Austin Child Custody Lawyer

Child Custody & Visitation Center, Child Custody Solutions

Many options exist with regard to the division of parental rights and responsibilities between divorcing parents.

Sole Managing Conservatorship: In Texas, parents are designated as conservators. Most of the time, the parents are named joint managing conservators of the children, but some circumstances warrant one parent being name the sole managing conservator and the other parent being named the possessory conservator. If named the sole managing conservator, that parent has the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child and will generally make all the important decisions regarding the child, such as education, medical, etc. The sole managing conservator is also referred to as the custodial parent and the other parent is referred to as the non-custodial parent.

The appointment of a parent as a sole managing conservator generally only occurs when there is a history of abuse and neglect, or there is so much conflict between parents, the court does not believe the parents can work together in making important decisions affecting the child. In a situation where family violence has occurred, the possessory conservator, or non-custodial parent, may be limited to restricted or supervised visitation.

Joint Managing Conservatorship: As a general rule, parents will be named Joint Managing Conservators of the child. In this situation, the parents are presumed to be able to work together in making important decisions regarding their child such as education, medical, etc. However, even in a joint managing conservatorship, all important decisions may not necessary be determined by joint agreement of the parents, although both parents should be involved in the decision making process. When named joint managing conservators of a child, the possession schedule is often the standard possession schedule; however, many times when parents work together well to do what is in the best interests of the child, the possession schedule may be more equal between parents, although one parent will have the right to designate the primary residence of the child. The right to designate the residence of a child may be restricted to a certain geographical area to prevent one parent from moving the child a long distance from the other parent.

Split Custody: Some limited situations may determine that the best solution is to split the primary residences of siblings. In this situation, each parent would take custody of different children. This is generally not a decision reached by the Court and the Texas Family Code strongly discourages the separation of siblings.

Custody in the Divorce Process

Custody issues usually first arise when a divorcing couple with children decides to physically separate. Some couples are able to immediately reach an agreement for either short or long-term arrangements for the custody, possession and support of their children, others require court intervention for a temporary and/or final decision. If an agreement cannot be reached, issues regarding the children are addressed in the divorce process through the following procedures:

• Temporary Hearing: If agreements cannot be reached, either party may request a temporary orders hearing either simultaneous with or after the initial divorce papers are filed seeking termination of a marriage. The family court will hold a hearing and issues orders that control all aspects of the divorce while the case is pending including, the conservatorship of the children, which parent will have the right to designate the primary residence of the children, child support, as well as property issues. This temporary order will control the relationship of the parties and children until there is a final Divorce Decree or modification of these temporary orders. Although the temporary custody orders are not determinative as to which party will ultimately be awarded permanent custody, these orders do indicate which parent the court thinks is the more suitable, at least at the time the temporary orders were entered.
• Custody and Mandatory Mediation: Most states, including Texas, now require or at least, strongly urge, parties in a contested divorce to attempt Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Mediation is an ADR process where couples going through divorce work with a neutral third party trained in the area of mediation and family law to try and resolve some or all of their disagreements. In mediation the parties may reach an agreement on issues regarding their children, while keeping other issues like property division open for a judge to decide, or vice versa. If an agreement is reached during mediation, may parties also agree to attempt to resolve any future issues regarding the children through mediation prior to pursuing court intervention. A trial, the court can also order that a provision be included in the final divorce decree that requires the parties to mediate future disputes prior to court intervention.
• Custody Trial: If a trial becomes necessary to resolve issues regarding children, the Texas Family Code and Texas Rules of Civil Procedure provide statutes and procedures for the legal resolution of disputed child custody. The Court will make a decision regarding a child based upon a determination of what arrangement is in the best interest of the child. Factors that the court considers include, but are not limited to, the age and sex of the child, which parent has been the primary caretaker for the child, the work schedules of the parents, the physical and mental stability of the parents, if there is a history of family violence or domestic abuse, and the child's wishes (depending on the age of the child).

Modifications

After orders regarding possession and access have been entered, circumstances may change that require modification of the orders affecting the children. Parents make seek court intervention to modify a child custody order if they cannot agree to a change without court intervention. To obtain a change in the orders, the person requesting the change, must show a material change in circumstances that justifies the change and also show that the modification will be in the best interests of the child. In Texas, if a request to modify a previous order is made within one (1) year of the prior order that seeks to change the parent who designates the primary residence of a child, the Court will only consider the request if there is a showing that the child's present environment may endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair the child's emotional development. Modification requests regarding possession and access are determined by what is in the best interests of the child and are specific to the fact situation in that particular case.

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Centrally located in the Arboretum area of north Austin, the Slater & Kennon law firm represents clients in Travis County, Bastrop County, Burnet County, Williamson County, and Hays County, including the cities of Austin, San Marcos, Bastrop, Burnet, and Georgetown.