In the State of Texas, both mothers and fathers share the same parental rights and duties. While Texas courts do not favor mothers when it comes to parenting time in child custody disputes, the circumstances that tend to support improved parenting time terms are somewhat more likely to apply to mothers.
There is also the matter of paternity to resolve when the mother and father are not married, which can significantly impact parental rights.
When parents are unmarried, there are additional legal steps that must be taken for both parents to have legally recognized rights and responsibilities regarding the child. It is often beneficial to take these steps as soon as possible.
If you have children, your parental rights and duties are important, and an experienced Round Rock child custody attorney has the legal skill and drive to help ensure that they are well protected.
Establishing Paternity
When a couple is married, the mother automatically becomes the child’s legal mother, and the man is presumed to be their legal father. The matter, however, is more complicated in a same-sex marriage.
When a heterosexual couple has a child but is not married, the mother automatically assumes the right of the child’s legal parent, but the child’s father must establish paternity.
This can be accomplished by both parents signing an acknowledgment of paternity (AOP) in the hospital at the time of the child’s birth, by both parents signing and filing an AOP with the state at a later date, or by determining the matter legally, which generally involves court-ordered DNA testing.
Once the matter of paternity is established, both the mother and the father retain legal rights and legal responsibilities. If the couple divorces or breaks up, however, these rights and responsibilities must be addressed in a child custody case.
Parental Rights and Duties
Parents who remain together are automatically afforded each of the following rights in relation to their children, but these rights can potentially change in the event that the parents divorce or break up:
Access to all the information the other parent receives regarding your children’s health, welfare, and education
Access to all your children’s records as they relate to their education, medical and dental care, and mental health
The right to participate in the decision-making process regarding matters related to your children’s education, health care, religious instruction, and participation in extracurriculars and travel
The right to attend school activities in which your children are involved
The right to consult with the officials at your children’s schools regarding their educational status and welfare
The right to consult with your children’s doctors, dentists, and mental health professionals
The right to designation on your children’s records as an emergency contact and a person to be notified in the event of an emergency
The right to make medical, surgical, or dental decisions in the event of an emergency that could put your child’s immediate health and safety at risk
The right to participate in the decision-making process when it comes to your children’s healthcare needs, including when invasive treatments are involved
The right to participate in the decision-making process when it comes to your children’s mental health needs
The right to participate in the decision-making process when it comes to your children’s education
Parental duties are generally shared when parents remain together, but they must be established and assigned if the couple divorces or breaks up. The primary duties that parents are tasked with include all the following:
The duty of timely sharing significant information about your children’s health, education, and welfare with their other parent
The duty of providing your children with the care they need, the protection they need, and the reasonable discipline and control they require
The duty of supporting your children financially by providing them with food, clothing, shelter, and medical and dental care or the duty of making child support payments if you are the noncustodial parent or are the higher earner after a divorce or breakup
In other words, parents have considerable rights and responsibilities in relation to their children. If you and your children’s other parent are no longer together, establishing the full scope of your rights and duties is key. Having a diligent Round Rock child custody lawyer in your corner from the outset can help ensure that your parental rights are upheld.
Your Children’s Best Interests
In Texas, all child custody and child support determinations are based on the involved children’s best interests, and this begins with the belief that children are better off when both parents play a significant role in their lives. This means that both the mother and the father can expect to receive a considerable amount of parenting time.
Only when there is a compelling reason for ruling otherwise will one parent’s access to their children be severely limited. For example, child neglect or abuse could support a supervised visitation requirement, and if the matter is very serious, visitation might be withheld completely.
The Primary Custodial Parent
In some cases, one parent takes on the role of the primary custodial parent, which means they have the right to determine where the children make their primary home – in accordance with the mileage limitation set by the court.
When parents take on traditional roles, the mother is more likely to become the primary custodial parent based on best interest factors like the following, which often skew toward the mother:
Each parent’s ability to effectively address the children’s needs in terms of their health, well-being, and education
How well does the children’s current living situation – or the status quo – serve them in terms of home, school, and community
The depth of each parent’s relationship with the children
The amount of time each parent has dedicated to raising the children to date
Each parent’s commitment to effective co-parenting with the other
Each parent’s commitment to supporting the other’s healthy, ongoing relationship with the other
While mothers are statistically more likely to become the primary custodial parent, this does not mean that fathers should simply accept this fact. Many parents who are no longer together are moving toward a more even distribution of parenting time, and there are things you can do to help make this happen in your case.
