In Texas family law problems, courts usually presume that appointing both parents as joint managing conservators serves the best interests of the children. This holds true regardless of the parents’ marital status, whether they were once married or never married. The underlying principle is that both parents should share parenting rights and responsibilities concerning their children. This presumption reflects a commitment to fostering healthy and meaningful relationships between children and both of their parents, promoting stability and continuity in their upbringing.
Conservatorship refers to your rights and responsibilities of raising a child. Sharing those rights and responsibilities means that teamwork with your ex-spouse is important. That may be difficult for you to think about as you engage in a contested family law case, but children generally do better when both of their parents take an active and involved role in raising them. However, sharing those rights and responsibilities does not necessarily imply an equal division. That is where the contested nature of family law cases comes into play.
What happens when you and the other parent cannot agree on a visitation plan?
The Texas default visitation arrangements follow what’s known as a Standard Possession Order. So long as you and your child’s other parent reside within 100 miles of one another, your visitation with your child would look like this:
- Weekend visitation with your child on the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month. You would pick up your child at 6:00 p.m. at their other parent’s home and drop your child off on Sunday at the same time and location. Weekend possession periods expand to picking up and dropping your child off at school on Friday/Monday for some families.
- Each Thursday night during the year you would be able to see your child from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. I call this a Chick-fil-A night for you and your child to go out for dinner and then drop him or her off at home.
- Holidays like Christmas, Easter, Spring Break, and Thanksgiving are alternated from year to year. Summertime visitation expands for you as the parent with visitation rights. You would be provided with thirty days in a row of visitation under most Standard Possession Orders.
Christmas and summer holiday visitation guidelines
Holiday visitation periods take precedence over regular, school-year visitation. Christmas break differs from Spring Break or Thanksgiving due to its duration. The first half commences at 6:00 p.m. on the day of school release and concludes at noon on December 28th. The second half of Christmas break begins at noon on 12/28 and ends at 6:00 on a Sunday before school lets back in for the Spring Semester. Obviously, the first half of the holiday encompasses Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Weekend visitation, as mentioned earlier, extends into the summer but can be affected by summer holiday visitation. Unless you provide notice to your child’s other parent insufficient time (usually by April 1st of that year), you will be able to be in possession of your child for the entire month of July. The only exception is that the other parent will be able to choose one weekend that month to be able to see your child.
Child Support Basics
If you would like to get into a more full-throated discussion on child support in Texas you are more than welcome to search our blog for articles that relate to this subject. You are sure to find a wide range of them that will hopefully answer any question you have. With that said, my aim in discussing child support with you today will be to provide you with the basic information that anyone who has a child needs to know.
The Texas Family Code lays out the basics of child support as far as what should be paid based on how many children you have before a court in any given lawsuit. If you are the parent who has visitation rights to your child it is likely that you will also be the parent who pays child support. Your ex-spouse, with whom your child lives primarily, would be the recipient of your child support.
Can child support be paid directly to the child?
I will assume a question that some of you are wondering: can you pay your child directly for the child support that you owe to him or her? Child support payments are intended for the child’s benefit and are paid to the child’s other parent, not as support for your ex-spouse. Typically your child support payments go through the State of Texas so there is another layer between your money and your child.
To calculate your child support obligation, start with your net monthly resources. Next, count the number of children involved in the case. Finally, multiply your net income by a specific percentage to determine the amount you owe for child support.
For example, one child means that 20% of your net income is assessed for child support purposes. Two children are 25%, three children are 30%, and up to 5 or more children are not less than 40% of net monthly income going towards supporting your children. The amount you pay may decrease based on the number of children you support who aren’t part of the court proceedings.
Child support obligations remain, even if unemployed
If you are not working that does not mean that you do not have to pay child support. If you are in that type of situation a judge will likely set your child support income based on minimum wages earned working forty hours per week. This should encourage you to find a job and earn an income even if that means you have to pay child support. The alternative would be to not work and still have to pay child support based on minimum wages that it would assume that you could earn.
