Texas Courts presume that appointing both parents of a child as Joint Managing Conservators (JMC) is in the best interest of the child. It is the public policy of Texas to assure that children will have frequent and continuing contact with parents who have shown the ability to act in the best interest of the child, to provide a safe, stable, and nonviolent environment for the child, and to encourage parents to share in the rights and duties of raising their child after the parents have separated or dissolved their marriage. There are limited circumstances where the parties will not be appointed as JMC. Usually, this circumstance involves family violence. Please let me know if the other parent has ever committed family violence against you or another family member. Keep in mind that Joint Managing Conservatorship DOES NOT require the award of equal or nearly equal periods of possession to each JMC. It is customary for the residence of a child to be restricted to a particular geographic area.

Visitation

Texas courts presume that the Standard Possession Order provides reasonable minimum possession of a child for a parent and that this schedule is in the best interest of the child. If your work schedule requires you to work weekends and the standard possession order won't work, then special orders should be requested by your attorney to maximize the amount of time you spend with your child. Also if the child is under age 3 or over 14, visitation may also need to be modified. Keep in mind that parents are free to make agreements about visitation at any time even if standard possession is ordered.

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The information provided on this website is general in nature. When you are ready to discuss your case, please call or send me an email.

Parenting Plans

Texas parents are now required to implement a parenting plan, which may include a Parenting Coordinator appointed by the court to oversee the terms of visitaion and facilitate communication by the parties. A parenting plan is a court order that sets out the rights and duties that divorcing parents have to their children.  Sometimes a court will also order the appointment of a parenting coordinator.A court-appointed parenting coordinator, trained in parent coordination and family violence, assists the divorcing parents in setting guidelines for any potential parental problems.With parenting plans, both parents concentrate on the future well being of their children by creating a detailed, written contract about how the children will be raised after the divorce.