Texas Standard Possession Order

Written by Swayze on January 16th, 2012


The guidelines established in the Texas standard possession order are intended to guide the courts in ordering the terms and conditions for possession of a child by a parent named as a possessory conservator or as the minimum possession for a joint managing conservator.

It is the policy of the state of Texas to encourage frequent contact between a child and each parent for periods of possession that optimizes the development of a close and continuing relationship between each parent and child. The Texas Family code goes on further to state that it is preferable for all children in a family to be together during periods of possession.

In Texas, the standard possession order is designed to apply to a child three years of age or older. §153.254 of the Texas Family Code applies in a situation where the child is younger than the age of three. The Texas Legislature amended § 153.254 during the 2011 legislative session to provide a list of factors that a court should consider when rendering a possession order for children under the age of three.

Prior to September 1, 2011, §153.254 merely stated that “The court shall render an order appropriate under the circumstances for possession of a child less than three years of age.” and that “The court shall render a prospective order to take effect on the child’s third birthday, which presumptively will be the standard possession order.”

§153.254 now states in part that the court shall render an order appropriate under the circumstances for possession of a child less than three years of age. In rendering the order, the court shall consider evidence of all relevant factors, including: the caregiving provided to the child before and during the current suit; the effect on the child that may result from separation from either party; the availability of the parties as caregivers and the willingness of the parties to personally care for the child; the physical, medical, behavioral, and developmental needs of the child; the physical, medical, emotional, economic and social conditions of the parties; the impact and influence of individuals, other than the parties, who will be present during periods of possession; the presence of siblings during periods of possession; the child’s need to develop healthy attachments to both parents; the child’s need for continuity of routine.

This blog post does not cover all of the factors that a Texas Court shall consider when rendering an order for possession of a child under the age of three, but enough to give a person an idea of the factors that the courts are interested in when making a decision regarding child possession for children under the age of three.

Essentially, section 153.254 provides that when a child is less than three years of age, the court shall render an appropriate order under the circumstances for possession of the child. This section suggests that the trial court is not bound by the guidelines in the standard possession order when the children are under the age of three.

The Texas standard possession order does not dictate in all cases, and there are situations where it is inappropriate, unworkable, or the parties have agreed to a different possession schedule.

In situations where the standard possession order is inappropriate or unworkable, the court shall render an order that grants periods of possession of the child as similar as possible to those provided by the standard possession order. This situation may arise when the work schedule of either conservator or the school schedule of the child makes the standard possession order either unworkable or inappropriate.

At any rate, the court may render a possession order that varies from the standard possession order based on the agreement of the parties. However, generally when the parties cannot agree upon a possession order, the courts will order the standard possession order when the child is over the age of three.

Austin Divorce Lawyer

Clifford Swayze
512 East 11th St. Ste. 202
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: 512-335-5245

 

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Spousal Maintenance Austin, Texas

Written by Swayze on January 16th, 2012

A request for spousal maintenance during a divorce is a request for periodic payments from the future income of one party for the support of the other party. Spousal maintenance is intended to give limited support to one spouse during the period of uncertainty that follows a divorce.

Spousal maintenance was originally intended to protect “long-term homemakers” when it was passed into law in the mid-nineties. However, Texas has since expanded the use of spousal maintenance to include spouses affected by domestic violence, and to protect spouses caring for disabled children or spouses that are disabled.

If the claim for spousal maintenance is based on a marriage that has lasted 10 years or longer, then the person requesting spousal maintenance must establish that the duration of the marriage was 10 years or longer (measured from the date of marriage to the date of trial, not the date that the petition is filed). They also must prove that the spouse requesting spousal maintenance lacks sufficient property to meet his/her minimum reasonable needs, and he/she cannot support themself because of his/her own disability, his/her child’s disability, or his/her lack of earning capacity.

It would appear that the duration of the marriage would be apparent, and it is to a certain degree when the parties to the divorce had a ceremonial marriage, however, the date of marriage may become more murky when the parties were married informally, or if the marriage was a putative marriage.

A question that many people have when they come into my office is “what does minimum reasonable needs really mean?” The Texas Family code does not provide a definition of what a person’s minimum reasonable needs are and the answer is provided through case law to a certain degree, but remains a fact-specific determination that ordinarily is established by the trial court.

To establish the spouse does not have the earning capacity to meet their minimum reasonable needs, that spouse must show that they have made diligent efforts in either seeking suitable employment or developing the necessary skills to become self-supporting. The above mentioned criterion does not mean that an employed person does not qualify for spousal maintenance.

