Are you Behind on Child Support? Learn How Texas Deals with Parents Who are Behind on Child Support Payments Tags: Child Support, Child Support Attorneys, Overdue Child Support, Texas Child Support Posted in Child Support, Divorce Lawyer, Family Law | Leave a comment More than a dozen men were arrested this fall in the Rio Grande Valley as a result of being behind on child support payments. The Cameron County Sherrif’s Department worked along with the Texas Attorney General’s Child Support Division to arrest the men who were behind on child support. The men who were arrested for owing a total of more than $390,000 in child support payments. […]