While divorce seems like a two-sided affair, the kids take center stage in most divorce hearings. Deciding who gets the kids and when a couple separate is one of the most difficult decisions both parties and the court have to make.

While some couples can amicably agree on who gets the kids, others fail to reach an agreement regarding the children. Such couples might require the court’s intervention to iron out the issues. Knowing the various types of child custody can prepare you for potential child custody hearings.

This knowledge will prove useful when the court gives the final verdict on who gets to keep the kids. In Texas, the court makes every effort to avoid favoring the mother or the father in child custody proceedings. Instead, it relies heavily on the relationship each parent has with the child.

In rare instances, grandparents may get custody of the child. However, Texas courts tend to lean towards natural parents as the affected child’s primary custodian. Keep reading as we explore the various types of child custody to better prepare you for any upcoming child custody proceedings.

What Is Child Custody?

Child custody is a legal term that denotes the control and care of a child courts award to a parent after a divorce. The custodian is the parent that gets to take custody of the child. In Texas, courts refer to child custody as conservatorship.

The decision on who gets the child depends on the law of the state in question. As mentioned earlier, Texas law primarily considers the relationship between the child and the parents. Other states consider factors like the financial capability of the parent, the child’s education, among other factors.

Types of Child Custody

There are various types of child custody that a court can award to a parent after a court hearing. All types of child custody break down into two categories: physical custody and legal custody.

Physical custody refers to who the child will primarily live with after the split. The court can grant both parents physical custody or award custody to just one.

With legal custody, the child’s custodian has the legal right to make crucial decisions concerning the child’s life up to adulthood. This doesn’t mean that the child must live with the parent.

1. Temporary Child Custody

Temporary child custody isn’t official child custody as per Texas law. It instead refers to the parent taking care of the child before and during the child custody proceedings. You can think of it as short-lived “de facto” child custody.

Before you start a formal child custody hearing, you must first file for temporary custody. The decision on who gets temporary child custody is based on the child’s “best interest.” Temporary child custody isn’t a conclusive decision on who gets child custody, but it can weigh heavily on the courts final decision. This is because most courts, and family law judges, try to avoid major disruptions in a child’s day-to-day life. Therefore, if the temporary child custody arrangement seems to work well for the child, a judge may be hard pressed to change that circumstance. Having a skilled family law attorney representing you is important if you are looking to change the temporary child custody orders.

2. Sole Custody

With sole custody, the court decides which parent will take full custody of the child. The court awards both physical and legal custody to the sole custodian. If the court awards sole custody, the custodian can make decisions on:

• Where the child will live after the divorce
• Where the child will attend school
• The child’s health and dental care, including mental health treatments
• What extracurricular activities the child will participate in

To keep it simple, sole custody is where the court picks a single parent to be the child’s caretaker. The child will live with the custodian after the sole custodian award.

3. Joint Custody

In joint custody, both parents share parental responsibility for the good of the child. However, sometimes one parent may get legal custody of the child as long as it’s in the minor’s best interest.

Alternatively, the court may specify particular responsibilities for each parent and even the joint ones. In fact, courts in Texas prefer joint custody arrangements so that the child can maintain meaningful relationships with both parents.

Unlike sole custody, joint custody takes extra effort by both parents to work together. For instance, it may not clearly define who gets possession of the child, who gets to live with the child, and who gets to visit. The couple may need a subsequent proceeding now as a standard possession order to iron out the matter.

With that in mind, there are two categories of joint custody:

• Joint legal custody: Both parents contribute to the child’s upbringing, but the child lives with one parent. Here, parents only share legal custody but not physical custody.
• Shared physical custody: The child will divide living in both parent’s residence. The child must spend at least 35% of the year with the other parent.

You can arrange for a special type of joint custody if it’s necessary. This can be a combination of both joint legal and shared physical custody. As long as it’s within the limits of child custody laws, such an arrangement is possible.

4. Split Custody

As the name suggests, split custody is where parents split custody between their children but not like joint custody. In split custody, one parent takes custody of one child while the other parent takes custody of the other child. The custody of the children is basically split, with each parent bearing responsibility for one child.

What About Child Support?