If the court determines that a person is eligible to receive spousal maintenance, the court must also establish the duration the spousal maintenance will last, the amount of spousal maintenance to be awarded, and finally, the manner (weekly, monthly ect..) of the award.

The court must consider certain statutory factors in calculating the amount of an award for spousal maintenance, and I will briefly discuss a few factors.

In determining the amount of the award, the court must consider the financial resources of the person awarded spousal maintenance, including the person’s ability to meet their minimum reasonable needs independently of the former spouse. However, the court must also consider the obligor’s ability to meet his or her own personal needs when determining the amount of spousal maintenance to be awarded as well as considering the relative financial resources of both spouses.

On September 1, 2011, statutes relating to the amount of spousal maintenance that can be awarded, as well as the statutes relating to the duration of the award that were amended during the 2011 Texas legislative session went into effect. For more information pertaining to spousal maintenance please call my office to schedule a consultation.

Austin Divorce Lawyer

Clifford Swayze
512 East 11th Street, Ste. 202
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: 512-335-5245

 

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Austin Texas Child Support

Written by Swayze on November 8th, 2011

In Texas, there are four types of child support optinos that may be available for the benefit of a child. The four different types of child support available in Texas are current child support, retroactive child support, temporary child support, and medical child support.

Current child support is an obligation imposed on a parent to support a child for a specific duration of time following a suit affecting parent-child relationship. The duration of the child support payments can vary depending on whether the parent-child relationship has been terminated. The second type of child support is referred to as retroactive child support, which is basically repayment of money spent on the care of the child in the past. Retroactive child support represents the amount of money the “non-supporting” parent owes to the child and the “supporting” parent. The third type of child support is awarded during the suit for child support and is referred to as temporary child support. The temporary child support will last until the suit for child support is finished and a final judgment has been entered in the suit. The fourth type of child support is medical child support, which may be paid in payments or in a lump sum to deal with the child’s medical expenses. Medical child support includes health insurance.

In a suit for child support, the court is going to require each parent to provide financial information to identify the party’s resources and ability to pay child support. Generally, the parties are going to be required to provide the past two years of tax returns as well as current pay stubs and a financial statement. The reason the court must have this information is, in part, to determine the net resources available to the parent required to pay child support. All wage and salary income as well as other compensation such as a commission, tips, and bonuses are included in the calculation of net resources. While the list of different forms of compensation are not exhaustive, it provides a good understanding of what types of information the court is going to require to determine what net resources are available to the obligor parent.

In a situation where there is no evidence of an oblgor’s salary, the court will work off a presumption that the person’s salary is equal to the federal minimum wage for a 40 hour work week. However, in a situation where a person is intentionally unemployed or underemployed in order to reduce child-support payments, the court will not limit its calculations to actual earnings, but will base its calculations off the person’s earning potential. The person must be intentionally unemployed or underemployed. What this means is that the person obligated to pay child support must have made a choice to be unemployed or underemployed to effectuate a reduction in child support. Evidence that a parent is earning less than in the past alone is not sufficient to show that the person is intentionally underemployed even if the person has changed jobs due to job satisfaction. When determining an obligor parent’s earning potential, the court will look at the person’s current and past income as well as work experience and level of education.

For more information regarding child support calculations and “net resources” please see my previous post regarding Austin, Texas child support or call my office to schedule a consultation.

Austin Divorce Lawyer

Clifford Swayze

Attorney at Law

512 E. 11th St. Ste. 202

Austin, Texas 78701

Phone: 512-335-5245

 

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Austin Divorce Lawyer- Agreed Divorce? Less expensive…

Written by Swayze on October 31st, 2011

When people are going through a divorce, they may be very angry and resentful towards their spouse. To a certain degree, this is normal. I have been through a divorce myself, and I can tell you from experience that it is a very emotional and painful experience. I don’t like referring to a divorce as a “process” because I think it takes away from the personal and real emotions that a person is experiencing. There are many reasons why a person going through a divorce may be angry, resentful, or bitter such as infidelity, deception, character assassination, shock or any number of different reasons.

While these feelings may be justified, it is important to attempt to focus on an eventual objective. Whether you want the divorce or not, it may get thrust upon you and you need to attempt to focus on where you want to be once the divorce is finalized. A divorce can be scary and heartbreaking, but focusing on a resolution is important.

From a personal standpoint, I found it very helpful to have a friend I related to that was dealing with the same issues that were going on in my divorce. Having a person that you can discuss your feelings with is very important! However, it is equally important to focus on a goal. (Easier said than done.)

