In today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, we will explore the types of conservatorship in Texas. Understanding the terminology associated with a Texas family law case can be challenging, but it’s essential because these terms will impact your life and your child’s future.
Fortunately, the Law Office of Bryan Fagan will guide you through these issues, helping you better prepare for success in your child custody or divorce case. We look forward to being able to help the people in our community take control of their family law cases and be as prepared as possible.
We like to say that you can wander into a family law case, but it is tough to wander out of one while also achieving goals that you set for yourself. When you are unprepared, you often can’t set goals for yourself. It would be a shame for you to go through a divorce or child custody case and not achieve something for yourself and your family. While no one wants to face these challenges, we strive to help you make positive strides for yourself and your children, aiming to resolve issues effectively to avoid future complications.
What does conservatorship mean?
Conservatorship involves the rights and duties a person holds over another, such as a parent’s responsibility to make decisions and provide for their child. This includes ensuring their child has housing, clothing, food, and education. In a divorce or child custody case, conservatorship issues are crucial as they impact every aspect of a child’s life.
In Texas, the term “custody” is more commonly used than “conservatorship,” though both terms are closely related. While we’ll use “conservatorship” in today’s blog post, remember that “custody” often serves the same purpose in everyday conversation and legal contexts.
Let’s walk through some of the different elements of conservatorship that you will encounter in your child custody or divorce case. I think the most notable part about conservatorship for children relates to topics like visitation and possession. These are the parts of a case that tie together the time that you and your co-parent can spend with your child. For parents going through a divorce case, these are the issues that are most likely to get your attention. You will want to be able to spend as much time with your children as possible and the visitation and possession aspects of conservatorship will help you determine what the situation is going to look like in this regard.
Next, we have child support. Parents must support their children and child support is an effort to allow for parents to continue in that responsibility. One parent will pay the other parent child support during and after a family law case. Typically, the parent with whom the child does not reside primarily will pay child support. This is because this parent will be spending less time with the children.
How are conservatorship roles defined?
In a child custody situation, the court will likely assign you and your co-parent as either joint managing conservators or as one sole managing conservator and one possessory conservator. Although both scenarios establish you as a conservator of your child, the division of rights and duties can vary significantly. Understanding those differences will help you to determine how to negotiate on these subjects. The better informed you are, the more confident you should be when it comes to negotiating with your co-parent on these topics.
In a Texas family law case, courts generally assume that joint managing conservatorship serves the best interests of your child. This default position means that, all else being equal, you are likely to be named a joint managing conservator. However, even with this designation, it does not guarantee that you and your co-parent will share all rights, duties, and time with your child equally. In a joint managing conservatorship, the division of these elements can still vary.
Joint Managing Conservatorship: Primary Conservator vs. Child Support
The two key differences in a joint managing conservatorship are which parent the court designates as the primary conservator and which parent is responsible for paying child support. In most child custody scenarios one parent will be the primary conservator and the other parent will have the duty to pay child support. The court decides this designation based on several factors, including which parent has been the primary caretaker of your children up to this point.
Child support can be a sticky subject for many parents going through a child custody case. There is something that does not sit well with many parents when it comes to paying money that they earn to their ex-spouse or co-parent. Even though child support payments are meant to benefit your child, they can still be a source of frustration. Typically, courts determine these payments based on the paying parent’s net monthly income.
Even in a joint managing conservatorship, no rule says parents need to split time, rights, and duties with one another on an exact even basis. Rather, there are going to be different parenting roles that both you and your co-parent take on concerning your child. One of you will be the primary conservator of your child. This means that the primary conservator will be able to have the child live with him throughout the school year. The non-primary or noncustodial parent will have weekend visitation and shared holidays. While this arrangement ensures you have time with the children, it does not result in an exact 50/50 split of time.
Shared and Independent Rights in Joint Managing Conservatorship
Additionally, parents who are in a joint managing conservatorship do share rights and duties with a child, but those rights and duties are usually not exactly even. For instance, one parent may have the exclusive right to make a certain type of decision for a child for any number of reasons. You and your co-parent may share certain rights, requiring mutual agreement before taking any action. Additionally, there will be rights that each of you holds independently. This could be something like the independent ability to consent to emergency medical treatment. This way you would not have to call your co-parent on the phone to get their permission to allow for your child to have emergency surgery after injuring themselves, for example.
Remember that a joint managing conservatorship aims to prioritize the best interests of your child above all else. What the state of Texas wants to see is a situation where both you and your co-parent can have a meaningful and long-lasting relationship with your child. This means that both of you should be able to spend time with your child but also weigh in on the important issues regarding his life. A joint managing conservatorship is generally presumed to be appropriate in family law cases. However, if additional information comes to light, you can challenge and rebut this presumption. We will go into that more in detail now.
Sole managing conservatorship
A sole managing conservatorship is not the most likely outcome of your family law case, but it is possible that a court would rule that one is in the best interests of your children. By the same token, you and your co-parent may negotiate through this issue and come to the shared conclusion that a sole managing conservatorship is best for your child and best for your situation. Let’s walk through what a sole managing conservatorship is and how it differs from a joint managing conservatorship.