In Texas, most courts require the non-custodial parent to pay child support. Child support is required until the child is eighteen.

In some cases, child support may extend beyond 18 years, for instance, if the child is disabled. The court will outline the duration of the child support payment.

Types of Child Custody Explained

Most parents want what is best for their children. Even in the most contentious divorces, it’s important that both sides keep the child’s best interest at heart. Child custody in Texas can be a pretty sensitive topic, but knowing about the types of child custody helps prepare you for the court proceedings. However, remember the court’s ultimate decision is based on the child’s best interest.

If you are considering divorce or already in the midst of a divorce, it’s important to get experienced compassionate legal guidance. A skilled family law attorney will work towards a future path that works for everyone, including you and your children. We specialize in helping families navigate the divorce process and move past this difficult time. For legal help and representation on child custody matters, contact us today.

Divorce is never fun, but a thorough understanding of the law is vital to protecting your rights. Texas divorce law is highly complicated, and it is important to hire an attorney to represent you. The more you know, though, the more you can act as your own advocate. Here is a general overview of Texas divorce law, without the sort of specific advice that can only come from your attorney.

Residency and Timing

To file for divorce in Texas, one spouse must have been a Texas resident for the prior six months and a resident of the county where the divorce is filed for the prior 90 days. If the non-filing spouse does not meet these requirements, the last marital residence must have been in Texas and no more than two years may have elapsed since that residence ended.

If the wife is pregnant, whether or not the baby is her husband’s, most Texas courts will not finalize a divorce until after the birth. This allows the baby’s welfare to be considered, and orders regarding his or her care to be included in the final divorce decree.

Collaborative Divorce

Texas law provides the option for the divorcing partners and their attorneys to draw up a dissolution of marriage settlement for the court to approve. This can be a great option if your divorce is simple and you and your ex are still friendly. However, if the process fails, both parties’ attorneys are required to withdraw and cannot represent them in divorce court.

Legal Grounds

Texas provides a variety of grounds for divorce, such as adultery or abandonment. Filing for divorce on grounds may affect the distribution of property or even child visitation orders. However, Texas also provides for no-fault divorce, in which the divorcing partners simply cannot continue to tolerate each other. This is by far the most common type of Texas divorce.

Spousal Maintenance

In this era of two-income households, spousal maintenance is not as common as it used to be. However, the court does have the right to award maintenance payments for specific reasons, from conviction of an act of family violence to the inability of one spouse to earn enough to provide for his or her basic needs.

Children

In Texas, child custody is known as conservatorship. Where possible, courts tend to award joint managing conservatorship, in which both parents share legal responsibility for all decisions affecting the child. If this is not practical, though, one parent may be awarded sole managing conservatorship, while the other receives possessory conservatorship, or visitation. In certain domestic abuse cases, supervised visitation and other stipulations may be required or, if in the best interest of the child, possessory conservatorship may be disallowed for a period of time.

Child support payments are normally assigned based on a set formula that takes into account the obligor’s net income and the number of children involved. However, the court may deviate from this formula if it is determined to be in the child’s best interest. Child support typically ends when the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later, or if the child is emancipated by marriage or other means. However, many families draw up a plan that includes contributions to the child’s college education. These plans are typically approved by the court if they are considered reasonable.

Distribution of Assets

Texas is a community property state, and the majority of assets will be equitably (though not necessarily evenly) divided between the divorcing spouses. This includes retirement accounts and other employee benefits accumulated during the marriage.

However, some assets may be considered separate property, including assets that each spouse owned prior to the marriage, inheritances and gifts designated for just one spouse, and personal injury settlements awarded to one spouse (except for any portion designated to replace lost earnings). The burden of proof is always on the separate property-holding spouse to demonstrate that the asset is not community property.

Texas divorce law is fairly complicated, and many families have situations that are not cut and dried. It is always best to retain an attorney to give you specific advice and protect your interests throughout your divorce proceedings.

With 6 years of experience as a Harris County prosecutor and 11 years of experience representing clients in a variety of family, domestic, and criminal cases, past president of the Montgomery County Bar Association, Andrea Kolski, has the background you need to win your case. For more information or to schedule a consultation, call Nonstop Justice today at 832-381-3430.