When attempting to consider where you want to be after the divorce, there are a couple of different issues that are important to consider such as the following: What amount of financial resources are you going to need once the divorce is finalized to maintain a healthy stable lifestyle?; who is going to have primary custody of the children?; how much time am I going to be able to spend with my children?; do I want the house?; can I afford the house?; can I get off the mortgage?; how much money will I have to spend on a divorce lawyer?

I cannot answer these questions in a blog post because the answers are personal and need to be determined on a case by case basis. However, I can elaborate a bit on the details of my divorce. In my situation, the objective portions of the divorce were, for the most part, agreed, meaning the division of the marital assets were not hotly contested. However, I still chose to hire a divorce lawyer. In my case, I hired a lawyer not because I necessarily needed advice, or someone to draft or file documents, but because I wanted someone else to deal with the specifics of the divorce such as communication and drafting of the documents. I wanted someone to deal with obtaining my post-divorce objectives while I focused on the questions mentioned above and the emotional issues that the divorce caused.

To a certain degree, the answers to the above mentioned questions will be determined based on the type of continued relationship you will have or want with your spouse. Generally, it is better to avoid fighting so that you have more assets when the divorce is finalized. (once again this is easier said than done). Unfortunately, fighting when dealing with a divorce is not cheap. The more letters, motions, and hearings required, the higher the attorney’s fees will escalate. An agreed divorce, if possible, will save the client substantial legal fees. While an agreed divorce is not always possible due to the specifics of a particular party’s circumstances, the attempt at decreasing the volatility is helpful.

Austin Divorce Lawyer
Clifford Swayze
Attorney at Law
512- E 11th Street, Ste. 202
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: 512-335-5245

 

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Termination of Parental Rights and Adoption Austin, Texas

Written by Swayze on October 20th, 2011

Termination of Parental rights Austin, Texas
In Texas there are certain situations where the Texas Court may terminate parental rights so that a biological parent no longer has a “legal relationship” with their biological child. A termination of parental rights may be voluntary or involuntary.
Generally, the court may order termination of the parent-child relationship if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the parent has:

- Voluntarily left the child alone or in possession of someone who is not the parent and expressed an intent not to return;
- Voluntarily left the child alone or in the possession of someone who is not the parent without expressing an intent to return, without providing for the adequate support of the child, and remained away for a period of at least 3 months;
- Voluntarily left the child alone or in the possession of another without providing adequate support of the child and remained away for a period of at least 6 months;
- Knowingly placed or knowingly allowed the child to remain in conditions or surroundings which endanger the physical or emotional well being of the child;
- Engaged in conduct or knowingly placed the child with persons who engaged in conduct which endangers the physical or emotional well-being of the child;
- Failed to support the child in accordance with the parent’s ability during a period of one year, ending within 6 months of the date of the filing of the petition; or
- Abandoned the child without identifying the child or furnishing means of identification, and the child’s identity cannot be ascertained by the exercise of reasonable diligence.

The above stated grounds are not an exhaustive list of reasons that a person’s parental rights may be terminated. To see the entire statute you can view §161.001 of the Texas Family Code .

In addition to the many different grounds for involuntary termination of the parent-child relationship listed out in the Texas Family Code, there is also a large amount of case law dealing with termination of parental rights in Texas. In order to terminate a parent-child relationship brought under §161.001 of the Texas Family Code, the petitioner must establish by “clear and convincing” evidence that 1. A violation has occurred under §161.001 and 2. That termination is in the best interest of the child. The petitioner must establish evidence of both elements. If the petitioner proves one element it does not relief the petitioner of his or her burden to establish the second element. A termination proceeding is strictly scrutinized and involuntary termination statutes are strictly construed in favor of the parent. There is a strong presumption in Texas that the best interest of a minor is usually served by keeping custody in the natural parents.

Involuntary termination of parental rights is a very complex legal issue. My discussion of the a small portion of the law is by no means comprehensive. If you are dealing with this issue you should contact an attorney, and if you have any questions live in the Austin, Texas area, call my office to schedule a consultation.

There are situations where a parent, for various reasons, may voluntarily relinquish his or her rights to a child. This voluntary termination of parental rights comes up most often with a step-parent adoption. A voluntary relinquishment of parental rights (voluntary termination), involves a situation where a parent of a minor child voluntarily agrees to terminate his or her parental rights. Generally voluntary relinquishment of parental rights (voluntary termination) is used to allow a person that has married the other biological parent of the child to adopt the child.

