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When determining custody and related matters, Texas family law judges apply the “best interests” standard. This principle guides the court in deciding what arrangements will most benefit your child both now and in the future. It focuses on factors such as the child’s physical health, emotional stability, and long-term development. As you consider your rights as a parent in Texas, it’s important to understand how this standard shapes custody decisions. The Texas Supreme Court’s landmark Holley case highlights these considerations, providing a framework courts still rely on when weighing what truly serves a child’s best interests.
Texas family court goals in determining a child’s best interests
On a general level, the goals of a Texas family court when making a best interest determination would be to think about the most important objectives on behalf of your child in terms of their emotional health and development. For one, the presumption in Texas is that the best interest of your child is served when you and your co-parent have a meaningful role to play in the life of your child. So, if possible, the court will want to ensure you and your co-parent can continue and have an important role to play in the life of your child. If possible, a court will seek to name you and your co-parent as joint managing conservators of your child.
The health and safety of your child is also important. When we think about the health and safety of your child there are considerations such as keeping your child out of harm’s way as far as their interaction with family members or other people who present a threat to them are concerned. If you have a history of abuse within the past two years before the filing of your child custody or divorce case, then you will have an especially difficult time showing a court that you can protect the health and safety of your child.
Best interest factors in Texas
A court will consider the importance of maintaining existing family ties between your children and their extended family when making decisions about what is in their best interest. If possible, not only will a court attempt to encourage your relationship between you and your children but we’ll also prefer to place your child into situations where he can have a relationship with your extended family. The court also determines whether your child’s household members present any risk of harm.
A relevant consideration for a family court regarding the best interests of your child is your ability as a parent to provide for the basics of life for him or her. This would include shelter, clothing, and medical care. It is not a requirement that you be able to provide your child with any specific kind of shelter but only that the shelter be free from defects or issues that could present a risk of harm to your child. You must provide your child with health insurance. If you cannot, you must enroll your child in a Medicaid program and reimburse the state of Texas for the coverage. Also, your child needs to be able to have food and water available to him or her.
What is your relationship with your child like?
Your past involvement in the life of your child matters to a court when making a best-interest determination. This is one of the issues that parents run into all the time and usually have questions about. In truth, it is usually fathers who have questions about this subject the most. There is a thought that exists that fathers are at a disadvantage in family law cases either because of bias on the part of most judges or because the law inherently helps women and mothers compared to men. The reality of the situation is that there is no bias in the law towards mothers or fathers. The Texas Family Code states that it will not give preference to mothers or fathers when assigning parental rights and duties.
How past involvement affects your chances of being primary conservator in Texas
The law states that courts judge parents based on their past involvement with their child. If you have not played a substantial role in your child’s life, the court will likely not name you as the primary conservator. This means that you are unlikely to be in a position where you can have your child live with you on a full-time basis. It is not because you are the father or because the child’s mother is more suited to the role. What it does mean is that you are at a disadvantage because you have not played a major role in raising your child.
This could be for many reasons. Your child’s mother may simply not have allowed you to take part in your child’s life. In that case, it is not exactly your fault that you have not been able to play a role in raising your son or daughter. Additionally, you may have been unaware of having a child if the child’s mother kept that information from you. Or, you simply may have been working during your child’s life and have largely been outside of the home for that reason. Or, you could have decided to not be a part of your child’s life and are now realizing that this was a mistake.
Why establishing your role early matters in Texas custody cases
Whatever the reasoning is, if you have not played a major role in the life of your child to this point then it is unlikely that a family court judge will allow you to step into the life of your child now that you have a family case before him or her. For this reason, you should consider doing everything you can to solidify your role in the life of your child while you still have time. Trying to do this immediately before any family law case begins is not a recipe for success.
Becoming the primary conservator of your child is a common goal for parents as they embark upon a family law case. Not only are you able to choose where your child lives on a primary basis, but you are also able to receive child support, and usually make more decisions exclusively or independently regarding your child’s well-being. In short, the primary conservator designation is an important one for families going through a child custody or divorce case. However, you need to be smart about how you pursue this goal in your case.
Do your child’s opinions count when determining their primary conservator
A situation that the family law attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan run into regularly involves a parent coming into our office to express the desire to begin a family law case. Whether it is a child custody or divorce case the parent will often tell us that their child has expressed a desire to live with him or her on a primary basis. In their mind, this is all it takes to be named as the primary conservator in a family law case. These folks will tell us that they are so confident that the child will name them as their preference to live full-time that the outcome of the case will be a foregone conclusion.
A child’s preference is not a guaranteed factor in Texas custody cases
What we as attorneys often need to remind the parent or inform them of for the first time is that a child’s preference is not a guaranteed factor when determining the best interests of your child in a family law case. One of the first things that we need to think about is how old your child is. As a parent, I can tell you that there is a maturity and judgment difference between my 7-year-old daughter and my one-year-old son. The same idea applies to any set of children. There is always a maturity, experience, and understanding difference between children based on their ages. This is an unavoidable truth. For that reason, the courts in Texas treat children and their opinions on conservatorship differently based on their ages.