How to change any aspect of a final decree of divorce or Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship
The entire reason why people go through a difficult family law case is to have orders sent by a court that allow you some certainty in regard to your property, your child, and your life after the family law case ends. Not knowing how much you stand to receive in child support each month, or if you are going to be able to pay your bills after your divorce or a host of other issues is no way to go through life. Therefore, it’s crucial that you comprehend the contents of your case’s final orders.
Navigating court order modifications
In the event that you have orders handed down that you do not agree with or find that they no longer suit you or your circumstances, it is possible for you to change them through a process called a modification. If a material and substantial change has occurred in your life, your ex-spouse’s life, or the lives of one of your children then you have an opportunity to have specific orders modified.
What sort of changes would a court be looking for? Remarrying typically relieves you of the obligation to pay spousal support to your ex-wife. This change in circumstances warrants a modification of your divorce decree. Likewise, if you are the custodial parent of a child and that child has developed an illness that requires constant medical care, you may need to ask a court to go back and adjust the amount of child support that you receive in order to help offset the increased costs of the medical care of your child.
Navigating parental modification requests in family law
Many times (most times?) a parent asks for a modification of an order it has to do with the visitation/custody orders no longer being workable for your family. Maybe transporting a child based on prior orders just doesn’t work out any longer because one parent has moved. Maybe your child is over the age of 12 and now wants to live with you primarily instead of their mom. It could be a whole host of reasons why you would ask for modification.
Whatever the modification is in regard to, a judge must find that it is in the best interests of a child. This can basically work in one of two ways: either the judge will issue your orders after a child, which means that he or she will be able to dictate what is in the best interests of your child. Or, you and your child’s other parent will be able to negotiate the terms of your modification. At which point a judge will likely presume that you and your child’s other parent are acting in their best interests and approve the modification even though he or she played no role in creating the order.
What happens in the event that someone violates your court order?
Both parties in your family lawsuit, including yourself and the other person, could potentially violate the court order. Even if you believe it couldn’t be you, it’s important to acknowledge the possibility. In case of a violation, the aggrieved party can file an enforcement lawsuit to compel compliance and seek punishment through contempt proceedings. Violating a court order may result in penalties such as jail time or fines. In cases involving parental rights termination, you have the right to have an attorney appointed by the court.
Many times parents decide after a period of time that it is no longer necessary to follow the visitation orders that they have on the books. This may be for any number of reasons, not the least of which tends to be that the other parent did something to upset him or her, and now a violation of the order will occur to settle the score. Once that happens, hurt feelings come into play and an escalation of violations occurs. Typically, more than one violation occurs and a battle of enforcement suits is the end result.
Does this sound familiar? If you and your ex-spouse find yourself in a situation where you both have violated court orders it may be worth your time to examine why those violations occurred. Maybe you can work together in mediation to modify your orders to better suit your lives now. That would be far more agreeable than suing each other over these enforcement-related issues. Your family’s situation is unique but with some co-parenting and assistance from an experienced family law attorney, it is likely that you have solutions that can minimize the cost and time spent on these types of unpleasant occurrences.
Conclusion
Addressing family law problems in Texas often centers on the presumption that joint managing conservatorship serves the best interests of children. This approach underscores the importance of shared parental responsibilities and involvement in decision-making for the well-being of the children. Whether parents were once married or never married, the focus remains on fostering strong and nurturing relationships between children and both parents. By upholding this presumption, courts aim to promote stability and continuity in children’s lives, recognizing the vital role that both parents play in their upbringing. Embracing joint managing conservatorship reflects a commitment to prioritizing the children’s welfare and ensuring their healthy development within the family unit.
Questions about family law cases in Texas? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
If you have any questions about the material that we covered in today’s blog post, I encourage you to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free-of-charge consultations six days a week where we can answer your questions and discuss your specific circumstances. We take pride in being able to work along with side people just like you who live in our community. We thank you for giving us some of your time today and hope that you will join us again tomorrow.
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Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Houston, Texas Divorce Lawyers
The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding divorce, it’s important to speak with one of our Houston, TX Divorce Lawyers right away to protect your rights.
Our divorce lawyers in Houston TX are skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form.
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.
