Child Custody Attorney

In most child custody disputes, Texas courts prefer to designate both parents as joint managing conservators and generally establish one parent as the primary parent. The primary parent may have the exclusive right to designate the residence of the children, which means that the primary parent has the children the majority of the time. This right also allows that parent to decide and establish the actual physical residence of the children, but the physical residence of the children is commonly subject to a geographic residency restriction to the children’s county of residence and contiguous counties, e.g. Collin County and any county contiguous to Collin County.
 

The non-custodial parent generally has visitation under the standard possession order. The standard possession order allows possession on the first, third, fifth weekends of each month, every other holiday, and one month in the summer. A non-custodial parent may have more time with their children by electing an expanded possession schedule. Expanded possession entitles the parent to more time on each first, third, fifth weekends of a month by either starting at the time the children are dismissed from school on the Friday of the weekend visitation or extending the weekend visitation until the children’s school commences on the next Monday.

Under expanded visitation, the Thursday visitation occurring in the second and fourth weeks of each month become an overnight visit. Finally, a parent electing the expanded possession schedule gets more time with their children in the summer. Keep in mind that these are only general guidelines and each case is decided by what is in the best interest of the child.