When this situation arises the termination of the parent-child relationship of the non-custodial biological parent is one of the first steps in the process. In a later post I will delve into the process of terminating the parent child relationship in regards to a step-parent adoption in more detail. If you have any questions regarding a step-parent adoption, or termination of parental rights, call my office to set up a consultation.

Clifford Swayze
Attorney at Law
512-E 11th Street, Ste. 202
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: 512-335-5245

 

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Austin Texas asset and liability division upon divorce

Written by Swayze on October 18th, 2011


A Travis County (Austin) Court has the authority to divide and dispose of spousal liabilities during a divorce. The statutory authority that the State of Texas bestows on the Travis County (Austin) Courts includes the ability to determine, between the spouses, the liability to third party creditors. While the court does not have the power to change liability on community debt in relation to third party creditors, the court can order that one spouse pay the debt or that property must be sold to pay off the debt.

A sworn inventory report is generally the first step in discovering and dividing property and liabilities shared by the spouses. There are other discovery methods such as interrogatories, depositions, requests for production of documents, and informal discovery. A few common types of liabilities include, but are not limited to the following: mortgages; credit cards, car loans; income taxes etc…

After the property and liabilities have been determined through the discovery process, the next step is to characterize the assets and liabilities as either community or separate. The assets and liabilities should also be valued during this process. Generally, the division of the party’s liabilities will be done in a manner to effectuate a just and right division of the entire community estate. Several factors will play a role in determining which party will be assigned a particular liability such as a particular party’s ability to pay the debt.

There are various methods to effectuate a just and right division of the party’s assets and liabilities. The Travis County (Austin) Court may divide up the assets and liabilities by partitioning them or selling the assets to pay off community debt. Any division and confirmation of the party’s assets and liabilities must be stated in the final decree of divorce.

The above discussion dealing with the division of community property, liabilities, and the discovery process is merely an introduction to the process. If you have questions regarding division of assets and/or liabilities upon divorce please call my office to schedule a consultation.

Austin Divorce Lawyer
Clifford Swayze
Attorney at Law
512 E. 11th St. Ste. 202
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: 512-335-5245

 

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Austin Texas Possession and Access in Child Custody Suit

Written by Swayze on October 14th, 2011

A child’s conservator, once appointed must be given periods of possession or access to the child. Generally, conservatorship (custody) suits involve two parties who are appointed joint managing conservators, or sole managing conservator and possessory conservator. Absent an agreement, the Texas Family Code provides a standard possession order in child custody cases. However, there are certain custody suits where the standard possession order is not appropriate, and a deviation from the Texas Standard Possession Order is necessary. One situation where the Texas Standard Possession Order may not be appropriate is where the child subject to the suit is under the age of three. Let’s give an arbitrary example, parent X and parent Y have one child and all parties reside in the City of Austin, and within Travis County. Parent X and Parent Y decide to end their relationship when the child is one year old. Parent X and Parent Y agree that they will be joint managing conservators, but because the child is still being breast fed etc., they do not feel as though the Texas Standard Possession Order is appropriate. Parent X and Parent Y decide to deviate from the Texas Standard Possession Order, but contemplate a time when the order will be appropriate within their final order.

The Texas Standard Possession Order lays out specific terms of possession and access to the child. In Texas, the Standard Possession Order is presumed to be in the child’s best interest, and to provide each parent with the minimum reasonable possession. However, the “Standard Possession Order” presumption is a rebuttable presumption. As I have previously stated, a party may request that the court deviate from the Texas Standard Possession Order when the parties have agreed to periods of possession that differ.

A party may also ask the Travis County (Austin) Court restrict or deny possession or access to a child if it is in the child’s best interest. However, restrictions and denials must be limited to what is needed to protect the child’s best interest. A few situations where a parent’s possession and access to a child may be restricted or denied include the following: when one of the parents abuses drugs and/or alcohol; where family violence has occurred; situations where there is “credible evidence” of a history or pattern of past or present child neglect, physical or sexual abuse by a conservator directed against the child’s parent, the conservator’s spouse, or any child; if a conservator is likely to abduct the child and take the child to a foreign country; if one of the parents has knowingly or intentionally made a false report or child abuse. This list of situations where a conservator’s possession or access to a child may be restricted or denied is not exhaustive and other situations where a conservator’s possession or access may be restricted or denied.