The cutoff line for judges is age 12. We can start examining this issue by considering children who are under the age of 12. If your child has not reached age 12 then their preference on who he or she wants to live with on a full-time basis is not necessarily a relevant consideration for the judge. The judge can consider the opinions of a child younger than 12. However, it is not mandatory under the Texas Family Code. Rather, it is up to the judge’s discretion regarding whether to seek out the opinion of a child. It really can be a case-by-case basis that a judge uses this as a factor when determining whether to meet with the child.
Judge’s role in hearing a child’s conservatorship preference
For children aged 12 and above, the judge must speak with the child about their conservatorship preference if a parent requests it. At that point, the judge has no choice. The judge meets with the child, usually without either parent present, although a parent can request a record of the conversation. The judge would ask basic questions of the child as far as their preference on where he or she lives primarily either with mom or dad.
What many parents do not expect in this type of situation is for the judge to not delve into other topics. Do not look at the situation as one where the judge will be leaning on a child to help him or her decide in a family law case. Rather, the judge would limit their questions to issues related to primary conservatorship. Some parents expect that the judge will use this time to analyze the situation from a psychological standpoint or even perform work similar to what a psychologist would do. The judge is not there to fulfill that role or any other but to be a judge of the days before him or her.
Balancing the best interests of your child with your desires as a parent
Being able to balance what is in the best interest of your child with what is in your best interests as a parent is not easy. Many parents are surprised to learn that, upon further examination, what you want may not be what is in the best interest of your child. Discovering this truth and then being serious about following through with what is in the best interest of your child can make a big difference not only in your case but in the life of your child moving forward.
When we look at the best interest of our child, it is worthwhile for us to consider what we can do as parents to defend our rights but also to be serious about ensuring that the best interest of our children is at the forefront of our actions in a family law case. Sometimes this can mean asking some uncomfortable truths and confronting those truths in a way that is not always pleasant. However, when we do this, we can usually put ourselves in our children in a position to be able to build strong relationships with one another.
How your role in child-rearing affects primary conservatorship decisions in Texas
First, when you are looking at the subject of primary conservatorship of your child, you need to be honest with yourself about determining the best interests not very child from the perspective of which parent has performed most of the child-rearing activities to that point. If you are the parent who has primarily been outside the home and have not been able to always be available for every doctor visit, school trip, or other activity then there is not anything wrong with that necessarily.
You were performing a role for your family as the income earner. However, in performing that role there are consequences when it comes to being able to argue that you should be the primary conservator of your child moving forward. This is especially true when you consider that your child likely has a parent who has performed that role for him or her over time. When push comes to shove, even if you have displayed great parenting skills and have no history of bad behavior with your children, a judge would be more likely to name your co-parent as the primary conservator rather than you.
Again, this is not necessarily a reflection of your parenting skills and does not mean that you are not a good parent. However, what it does mean is that the other parent may be better suited to fulfill that role for the time being. This does not mean that you can’t come back later and attempt to modify the court orders if that situation changes. However, what it does mean is that right now you should be realistic with your goal setting and submit yourself to the process where you are asking to be evaluated fairly and based on the best interests of your child.
The importance of having an experienced family law attorney in Texas custody cases
Having a family law attorney who is experienced in identifying the best interests of your child and helping you determine how to move forward in a child custody or divorce case is critically important. A family law attorney can help you to identify different factors that you may not be considered when assessing various issues related to child custody in your case. The benefit of this can be immeasurable. Rather than spending time focusing on issues or subject matter that will not help you in your case, an attorney can help you to home in on those areas of a case where you can make a difference for yourself and your child most readily.
Understanding your rights as parent in Texas is essential when navigating custody, visitation, and decision-making for your child. By recognizing how the “best interests” standard guides court decisions, you can better prepare to protect your role in your child’s life. With knowledge of the legal framework and guidance from experienced family law professionals, you can confidently assert your rights as parent Texas and work toward outcomes that support your child’s well-being and future stability.
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 as well as about how your family’s circumstances may be impacted by the filing of a divorce or child custody lawsuit.
Other related articles
- Understanding How a Judge Will Evaluate What Is in the Best Interests of Your School-Aged Child
- Different Factors Are Involved When Assessing What Is Your Child’s Best Interest Based on Their Age
- The Best Interest of the Child: A Guiding Principle in Texas
- Protecting Your Child’s Best Interests When Visitation is Missed
- What Do Courts Mean By “Best Interests Of The Child”?
- Make sure all custody decisions reflect kids’ best interests
- Texas Child Custody Attorneys: Comparing Success Rates Among the Best
- Want to Know How Your Judge Will Evaluate What Is in the Best Interests of Your Child? Read This Blog Post
- Approaching the Best Interests of Your Child From the Perspective of a Family Court Judge
- Divorce Advice Based on the Best Interest of Your Children
