Like most states, Texas has a standard possession order (SPO) for assigning parenting time in divorce and custody cases.
While this can work well for those who work from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, it may not work well at all if you’re in a profession in which your schedule changes, you work the night shift, or you regularly work weekends, such as firefighters, police officers, medical professionals, and many others.
The good news is that you don’t have to simply take what you can get regarding the time you spend with your kids, and an experienced Round Rock child custody attorney can help.
The Standard Possession Order in Texas
Texas courts begin with a standard schedule that generally works well when both parents work regular hours. The basics include:
The noncustodial parent has the children on the first, third, and fifth weekends of the month from the time that school dismisses on Friday to the time it begins again on Monday.
For those weeks when there is a holiday or teacher in-service on Friday or Monday, the noncustodial parent’s weekend is extended to the Thursday before or the Tuesday after.
The noncustodial parent’s default summer schedule begins at 6 PM on July 1 and ends at 6 PM on July 31. They receive their regular weekends throughout the rest of the summer. However, there is a timeline built in for either parent to rearrange this default summer schedule ahead of time.
The noncustodial parent is also entitled to the children’s spring break from the time that school lets out at the start to the time that school resumes at the end.
Mother’s Day or Father’s Day weekend – as applicable – goes to the noncustodial parent from 6 PM on the Friday to 6 PM on the Sunday.
The noncustodial parent is entitled to pick the children up at whatever time school lets out for the Thanksgiving holiday and to return them at 6 PM the following Sunday.
The custodial parent has the kids from the time school dismisses for the Christmas holiday until noon on December 28, when the noncustodial parent takes over until 6 PM on the night before the children return to school in the new year.
This standard order ensures that both parents are afforded a significant amount of time with the children on a consistent basis throughout the year. If your work schedule, however, doesn’t align with this plan, you could end up missing out on a lot of the time with your children that you’re entitled to. Discuss your concerns with a trusted Round Rock child custody lawyer today.
You Should Know the Court’s Position on Child Custody
Texas—along with the rest of the nation—prioritizes the best interests of the children when it comes to child custody arrangements. Their guiding belief on this topic is that spending a considerable amount of time with both parents is the best policy for the health, happiness, and overall well-being of children.
This means that, even if your children’s other parent has taken on the role of the primary custodial parent and has your shared kids for the majority of their overnights, you’re also entitled to spend quality time with them. And if the SPO doesn’t make sense because of your work schedule, it’s time to find a workaround.
The Facts of Your Circumstances
Too many parents who don’t have regular work schedules believe that they have no choice when it comes to their parenting time schedule and simply bite the bullet, spending whatever time is left over with their children and paying for childcare while they’re at work on their weekends.
This isn’t the court’s intent – you can pursue a workable parenting time schedule, and you should. Having just a few precious hours with your children each week or month isn’t enough to keep your relationship strong, to forge new traditions and cherish well-loved traditions, or to simply have family time together.
Parents Are Encouraged to Negotiate Terms between Themselves
Texas courts recognize that nobody understands their kids’ needs and their own scheduling quirks the way the parents themselves do. As such, divorcing parents and parents who are facing child custody cases are strongly encouraged to hammer out schedules that work for them, and Texas courts encourage frequent contact.
The idea is to establish periods of possession that optimize the development of a close and continuing relationship between each parent and child.
This is obviously in stark contrast to simply accepting a parenting time schedule that requires you to have the children for significant chunks of time when it’s impossible for you to actually be with them. This does not align with the court’s philosophy, and you are strongly encouraged to establish better terms.
If Your Ex Is on Board
If your divorcing spouse – or your children’s other parent in a child custody case – is willing to work with you, there are no limitations in terms of the schedule you create. If your ex has a very flexible schedule, the process may be quite straightforward, but if it’s much less so, you likely have a lot of work to do.
Regardless, there is a way to strike a balance that works better for everyone involved, including your children.
If Your Ex Isn’t on the Same Page
If your ex is standing firm on the standard possession order and it simply doesn’t work in relation to your career, this isn’t the time to lose hope, and the matter doesn’t have to turn into a legal battle. Sometimes, simply having your respective child custody lawyers negotiate on behalf of each of you can do the trick.
There is also the option of mediation, which involves a professional mediator going back and forth between you and your child custody attorney and your soon-to-be ex and theirs in the capacity of a neutral third party who helps you find common ground.