At any rate, a judgment in a custody case must have a parenting plan that lays out the specific terms or periods of possession or access to the child, the rights and duties of a parent or person acting as a parent, and optimize the development of a close and continuing relationship between each parent and the child. If you have questions and/or concerns about a potential or present child custody case please call my office and schedule a consultation.

Austin Divorce Lawyer

Clifford Swayze

Attorney at Law

512 E. 11th Street, Ste. 202

Austin, Texas 78701

Phone: 512-335-5245

 

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Agreed Divorce? Lowers lawyer’s fees! Austin, Texas

Written by Swayze on October 11th, 2011

It goes without saying that working out an agreement with your spouse will decrease the emotional trauma inflicted on both you and your family. An agreed divorce will minimize the disruption to your family and your pocket book. Keeping the divorce as amicable as possible is of the utmost importance when children are involved! Children understand more than we give them credit and they know how you feel about your spouse. Remember, at the end of the day your children’s “best interest” is more important than fighting with your spouse (if it can be avoided). Children tend to blame themselves for their parents’ marital problems, and it is your duty to minimize the emotional trauma the divorce will cause your children.

In an agreed divorce a lawyer’s role may be more limited than when a divorce is contested. If the parties have already worked out an agreement, the lawyer may only have to prepare initial pleadings, certain other documents (warranty deeds, wage withholding orders, ect..), and a final decree. When the parties work out an agreement amongst themselves, lawyer’s fees are considerably reduced!

If you find yourself in a divorce, consider the following: absent a showing of grounds, the court is going to divide the community property 50/50. Even if you are getting divorced with extenuating circumstances such as infidelity or abuse, the Travis County (Austin) Court may not award you much greater of a percentage of the community property to offset the amount of money spent on lawyer’s fees. Consider the following scenario: Spouse X and Spouse Y are happily married in Austin, Texas, then Spouse Y cheats. For the purposes of our hypothetical, X and Y have been married for 5 years, own a house (that has no equity) in North West Austin, Texas, own two vehicles that are upside down in payments, have no debt, and a small amount of cash on hand, and no children. Spouse X can afford to continue living in the marital house without assistance of Spouse Y. On the other hand, Spouse Y could not afford to make the mortgage payment on his or her own. For purposes of our hypothetical, selling the home would be impractical (See no equity above). In this scenario above, what benefit does Spouse X get by fighting for a disproportionate share of the community estate? What benefit will Spouse X get by dropping tons of money on a contested divorce? If the parties work out an agreement, the divorce will generally be no fault, meaning that the reason for the divorce will be “discord and conflict of the personalities which destroy the legitimate ends of the marital relationship.”

If there are children involved, substantial assets, or debt, then the situation can be more complicated, but ultimately, absent “grounds” for divorce, the split of the community property will be approximately 50/50. If there are children involved, an “agreed divorce” may be difficult to achieve if the parents cannot come to an agreement regarding custody, possession and access, and child support. The court will decide child custody issues based on what the best interest of the child is as discussed in depth in previous posts. Absent an agreement to the contrary or extenuating circumstances, the court will generally implement the “standard possession order.”

An agreed divorce will spare the community estate (i.e. your retirement, savings, your bank account, credit) significantly! Lawyers/Attorney’s dealing with divorce/child custody in Austin, as in other places, bill based on the amount of time spent on a divorce. Obviously, an agreed divorce does not require as much time as a contested divorce! Coming soon: how to work out an agreement!

REMEMBER: In order to facilitate an agreement, both parties have to desire an agreement. Call my office if you have any questions or would like to schedule a consultation.

Austin Divorce Lawyer

Clifford Swayze

Attorney at Law

512 E. 11th Street, Ste. 202

Austin, Texas 78701

Phone: 512-335-5245

 

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Assault against a family member? Child Custody? Austin, Texas

Written by Swayze on October 9th, 2011

When one of the parents has been arrested for assault causing bodily Injury to a family member in Austin, Texas, a common condition of bond is “no contact” with the victim. An arrest for assault causing bodily injury to a family member may cause a complicated situation for both parents if the allegation of Assault is against either the other parent or one of their children. If the parents have limited resources to raise the child/children the immediate departure of one parent from the family home can cause a financial nightmare. Furthermore, the “no contact” provision will create immediate custody issues to be dealt with by the parties. If you combine the potential financial nightmare with a situation where one parent can have no contact with the children you immediately have an even more complicated scenario. How does one parent deal with the difficulties associated with parenting when the other parent can no longer participate, combined with the financial fallout of one parent being removed from the home? If you are faced with this situation you may have to decide if you need to file either a divorce, or a suit effecting the parent-child relationship.

