Houston Child Custody Information

In Texas, the court (or the parties by agreement) will (1) appoint one spouse as the Sole Managing Conservator of the child/children (the party having custody), and the other party as the Possessory Conservator of the child/children (the party having visitation), or (2) appoint both parents as Joint Managing Conservators of the child/children and then allocate the rights and responsibilities between the parents.

In 1973, Texas adopted the Equal Rights Amendment and specifically provided that in deciding custody cases, the court shall consider "the qualifications of the respective parents without regard to the sex of the parent." Because of the fact that many working couples share the child raising responsibilities before separation, and because custody decisions are made without regard to the sex of the parents, many couples prefer to be Joint Managing Conservators.

Many people feel that they should be appointed the Sole Managing Conservator of their children, so that they will have controlling power after divorce, and their spouse will not have any control. That is not realistic. The Legislature has concluded that if both parents are given the ability to act more like parents after divorce, their children will benefit. Accordingly, the Legislature has established a detailed set of rights, powers, privileges and duties for both the Sole Managing Conservator and the Possessory Conservator after divorce. Many people conclude after reviewing the respective rights, powers, privileges, and duties of both the Sole Managing Conservator and the Possessory Conservator that it is not worth fighting to become the Sole Managing Conservator and that their children will be better off if they work out a Joint Managing Conservatorship with their spouse.

Joint Managing Conservator means the sharing of the rights, privileges, duties and powers of a parent by two parties, even if the exclusive power to make certain decisions may be awarded to one party. Joint Managing Conservator does not mean that there will be equal or nearly equal periods of physical possession or access to the child by each parent. Frequently, the primary physical residence of the child is designated.

Many people are against Joint Managing Conservatorships on the grounds that "if they can't get along while married, they can't get along after divorce". In recent years, the trend has been toward Joint Managing Conservatorship. Some people believe that even though two adults no longer desire to be married to each other, they can still work together for the benefit of their children after divorce. It is also frequently stated that the adults get divorced, not the children. If you stop to think about it, children have the right to have two parents after a divorce.

In 1987, the Texas Legislature adopted the following policy:

At the same time, the Legislature provided that even if the parties dispute custody, a judge or a jury may appoint the parties Joint Managing Conservators. Based on my experience as a Houston child custody lawyer, I urge my clients to strongly consider Joint Managing Conservatorship.

Most Courts specify the geographic area of a child's primary residence (generally Harris County).  The Courts do this so that both parents may be involved in the day to day life of their child.  It is possible (although not likely) that the court may give one parent the right to establish the child's primary residence without regard to the geographic location.

As a Houston custody attorney, I have found that if the parents will take parenting classes while they are separated, they will significantly improve their ability to work together for the best interest of the child. Also, I have found that if parents will jointly take child discipline classes one to three years after the divorce, they will be able to prevent a lot of problems that children often suffer from divorce.

As a Houston child custody lawyer, I have found that it is necessary for the parents to be free of resentment toward each other, be willing to listen to each other, be willing to communicate with each other, be willing to "give," and be willing to work together for the benefit of their children.