One thing that you shouldn’t do is simply give in to a parenting time schedule that translates to you spending very little time with your children during their waking hours. You’re in a far better position to negotiate favorable terms now than you would be going in for a modification after the fact.
This is because child custody modifications are generally based on substantial changes in circumstances, and if you accepted the terms early on, the court will need to know what’s changed. Further, you will have already lost out on valuable time with your children that you can’t get back.
Scheduling and Your Children’s Best Interests
Following state guidelines, such as the state’s standard possession order, may be a lot easier than working out a visitation schedule that takes your unique work hours into careful consideration. It is not, however, in keeping with the state’s intention regarding your children’s best interests.
For example, firefighters often work 24-hour shifts that could render two or more weekends in a row unavailable for parenting time, which does not translate to a close and continuing relationship with one’s children.
Texas has an SPO in place to help expedite the matter when the schedule makes sense, but they are not in the business of forcing parents to accept terms that only serve to limit their access to their own children unnecessarily.
If your ex – or their child custody attorney – is attempting to convince you that the standard possession order represents the court’s guidelines and that you should accept it as a matter of course, it’s time to fiercely advocate for your parental rights. And for that, you need the skilled legal counsel of a formidable child custody lawyer backing you up.
Considering Your Scheduling Options
It’s easy enough to say that the SPO isn’t going to work for you, but finding an alternative that does can be incredibly challenging. While your scheduling needs will be unique to your circumstances, there are several basic options that many parents in situations like yours turn to.
Alternating Week Schedules
Some parents simply take one week on and one week off with the children. This comes with a range of benefits, but it generally doesn’t work well for very young children who shouldn’t have to wait a full week to see either parent. The pros of each parent taking alternating weeks include all the following:
The parents and the children know exactly what to expect each week – without the need to constantly check their calendars.
The parents and the children have the luxury of spending an extended stretch with one another without having to arrange frequent pickups and drop-offs.
The children don’t live with the boomerang effect of changing homes all the time.
Each parent has the opportunity to participate in the children’s education more directly due to having overnights with them on school nights and being more involved with their schoolwork.
You can choose the start time and day that the exchange is made each week according to what works best for your respective work schedules.
One drawback of this approach is that it generally doesn’t work well for parents who live a considerable distance apart because the noncustodial parent will likely need to spend a good deal of time transporting the kids back and forth to school.
Further, long commutes – which can interfere with the children’s homework, downtime, and school/life balance – aren’t ideal for them either.
Schedules with Predesignated Days
With the predesignated days approach, you and the primary custodial parent would each follow a parenting time schedule tailored to your work commitments. This schedule can evolve as your work hours change. Many parents don’t have the benefit of a fixed schedule instead, they deal with rolling shifts that make it difficult to stick to a standard week-by-week plan.
To implement the predesignated days schedule, you would take the number of overnights you’re entitled to over the course of the week, month, quarter, or term of your work schedule and plan your overnights with your kids accordingly.
Setting up a deadline to get your scheduling needs to your children’s other parent ensures that they have time to make scheduling arrangements of their own. This obviously makes scheduling more complex, but it also helps to ensure that you and your children will spend actual time together – rather than being like ships passing in the night.
Finding a schedule that takes your work hours into careful consideration and that supports you and your children’s best interests is key.
Ultimately, if the other parent recognizes the value of your shared children maintaining a close, consistent, and ongoing relationship with both of you, they should be receptive to facilitating this. If they are not, your experienced child custody attorney is ready to assist in resolving the matter effectively and efficiently.
Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment
Ultimately, you may end up with a parenting time schedule that doesn’t look like anyone else's and that’s just fine. Spending time with your kids over the course of their week is what’s important, which includes being involved with their hectic mornings, with the complexities of school nights, with the fun and relaxation of the weekends, and with everything in between.
And the right schedule for your family will support this goal.
Discuss Your Case with an Experienced Round Rock Child Custody Lawyer Today
Your parenting time schedule is critically important to both you and your children. Brett Pritchard, a persuasive Round Rock child custody attorney at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard, has a strong reputation for skillfully advocating for his clients' rights and is ready to help you.
Don't hesitate to reach out by contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 to schedule a free consultation and discover how we can assist you today.