If a parent puts forth allegations of domestic violence against the other parent, the parent that has not committed family violence can be appointed as sole managing conservator. The Texas Family Code prohibits the appointment of the parents as Joint Managing Conservators if “credible evidence” of domestic violence is presented to the court. What is “credible evidence” to a court located in Austin, Texas? In re Marriage of Stein, the court held that “credible evidence” of domestic violence is “evidence that a parent has a history or pattern of past or present child neglect or a history of physical or sexual abuse that has been directed against the other parent, a spouse, or a child.” When the biological parents are the only parties seeking custody of the child, and one of the parents has been proven to have a history or pattern of domestic violence it leaves appointment of the other parent as the child’s sole managing conservator as the only possible outcome of the child custody suit.

A “Protective order” will not automatically cause a person to be appointed as sole managing conservator. Although, to obtain a “Protective order” the applicant must prove that family violence has occurred and is likely to occur in the future. Protective orders issued against a party during the child custody suit or within two years before the suit was filed must be considered by the court; however a protective order will not automatically rise to the level of “credible evidence.” If you have questions regarding custody issues arising out of a domestic violence situation contact my office to schedule a consultation.

Austin Divorce Lawyer
Clifford Swayze
Attorney at Law
512 E. 11th Street, Ste. 202
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: 512-335-5245

 

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Child Custody Austin Texas Continued

Written by Swayze on October 8th, 2011

A “child custody” suit includes proceedings regarding divorce, separation, paternity, and termination of rights to name a few. In Travis County (Austin) child custody suits are judgments, decrees, and other orders that determine custody, or visitation of the child.

The purpose of a child custody suit is to establish which party will make decisions for the child, as well as laying out rights of possession of and access to the child. When determining issues relating to child custody, Texas courts must first consider what is in the child’s “best interest,” while also taking into account Texas public policy to allow frequent and continuing contact with parents that have shown the ability to act in the child’s best interest, create a safe, stable, and non-violent environment, and to encourage parents to share in the rights and duties of rearing their children.

In a conservatorship suit there are two main types of conservators “managing” and “possessory.” There are also two main types of “managing” conservators, sole managing conservator and joint managing conservators. A sole managing conservator is a parent, person, or entity that is granted specific exclusive rights to make decisions for the children. Joint managing conservatorship is a situation where one of two or more people share the rights and duties of a parent. In a joint managing conservatorship, one person may be given certain exclusive rights such as the right to determine the residency of the child.

A few rights and duties that a parent may have are as follows: have physical possession of the child, direct moral and religious training of the child; designate the primary residence of the child, consent to treatment including emergency or noninvasive medical, dental and surgical; consent to psychiatric and psychological treatment of the child; receive child support; act as an agent; manage the child’s estate; receive earnings and services; consent to marriage; consent to joining the military; act as the child’s legal representative; and make educational decisions for the child. If it is in the child’s best interest, the Texas court can expand or limit these rights as the court sees fit to do so.

A person named as a sole managing conservator, joint managing conservator, or a possessory conservator has the right to have “physical” possession of the child or children. As I have stated in previous posts, appointing both parents as joint managing conservators is presumed to be in the “best interest of the child” The reason that joint managing conservatorship is presumed to be in the “best interest” of the child is that it is thought to provide the child with the best care, opportunities, and atmosphere for the child’s mental, moral, and emotional development. If neither parent is alleging domestic violence they may still be able to obtain sole managing conservatorship, but only if they are able to overcome the presumption that joint managing conservatorship is in the best interest of the child. To overcome the presumption that joint managing conservatorship is in the child’s best interest the parent attempting to obtain sole managing conservatorship must put forth evidence that appointing both parents as joint managing conservators is not in the “best interest” of the child. If a parent has been established as the sole managing conservator, the other parent must be appointed as the possessory conservator unless the Texas court finds that appointment of the other parent as possessory conservator is not in the child’s “best interest” and that allowing the other parent to have possession or access would put the child’s physical or emotional welfare in danger.
This post generally discusses “child custody” suits in Texas, and is not comprehensive. If you have questions or need a consultation call my office for assistance. I will be delving further into child custody issues in the near future. One topic I plan on covering soon is the effect of domestic violence in relation to child custody issues.

Austin Divorce Lawyer
Clifford Swayze
Attorney at Law
512 E. 11th Street, Ste. 202
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: 512-335-5245

 

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