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There are two types of custody in Texas. The first type is possession, which refers to the parent who has physical custody of the child. The second type is legal, which refers to the parent who has decision-making ability over the child. Legal child custody in Austin is also known as conservatorship, and the state presumes that the parents will have joint managing conservatorship, meaning both parents share decision-making responsibility but might not have equal time with the child.
Joint managing conservatorship is not the only legal custody arrangement. Other forms include sole custody, joint custody, shared custody, and split custody, with many of them having several names. A skilled child custody attorney could help you understand the types of custody and learn about your options.
In Texas, the default custody arrangement is a joint managing conservatorship—parents share legal custody of the child. Each parent has the right to make decisions about the child’s education, healthcare, and finances. The court may award the rights equally or designate one parent as the primary physical conservator and give that parent additional rights, such as the right to determine where the child will live.
Joint managing conservators in Austin may or may not share equal time with the child. One parent could have considerably more physical possession of the child if that is in the child’s best interest. However, the parents would still need to agree on major decisions or have control over significant decisions while the child is in their care.
Sometimes, an Austin court will determine that joint managing conservatorship is not the best legal child custody arrangement for the situation. In those instances, they may name one parent as the sole managing conservator. The sole managing conservator has all of the legal decision-making powers over the child, including establishing a residence, choosing medical care, and making educational decisions.
Since the courts want to encourage both parents to have access to and guidance over their child, they do not favor sole managing conservatorship in scenarios where both parents have been active, involved, and healthy. However, when there are allegations of wrongdoing by one parent, the court may favor this approach. Some circumstances that could give rise to a sole managing conservatorship include a history of:
Even when a court determines that a sole managing conservatorship is in the child’s best interests, the other parent will usually have the opportunity to exercise visitation. Visitation may be standard, on a modified schedule, or even supervised, depending on the facts and circumstances of each case.
To determine which parent gets legal custody in Austin, the court will consider several factors with the goal of determining what solution is in the child’s best interests. The court considers each child’s interests individually, which means that some parents could have a split custody arrangement, with each parent having custody of some of their children.
Among other factors, the court may look at:
Economic stability is also a consideration but not the deciding factor since the courts can use child support to help provide financial stability to the more capable parent.
Once a child turns 12, they have the right to express a preference about which parent should have custody, but that preference is only one of the factors a court will consider.
Child custody can be complex, and it is also very fact-specific. What works for one family may not be appropriate for your family. The best way to understand all of the potential arrangements is to talk to an attorney. Our legal team could consider the facts of the case and help you explore the possibilities for legal child custody in Austin.
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