Many parents who are facing divorce or a custody case say they want sole custody without fully understanding what that means in the State of Texas. Child custody is a primary concern, and obtaining child custody terms that support your own parental rights as well as your children’s best interests is key.
With an experienced Round Rock child custody attorney in your corner, you can proceed with the peace of mind that comes from knowing your rights are well protected.
Child Custody in Texas
The State of Texas addresses every case involving child custody from the perspective of what’s best for the children. This means the court will attempt to maximize the amount of parenting time that each parent receives.
The overriding belief is that children’s best interests are best served with they spend a significant amount of time with each parent, and only if there is a serious reason for significantly curtailing the amount of time one parent has with the kids will Texas courts do so.
For example, if one parent is deemed unfit, the court may severely limit their parenting time or may require supervised visitation. In extreme situations, a parent can lose all visitation rights, but this is very uncommon.
Sole Custody
If your goal is sole custody, it’s important to know what that means. In Texas, Sole custody generally means having sole legal custody and becoming the primary custodial parent, which comes with a range of primary rights and responsibilities.
Sole custody affords you the right to make the big-picture parenting decisions that guide your children’s upbringing and means that you will have a more expansive parenting time schedule.
As mentioned, however, it’s very unlikely that your children’s other parent will lose all parenting time. In fact, the state’s standard parenting time schedule in this situation is the classic every-other weekend setup with an additional evening during the week.
The Right to Choose Your Children’s Primary Residence
As the primary custodial parent with sole custody, which is known as sole managing conservatorship in Texas, you will have the right to determine where your children make their primary home. This likely means with you – while they have a visitation schedule with their other parent.
It’s important to note here that having the right to determine your children’s primary residence does not mean that you can move wherever you want with them with no concern for the other parent’s wishes.
The State of Texas puts a premium on children spending time with each parent on a regular basis, and in order for you to move a considerable distance away, you’ll need to address the matter with the court. Your motion will be granted only if your proposed move supports the children’s best interests.
The Right to Make Primary Medical Decisions on Your Children’s Behalf
When you and your children’s other parent were together, you made medical decisions on their behalf together. With sole custody of your children, the responsibility of making these decisions will fall to you alone. This extends to all the following:
Their physical and routine checkups
Their vaccinations and medical prescriptions
All their dental work
Any surgical treatment
Any additional invasive medical treatments or procedures
Any psychological or psychiatric treatment
You can, of course, take your ex’s opinion on these matters into consideration.
The Right to Make Decisions about Your Children’s Education
You will also have the right to make decisions about your children’s education and daycare, including decisions about the extracurriculars they participate in and any traveling they do. This extends to decisions about daycare for younger children.
The Right to Guide Your Children’s Religious Education
With sole custody, you’ll also have the right to determine the religion your children are brought up in.
Finally, as the primary custodial parent, you can expect your children’s other parent to shoulder the child support obligation.
Texas Courts Favor Joint Managing Conservatorship
It’s important to understand that Texas courts favor joint managing conservatorship, which helps keep both parents firmly in the lives of their children – both in terms of spending time with them and in terms of each parent’s investment in guiding their upbringing.
Sole managing conservatorship – or sole custody – is awarded only when it supports the children’s best interests, such as, for example, when one parent has been far more involved in raising the children than the other.
Best Interest Factors
When assessing the best interests of the children involved, Texas courts turn to factors like the following:
The children’s ages – taking their tender years into consideration
The children’s needs, including any special needs
The preferences of those children who are considered mature enough to be involved
Each parent’s ability to meet the children’s needs
Each parent’s level of involvement with raising the children to this point
Each parent’s commitment to supporting the children’s relationship with their other parent
Each parent’s commitment to co-parenting effectively with the other
The stability of each parent’s home
The distance the parents live from one another
Any concerns related to domestic violence or child abuse or neglect
How well the children have adapted to their current living situation in terms of home, school, and community, which is referred to as the status quo
If Your Children’s Other Parent Is Unfit
A parent whom the law considers unable to provide their children with a safe, stable, and nurturing living environment is deemed unfit. For example, a parent with a history of child abuse or neglect or who has a history of domestic violence in the two years prior to the child custody case can face significant limitations when it comes to visitation rights.
Drug and substance abuse are additional concerns. Addiction can interfere with a parent’s ability to provide their children with a safe home in relation to basic physical, emotional, medical, and educational needs, which can translate to a finding of unfit parenting.
