Texas family law recognizes two kinds of child custody: physical custody and legal custody. Texas has some special terminology in this area. It refers to physical custody as “possessory conservatorship,” and it labels legal custody as “managing conservatorship.” A local Texas attorney would be able to explain Texas’s special terminology for custody and visitation.
If a parent has sole or “full” physical custody, their child lives with them full-time. A parent who has sole legal custody has the exclusive right to do the following:
- Decide with which parent their child lives
- Direct their child’s healthcare
- Manage all child support they receive for the child
- Resolve any legal issues involving the child
- Make decisions about the child’s education
- Consent to the child’s marriage
- Manage the child’s passport
- Consent to the child’s military service.
A parent can meet full custody requirements in court, but before going to court, a parent would want to decide which kind of custody they want and whether they want sole or joint managing custody. A person can seek one or both kinds.
What Are the Requirements for Full Custody?
All child custody decisions in Texas are made using the child’s best interests standard. In order to succeed with a case seeking sole custody, a parent must show that sole custody is necessary for the well-being of the child. The main issues that might lead to an award of sole custody are as follows:
- Evidence of Neglect or Abuse: One of the most persuasive reasons for a parent to seek sole custody is evidence of neglect or abuse by the other parent. This includes physical, emotional, or psychological abuse, as well as failure to meet the child’s basic needs. Courts take such allegations seriously and may act quickly to protect the child.
- Substance Abuse Issues: If the other parent has substance abuse issues that affect their parenting practices, this can serve as grounds for a parent to seek sole custody. Evidence may include criminal records, records of medical treatment, the testimony of witnesses to events and expert testimony about their behavior and its effects on the child.
- Instability: If the other parent suffers from instability in their life, e.g., homelessness, this might be a factor that would lead a court to award sole custody to the other parent.
Courts also consider other factors, such as a parent’s stability. A parent who seeks sole custody would want to gather evidence to prove neglect, abuse, or substance abuse in court.
How Is Custody Determined?
Child custody is determined by a court. A parent begins the process of seeking sole custody by preparing a petition known as the “Petition to Establish Custody.” This is the document in which a parent presents their request for the type of custody they seek to a Texas court. Again, the parent would request sole or joint “possessory conservatorship” and/or sole or joint “managing conservatorship.”
Parents are always able to negotiate their custody and visitation arrangements themselves. If they do this, they would present their plan to a court. If the judge agrees that the negotiated plan serves the best interests of the child, they would put the plan into a court order. However, if they are not able to agree, one parent would have to file a petition.
The petition must be filed with the appropriate Texas district or county court in the city or county where the child lives. Or, it could be filed in the court in which the parent seeks a divorce or legal separation. The parent who files the petition has to pay a fee to file it with the court, although some parents may qualify to have the fee waived if their financial situation warrants it.
Again, as mentioned above, a parent who wants sole conservatorship, whether possessory or managing, must prove to the satisfaction of the judge that it would be in the best interest of their child. A judge would consider the following factors when deciding what is in the best interest of the child:
- The specific needs of the child
- Whether either parent has a history of abusive behavior
- Whether either parent has a history of child neglect
- Whether either parent has a history of violence.
A parent would have to offer persuasive evidence to the judge to prove that the child has needs that the other parent cannot meet or that the other parent has a history that should disqualify them from having custody. Evidence would take the form of testimony from witnesses and documents that contain relevant information. Again, the evidence would have to show that the other parent is not fit to have custody for the reasons mentioned above.
Custody laws for unmarried parents are the same as those for parents who have been married. In addition, the law applies equally regardless of the parent’s gender or the child’s gender.
Another avenue would be to petition the court for termination of the other parent’s rights. This would be more difficult than simply proving that the other parent should not have custody of the child.
Success with an action to terminate the other parent’s rights requires that the parent who seeks the termination meet a more demanding standard of proof. This is because success would end the other parent’s status as the child’s parent altogether. This is something that a parent would undertake only in the most extreme of circumstances.
A parent who wants to terminate the rights of the other parent of their child would have to prove that the other parent did one or more of the following:
- Abandoned the child
- Endangered the child
- Neglected the child
- Inflicted a serious injury on a child
- Is guilty of certain criminal offenses
- Abused controlled substances in certain ways
- Had their parental rights terminated in another case for endangerment.
Again, a parent who wants to terminate the parental rights of the other parent would need to produce convincing evidence of the need for the termination. The type of evidence a parent would need would be items such as police reports, medical records, records of court proceedings, and the testimony of witnesses to events.
A parent who wants to go this route would be well advised to have a lawyer consultation with a Texas family law lawyer.
In general, the court considers how a parent has handled being a parent and the needs of the child in making its decision. A father may want to keep in mind that being proactive in their role from the beginning is a good way to guarantee positive results in custody disputes.
Fathers who choose to abandon mothers who are pregnant with their children can be subject to termination of their parental rights. Also, in Texas, a father who has not been married to the mother of their child and did not live with the child for the first two years of the child’s life may not be recognized as a parent. Finally, a father who has not acknowledged his paternity may fail to be recognized as a parent.
If a father is not married to the mother of their child, they want to do as much as possible to support both the mother and their child. A father who wants to exercise custody rights would need to show concrete evidence that they were involved in a positive way in the lives of the mother and their child.
The parental right of a mother may be ended if they used alcohol or controlled substances when they were pregnant.
Do I Need To Hire a Lawyer for Help With Child Custody Issues?
If you believe that you should have sole custody of your child, you want to consult a Texas child custody lawyer. LegalMatch.com can connect you to a lawyer who is experienced in Texas custody law and can prepare your best case for sole custody of your child.