When One Parent Takes the Lead
When a parent is the sole managing conservator of a child this means that the parent is in the driver’s seat (so to speak) regarding the rights, duties, and care associated with that child. It does not mean that the other parent has no say in the child’s life but at the same time it does mean that the balance of power is not as even as it would be under a joint managing conservatorship. Since we just finished mentioning how the law presumes that a joint managing conservatorship is in the best interests of a child, you may be wondering how a court could then conclude that a sole managing conservatorship is more appropriate.
In many cases, a court might decide that sole managing conservatorship is more suitable for your child if you or your co-parent have a history of substance abuse or domestic violence. In either of these two situations, the court would be concerned with the safety and well-being of your child. Because one of you has a history of family violence and/or substance abuse that would draw into question your ability to make decisions for your child and yourself. In such cases, the court may designate the parent with a dangerous past as a possessory conservator and name the other parent as the sole managing conservator.
Possessory Conservatorship: Restricted Access and Supervision
If you are named the possessory conservator of your child, you will have restricted access and visitation rights. You may have supervised visitation with your children where you must go to a facility or location where your visitation periods can take place. You would likely have just a couple of hours per session to spend time with your children. Furthermore, another person would supervise your visitation sessions. This other person could be a family friend, extended family member, supervised visitation facility employee, or even your co-parent. All of these measures aim to promote your child’s health and safety. You might also have opportunities for unsupervised visitation, which could occur at your home but are likely to be short in duration.
Your ability to make decisions about your child would likely be minimal, as well. For a parent like you to be able to make decisions on behalf of a child you would need to be able to show good judgment. A substance abuser or a person who has an addiction problem is not someone who has displayed an ability to make good decisions for themselves. As a result, you probably would not be able to make decisions about your child’s schooling, religious practices, or medical care. Your co-parent may need to consult with you on jointly held rights and duties (if any), but that would be the exception rather than the rule.
What factors does a court consider when making a best-interest determination?
The emotional and physical development of your child is important to a court. These are two of the primary factors that a court would consider when looking into the best interests of your child. We know that stability and consistency are two of the keys when evaluating how well a child can adapt to their new life after a divorce or child custody case. Therefore, a court would look to whatever situation is most suited to promoting these two qualities. If you and your co-parent provide equally stable and consistent home environments, you would likely be ideal candidates for joint managing conservatorship.
Another consideration for you to think about is the desires or wants of your child as far as who he wants to live with primarily. In Texas, a child over the age of 12 can talk to a judge about their preference in who will become their primary conservator. If your child is over the age of 12 all you need to do is file a motion with the court to have your child speak to the judge about their preference in this regard. The judge has no choice but to allow your child to voice their opinion. If your child is under 12, you can still file the same motion. However, it is up to the court to decide whether to allow the child to express their preference.
Conclusion
Understanding the various types of conservatorship in Texas is crucial for navigating family law matters effectively. By familiarizing yourself with these arrangements and their implications, you can make informed decisions that best support your family’s needs. Whether you are facing a divorce or child custody case, knowing the different types of conservatorship and how courts evaluate them will empower you to advocate for your interests and work towards a favorable resolution. For personalized guidance and to address any questions you may have, don’t hesitate to reach out to our office for a free consultation with one of our experienced family law attorneys.
Other Related Articles
- Joint managing conservatorship in Texas
- Guardianship and Conservatorship in Texas: What’s the Difference?
- Understanding Texas Child Custody: A Parent’s Guide to Sole, Joint, and Split Conservatorship
- Child Protective Services Conservatorship Phase
- What Is Conservatorship? How Does CPS Removal Involve Conservatorship?
- Grandparent and Extended Family Conservatorship Cases in Texas
- Texas Child Custody – What is Conservatorship?
- Everything You Need to Know About Texas Sole Managing Conservatorship
- Sole managing conservatorships: Full custody in Texas
- The Essence of Conservatorship: More than Law, It’s a Lifeline!
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 how your family may be impacted by the filing of a divorce or child custody case.
Bryan Fagan, a native of Atascocita, Texas, is a dedicated family law attorney inspired by John Grisham’s “The Pelican Brief.” He is the first lawyer in his family, which includes two adopted brothers. Bryan’s commitment to family is personal and professional; he cared for his grandmother with Alzheimer’s while completing his degree and attended the South Texas College of Law at night.
Married with three children, Bryan’s personal experiences enrich his understanding of family dynamics, which is central to his legal practice. He specializes in family law, offering innovative and efficient legal services. A certified member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, Bryan is part of an elite group of legal professionals committed to ongoing education and high-level expertise.
His legal practice covers divorce, custody disputes, property disputes, adoption, paternity, and mediation. Bryan is also experienced in drafting marital property agreements. He leads a team dedicated to complex family law cases and protecting families from false CPS allegations.
Based in Houston, Bryan is active in the Houston Family Law Sector of the Houston Bar Association and various family law groups in Texas. His deep understanding of family values and his professional dedication make him a compassionate advocate for families navigating Texas family law.