The fact is, however, that child custody concerns rarely reach the extreme levels listed above. While you may have concerns about your ex’s judgment regarding your children or have other issues with them, they’re unlikely to be deemed unfit in the eyes of the court.
Ultimately, there is no exact legal definition regarding what it means to be an unfit parent, but there are several basic areas of concern that are addressed.
Financial Stability
While financial stability is not a reflection of a parent’s ability to provide a child with the love and care they need, financial instability can directly affect a child’s overall health, well-being, and living conditions. The more severe a parent’s financial instability, the more likely it is to affect the parent’s child custody rights.
A Safe Standard of Living
Where children live matters, and Texas courts carefully consider the safety standards that each parent affords their children. This involves adequately addressing the children’s basic needs in relation to shelter, food, clean drinking water, and access to education and medical care.
A home that is well-maintained, safe, and sanitary is obviously better suited to raising children than one that is unhygienic and falling apart, and this fact isn’t lost on Texas courts.
Emotional Stability
In addition to providing children with a safe home, parents are called upon to nurture their emotional well-being, which includes providing a stable emotional environment. This is a far broader concern than simply the absence of emotional abuse and, instead, encompasses an environment that protects the children from excess fear, anxiety, or anger.
For example, if your ex is in a toxic relationship that fills their home with turmoil, it doesn’t bolster your children’s emotional stability or well-being. A cold, emotionless home in which the children are ignored or resented is a different kind of serious concern.
Quality Time with the Kids
A parent who provides a child with a beautiful home and everything they could ever want but doesn’t spend quality time with them is dropping the ball in the parenting department. A parent whose career keeps them away from home most of the time isn’t entirely there for their kids.
While there may be little the parent can do to change their work schedule, the court will factor in the limited amount of time they spend with the children.
The Influence of Other People
Texas courts also consider the influence that other people in each parent’s orbit have on their kids. For example, if your ex surrounds themself with people who are considered a threat to your children’s safety or well-being, it won’t go unnoticed. In this context, unsuitability can take many forms, including the following:
People with a history of violence
People with a criminal past
People with potentially dangerous mental health concerns
It’s important to understand that even if your children’s other parent can’t provide your shared children with a safe living environment, the court will attempt to allow them some form of parental access. This can mean limiting them to day visits.
The bottom line is that Texas courts want to preserve the parent/child connection to the degree possible under every circumstance other than one in which the parent themself poses a risk to the children.
The Role of the Guardian Ad Litem
When Texas courts are called upon to determine child custody arrangements in cases for which at least one parent is considered unfit – or less than ideal – they’re likely to employ a guardian ad litem.
The guardian ad litem (GAL) is appointed by the judge, and their final opinions will carry considerable weight with the court. The GAL represents the best interests of the children involved, which means they view the situation from the sole perspective of what’s best for the children.
The GAL’s Investigative Authority
Generally, the GAL has broad investigative authority in the context of determining the children’s best interests, and this includes all the following:
The authority to interview each of the children
The authority to interview each of the parents and other family members living in the home
The authority to observe the children while at home and while interacting with others
The authority to inspect each parent’s home and other places the children frequent with each parent
The authority to obtain each child’s educational and medical records
The authority to interview others in the children’s orbit, including their teachers, friends, coaches, and clergy members
After conducting a thorough investigation, the GAL will create a report that identifies their child custody recommendations.
Helping Parents Improve Their Parenting Skills
When called for, the GAL can also make suggestions to parents regarding matters such as the following:
Seeking counseling
Attending parent classes
Attending child safety courses
Seeking rehab for drug or alcohol addiction
Improving the state of the home in terms of sanitation and safety
Implementing a child-centered schedule
Regularly attending school activities and functions, as well as parent-teacher conferences
While the GAL can’t require a parent to do anything, parents are well advised to take their suggestions into careful consideration because the court will be paying careful attention to their report.
Can a Guardian Ad Litem Advise Sole Custody?
While the guardian ad litem in your case won’t be making any of your child custody decisions, they will share their well-considered opinion on the matter with the judge, and the judge is very likely to take their advice. Ultimately, a guardian ad litem can advise the court to order sole custody in a child custody case, and the court is likely to follow through by doing so.
An Experienced Round Rock Child Custody Attorney Is on Your Side
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard in Round Rock, Texas, is a compassionate child custody lawyer with a long and impressive track record of helping valued clients like you secure favorable child custody terms that support their parental rights and their close, ongoing relationship with their children.
Learn more by contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 to schedule your free consultation today.