Skip to content 
The first months of a child custody life are crucial for the family welcoming the new member. Emotions run high as the family adjusts to the presence of a baby, possibly for the first time. It is truly a sight to behold. Additionally, these months are key for relationship building as the baby bonds with both parents. This period of bonding coincides with the baby’s other developmental milestones.
Families face many real-life challenges during this time. These challenges can intensify if you are also navigating a divorce or child custody case. You must handle the complexities of both your family dynamics and the legal case. Such situations can be overwhelmingly frustrating. As parents, we understand these struggles well.
At the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, we want you to know you’re not alone. If you’re managing family changes and a legal case simultaneously, we encourage you to contact us. Our office provides the legal support you need during such times. Our seasoned family law attorneys are here to guide you through your challenges. We aim to help you focus on what matters most—your relationships and family.
Basics of court-ordered conservatorship
When you enter a child custody case, part of a custody or divorce proceeding, it impacts every aspect of your relationship with your child. Both the time you spend with your child and your parental rights are affected. However, you can understand the details and plan to maximize your time and care for your child.
This becomes crucial when the child is an infant. Parents know that caring for a baby requires more daily attention than older children. Babies depend entirely on their parents for care. Often, infants need their mothers for frequent feeding. If not direct feeding, mothers must plan to express and store milk for later use.
Fathers should realize that, although they might not be involved in constant care, their role in child custody is vital. Some fathers fear that mothers have an advantage in custody cases. However, in Texas, fathers have equal rights to be a significant part of their child’s life. Taking the case seriously and asserting your rights is essential.
In Texas, “conservatorship” refers to the legal rights and duties you hold regarding your child in a child custody case. These rights and duties influence how you will raise and interact with your child. Visitation and custody decisions are part of this conservatorship. Therefore, understand that your daily relationship with your child will significantly change through this child custody process.
The best interests of the child matter the most
When you enter a family law case involving your baby, you likely aim to set some goals. One crucial goal should involve what’s best for your child, often centered around child custody. We usually view negotiations from our perspective initially. Yet, as a parent, you must prioritize your child’s needs. This shift can be instinctive for many, but others might need time to realize that our children’s best interests might not align with ours.
You will face challenges in prioritizing your child’s interests, especially when you feel you are competing with your co-parent for various rights and duties. Ideally, viewing your co-parent as a teammate rather than a competitor would benefit the situation, but experience shows this is hard to achieve. Family law cases typically position you and your co-parent on opposite sides, making it tough to focus solely on what benefits the children.
Courts across the country, including in Texas, use the “best interest of your child” standard. This standard assesses numerous factors like emotional, educational, developmental, and physical needs of your child, both now and in the future. It also considers your and your co-parent’s visions, your child’s attachment to each of you, and any significant medical needs.
You must think deeply about your child’s life and how to optimize the co-parenting relationship. Viewing each other as partners in raising your child, rather than adversaries, is beneficial. Acknowledge the challenges of family law cases, like wasted time and missed opportunities to communicate with your co-parent.
At the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, we focus on advocating for you in your child custody or divorce case. We understand the unique challenges these cases present. Our experience and professionalism equip us to guide you through these challenges, ensuring we prioritize your needs and those of your child in every family law case.
Possession and visitation of a baby
When you and your co-parent try to negotiate a parenting schedule for your baby you should be aware that the schedule will be the minimum amount of time that your child can spend with you or your co-parent. You and your co-parent can and often should treat the parenting plan as set in stone as far as following a set path geared towards dividing your time between one another and your child. However, there are times when it may be necessary to deviate from that plan.
Ideally, what you should be aiming for in creating child custody orders is a plan that allows you, your co-parent, and your baby to have the most meaningful relationships possible. This likely means taking less time than you would like and allowing your co-parent to do the same. From our experiences, when both parents walk out of a family law case feeling like they could have received more time in the court orders then you are in a good position as far as fairness and a division of time is concerned. Again, the court orders represent a minimal amount of time that you will be able to spend with your child during the year.
When you begin a family law case it will set the stage for negotiations to begin between you and your co-parent. Depending upon your situation, your co-parent may be the last person that you want to work with on anything. Again, it is in the best interests of your child that you need to be concerned with and not your feelings about another adult. Rather, if you can focus on your child and doing what is right for him then you will probably experience fewer difficulties in negotiations.
In Texas, the courts will be requiring you and your co-parent to focus on some specific issues concerning your baby. As we have already discussed in this blog post there are ways that babies are different compared to older children when it comes to their day-to-day care. This reality will be reflected in the court orders that you and your co-parent agree to. If you and your co-parent are experiencing problems negotiating a court order, then a mediator will be utilized to help bring the two of you together so that a settlement is more likely to occur.
Specific factors that will impact the custody and visitation arrangements for your baby
When considering child custody, a key factor is identifying the primary caretaker of the child. In many families, this role is usually filled by the mother. This reflects traditional parenting roles and biological necessities, not a limitation on fathers’ caregiving abilities. Mothers often remain the primary caregivers due to biological connections and childcare norms.
Fathers might start at a disadvantage in custody cases because of these societal patterns. However, this doesn’t mean fathers can’t build strong relationships with their children. Fathers should be aware of these factors and how they might influence their child’s well-being.
Removing an infant from their mother for an extended period can disrupt the child’s life, given the strong emotional and physical bonds formed. These bonds are crucial considerations for families determining fair time division in custody cases.
The parents’ schedules also play a role in child custody decisions. Mothers often reduce work commitments or stay home post-birth, while fathers typically continue working. Consequently, mothers might receive more time with the child in custody arrangements.
Geographical proximity between co-parents is another critical factor. Living nearby reduces travel time, simplifies logistics, and enhances flexibility in managing parenting duties, especially during emergencies.
Finally, the co-parenting relationship’s quality significantly affects the parenting plan. Effective co-parenting, free from conflict, benefits the child’s development and well-being. High conflict or issues like family violence can complicate co-parenting and affect the child adversely.
These topics are crucial for parents in Texas sharing custody of infants. We invite you to discuss these and other concerns during a free consultation with our attorneys. Thank you for reading our blog, and we look forward to offering more insights into Texas family law in our future posts.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
If you have any questions about the material contained in today’s blog post, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free-of-charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law cases well as how your family’s circumstances may be impacted by the filing of a divorce or child custody lawsuit.
Other Related Articles:
- Child Protective Services in Texas: Safeguarding Childhood and Shaping the Future
- Child Protective Services (CPS) in Texas and Marijuana Use: What Parents Need to Know
- Child Protective Services (CPS) and Marijuana: A Comprehensive Guide to Texas Law
- Understanding CPS Authority: Can Child Protective Services Require Drug Testing in Texas?
- Confidentiality in your Texas Child Protective Services case
- Drug Offenses and Child Protective Services (CPS)
- CPS Navigator Your Guide to Conquering Child Protective Services with Confidence!
- Here is what you should do when Child Protective Services knocks at your door
- Refusing Entry to Child Protective Services
- Child Protective Services Investigations in Texas
