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What is full custody?

The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations to any person in our community, across Texas, or throughout the rest of the world interested in learning about Texas family law. Most of the time, the people we talked to in these consultations plan to file a family law case or have recently had one filed against them. With that in mind, we do Our best to answer questions honestly and thoughtfully while providing primary resources to learn more about the law and our practice of it. This is how we can provide information and help our community learn about the services that we provide to our clients.

It happens regularly that we are asked questions about specific areas of family law. When it comes to questions regarding children and children’s issues in divorce and child custody cases, we are asked what the judge was most likely to decide when it comes to custody for a particular person’s point. That person will spend some time going through a lengthy review of their circumstances and then asking our attorney about what is likely to happen in a trial scenario. We may be the first attorney or law office that this person is ever spoken to get a professional opinion on their particular situation.

When our attorneys respond to the question, the answer we get from our office’s potential clients is that they would like to have full custody of their child after the divorce or child custody cases come to a close. Now, full custody is a term that is not utilized once in the Texas family code. More than that, the term custody isn’t even used in the family code. Custody is a general term used by the public and attorneys alike to describe issues related to a whole host of topics in Texas family log about children.

Full custody must be something that people discuss family law cases because persons from all walks of life and backgrounds tend to use this term for conservatorships in custody issues. While different people may mean other things that we use the term full custody, the connotation is that the person saying that they want full custody of their child typically desires to have that child live with them full time, have child support paid to them and have most of the decision-making ability about that child’s best interests.

Whether or not there are particular ideas about focus city related to how much time the other parent should have with the child is different. However, full custody is the desired outcome for many parents who go through child custody and divorce cases in Texas. In today’s blog post, I would like to discuss what I think most people mean when they say full custody and more about the specifics of what full custody means in connection with a Texas divorce or child custody case.

Start to think about what you mean when you say full custody.

When talking about your friend’s child custody or divorce case, it is OK to be general when you utilize terms associated with Texas family law cases. It’s OK to do this because you are likely not getting into the nitty-gritty details of their case, and you do not need to be specific or exact with your terminology. If you have never gone through a case like this, you probably rely upon your friend’s vocabulary when you even talk about the subject. However, this needs to change once you become involved in your child custody or divorce case.

This needs to change because people who go into child custody or divorce cases without a plan rarely end up with a result in a lawsuit that is to their liking. It would help if you were intentional and exact with creating goals for yourself in your case and then even more intentional about how you set off to achieve those goals. The people who struggle in their family law cases do so because they rely mainly on their attorney’s experience to succeed in the case and have no basic understanding of the family law process. While your attorney should be taking the lead on educating you about the process and helping you through the decision-making steps, you are primarily responsible for your case and not your attorney.

Therefore, if you come into our law office and begin to discuss full custody, you should do so with the understanding that ultimately, you need to determine what full custody means for you and your family based on your specific circumstances. Once you have a basic understanding of what you want to achieve in your case, you will be better position 2 make decisions that are in your family’s best interest. Before then, you will merely be regurgitating information and terminology that you have heard from other people without a fundamental understanding of how those topics can impact your life and your children in the future.

This discussion needs to begin with an understanding that you need to determine what sort of custody scenarios you would like to see implemented for you and your family after your family law case. For instance, do you want to be named as the parent who has the primary right to designate the resident’s every child? If so, how will you prove to a judge that you are best suited to have this right? What have you done so far and your parenting history to show that you are in a better position than your opposing parent to be named the primary conservator of your children? Have you done anything to show over time that this is true? These are relevant questions to ask yourself as you stare down the barrel of a child custody or divorce case.

Once you have answered these questions, you can determine whether you are even in a position to ask for primary conservative rights to your children. Do not let your ego or pride get in the way of deciding for your children in their best interests. I have seen my fair share of parents attempt to win primary conservative shipwrights of their child in family law cases for no other reason than they do not want their opposing parent to have that right. As many people call it, this is not a great reason to push for primary conservatorships rights or full custody.