Further, fathers are not out of the running when it comes to taking on the primary custodial role, and if you have set your sights on this position, you should not wait to discuss the matter with your formidable Round Rock child custody attorney.
Legal Custody
Legal custody addresses primary parenting responsibilities, including decision-making authority, and is determined in accordance with the best interests of the children. Often, parents share legal custody, which addresses big-picture parenting decisions like the following:
Your children’s schooling
Your children’s medical care
Your children’s participation in extracurriculars
Your children’s religious upbringing
Sharing Legal Custody
While you and your ex may share decision-making duties equally, one of you may have the right to break a tie when your combined efforts to reach a decision prove unsuccessful.
Another option is to divide these primary decisions among you according to the topic at hand. For example, one of you may make all the decisions related to education and health care while the other takes on decisions related to religious upbringing and extracurriculars.
When it is deemed beneficial, one parent can be awarded sole legal custody, which requires them to make all the primary parenting decisions on their own.
Demonstrating Your Commitment to Parental Duties
The duties of parenthood are as important as the rights – in fact, they are closely intertwined. If you are committed to sharing fully in the parenting duties, you will need to demonstrate that you exercise good judgment in relation to your children and that you have been an active participant in the role since you were granted parental rights.
Where fathers often lose ground in relation to legal custody is when they do not have parental rights from the start. For example, if you were not married to your child’s mother at the time of their birth, you had no legal rights or responsibilities until your paternity was established, and this may have set you back.
You should not, however, simply accept whatever rights and responsibilities you are awarded. If you believe you are entitled to more, a dedicated Round Rock child custody attorney will help you maximize the role you play in your children’s lives and will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to do so.
Child Support
Child support is a primary parental duty, and it applies when the children’s parents are not together. If you and your children’s other parent are divorced or have broken up, one of you is very likely to have a child support obligation. While there are many factors that can play a role in the calculation of child support, the following basics generally apply:
The noncustodial parent makes child support payments to the parent in the primary custodial role.
When parenting time is shared more evenly, the parent who earns more has the child support obligation.
The state’s calculation methodology is based on the number of children addressed by the order and on the obligor’s net earnings, and it breaks down as follows:
For one child, the obligor pays 20 percent of their net income.
For two children, the obligor pays 25 percent of their net income.
For three children, the obligor pays 30 percent of their net income.
For four children, the obligor pays 35 percent of their net income.
For five children, the obligor pays 40 percent of their net income.
For six or more children, the obligor pays at least 40 percent of their net income.
When a Mother Is Unmarried
It is also essential to be aware of your parental rights and responsibilities if you are an unmarried mother. Yes, you automatically become your child’s legal parent, and this affords you all the legal rights that come with that, but you are also required to shoulder all the duties of parenthood on your own.
In other words, it is a lot, and establishing your child’s paternity is generally considered beneficial for you, your child’s father, and your child in all the following important ways:
The child support you receive can help you better address the full range of your child’s needs.
You will have the input of your child’s other parent when it comes to making decisions that are of primary importance to your child’s life, and you can trust them to put as much care and concern into the process as you do.
You will receive regularly scheduled breaks when your child’s other parent has visitation, which can afford you a much-needed moment to yourself.
Your child benefits from having both parents in their life, which is nearly universally considered advantageous – other than when there is a serious reason for avoiding this outcome.
Your child can experience numerous financial advantages, including in relation to benefits that flow from their father, such as inheritance rights, work-related health insurance, veteran’s benefits, and beneficiary designations that apply to life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and other financial tools.
Your child’s father can participate in your shared child’s life, which is an advantage to the father that is difficult to overstate.
Ultimately, the matter of exercising your parental rights and duties – whether you are the mother or the father – is paramount, but sharing these rights with the other parent honors your child’s best interests and is usually the preferred path forward.
Look to an Experienced Round Rock Child Custody Lawyer for the Help You Need Today
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a seasoned Round Rock child custody attorney who dedicates his impressive practice to fiercely advocating for his valued clients’ parental rights, and he is squarely on your side.
For more information about what we can do to help, please don’t delay contacting us online or calling us at 254-781-4222 and schedule a free consultation today.