If you believe that You are well-positioned to be named the primary conservator for children and believe that it is in your child’s best interests for you to be named as such, you should take steps to go in that direction. How are you going to present evidence and structure your case to win this designation? Do you have proof of your being at home with the kids and having had taken care of their daily needs frequently? What sort of successes can you point to for your children when I come to see your involvement in their daily lives? Do you cook for them? Do you sit with them and do their homework? Are you the active and involved parent that you believe that you are? These are the serious questions you need to ask yourself.

Full custody should also involve thoughts about being able to make decisions on behalf of your child. For instance, you should not think about complete control due to time and possession issues. It would help if you also thought about full custody regarding matters related to the ability to make decisions on behalf of your child and the responsibilities associated with holding full custody rights. Why do you believe that your child is best suited to live with you primarily? Do you have a work schedule that lends itself towards flexibility in the ability to be with your child more often than not?

Another important aspect of this conversation is that you need to determine which parent, you or your opposing parents, have more often filled the shoes of a primary conservator during your lives to this point. Suppose you have very rarely taken the lead on parenting responsibilities associated with your children. In that case, it is going to be more challenging for you to argue then you should be named the primary conservator of your children in a divorce for a child custody case. This does not mean that you will lose any rights associated with parenting your children, but it does mean that you are less likely to be named as the parent who has the primary right to determine your children’s residence.

Be prepared to negotiate with your opposing parent on this topic.

I’ve learned from speaking to parents contemplating a new family law case because most people believe that a judge will decide their case. I don’t blame these folks for thinking this way. Television and movies lead us to think that judges play a central role in every aspect of other family lodges. What’s more, television and films tend to have us believe that there is one event in a family law case: the trial. Everything must come down to a dramatic and emotional divorce or child custody trial to determine custody rights.

In the real world, this could not be further from the truth. While your child custody or divorce case may involve a trial, it is unlikely that it would. Most divorce and child custody cases are settled in mediation rather than judged after a trial. This means you need to be comfortable and willing to negotiate on custody issues with your opposing party. You all will be sharing custody rights, and it only makes sense to deal with those rights in mind during mediation.

If you have it in your mind that you are not going to bend on any issue associated with custody, you likely will find that a trial is in your future. The fact of the matter is that mediation requires both sides to bend a little bit here and there to reach conclusions in the best interest of your children. If you are unwilling to turn on a particular issue and your opposing party believes it to be essential, that issue will likely lead you all to a trial. That isn’t the end of the world by any means, but it does mean additional cost in time associated with your child custody or divorce case.

On the other hand, if you are willing to negotiate through complex issues in your custody case, then you will be well on your way to establishing hey good co-parenting relationship with their opposing parent. Ann is more likely to settle upon a custody division in the best interest of her child. Keep in mind that a judge is not as well suited to make decisions regarding your family as you and your co-parent. Nobody knows your family and your child, as well as the two of you, do. Rely upon this expertise, and you all will be well served to work your way through the essential issues regarding child custody in your case.

Questions about the material presented in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan

If you have any questions about the material 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, in via video. These consultations are an excellent way for you to learn more about Texas family law and our law office’s services to our clients.

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Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Houston, Texas Child Custody Lawyers

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding child custody, it’s essential to speak with one of our Houston, TX, child custody lawyers right away to protect your rights.

Our child custody lawyers in Houston, TX, are skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, handles child custody cases in Houston, Texas, Cypress, Klein, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, The Woodlands, Houston, the FM 1960 area, or surrounding areas, including Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, and Waller County.

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At the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, the firm wants to get to know your case before they commit to work with you. They offer all potential clients a no-obligation, free consultation where you can discuss your case under the client-attorney privilege. This means that everything you say will be kept private and the firm will respectfully advise you at no charge. You can learn more about Texas divorce law and get a good idea of how you want to proceed with your case.

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