Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are sometimes used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.

Can My Spouse Take My Kids Away?

Divorce is a tumultuous time in a person's life and often people seek out any avenue they can to feel in control of a situation. After separation, many times in a fight, an angry spouse will threaten legal action to remove a child from the parent who has custody. This is an unfortunate choice, which usually leads only to hurt feelings, fear on the part of either the child or the spouse, and continued instability in the household. When faced with this threat, do not give in to fear. Doing so will only produce the exact result the threatening spouse desires to achieve. Rest assured that only if it is in the best interest of the child would a Texas court turn the child over to a noncustodial parent.    Regardless of how hollow the threat may sound initially, it is vitally important to obtain an attorney if the noncustodial spouse files a suit to modify where the child resides. A judge looks at many factors to determine with whom the child should reside. Some of the factors are:

Where the child will benefit most psychologically, physically, developmentally, and emotionally; Which parent makes the welfare of the child first priority and can work with the other parent; Which parent will best foster a positive attitude towards the other parent; Which parent spent the most time rearing the child prior to separation; Where do the parents live in proximity to one another; and Where does the child want to live (if 14 or older).

This is not an exclusive list. Any other factor that is relevant to what is in the best interest of the child may be considered by the court in making such a determination. Many times noncustodial parents will threaten to tell the judge bad things about the character of the custodial parent that would tend to persuade the judge abuse or neglect of the child is taking place. Mere accusations of abuse or neglect of a child are not enough for a judge to remove a child from his or her home. However, if credible evidence of abuse or neglect is actually admitted, then the judge has a duty to remove the child from the home. Credible evidence may come in the form of the noncustodial parent’s testimony, but that testimony may be countered by a custodial parent’s own testimony as well. If a custodial parent is well prepared and gives organized, believable testimony that it is in the best interest of the child for him or her to retain custody, a judge is likely to allow the child to remain at home.    Rarely is it in the best interest of a child to be uprooted from a stable home environment (especially if they just got settled from the parents' separation), and judges in Texas are reluctant to move children unless compelling reasons exist to do so. But any action by a noncustodial parent to do so must be taken seriously and acted upon quickly. TEXAS CUSTODY FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I get joint custody of my children? Joint Custody means different things to different people - some people mean "joint managing conservatorship", and some people mean joint physical custody. In Texas, there is a presumption that it is in the best interest of children that parents be appointed as "joint managing conservators", although in cases where there has been domestic violence or where one parent has demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to act in the best interest of the children, the court may impose a sole managing conservatorship.  In a joint managing conservatorship arrangement, the parents share the rights to make decisions for the children, although the children still generally reside with one parent and visit with the other. In a court-ordered joint managing conservatorship, one parent has the exclusive right to determine the primary residence of the children, often with a restriction on that right to a particular geographic area, and the other parent visits with the children in accordance with a very specific and detailed visitation schedule (often the "Standard Possession Order").  In an agreed joint managing conservatorship, the parties can agree that neither parent is the "primary" parent, but simply determine that the children's residence will remain within a particular geographic area and the parties can create a shared possession schedule with the children. The parties can agree to joint physical custody (for example, one week with one parent and one week with the other), when circumstances and the distance between residences allows, however, it is rare that a court will order such an arrangement without agreement of the parents   If I have custody of our children, can I relocate with them to another county, city, state or country? In most cases, a judge will now issue orders at the time that an original order is made, that prevent the primary parent from changing the residence of the children from a specified geographical area. Usually, the court will restrict the children's residence to the current county of residence plus any contiguous counties. However, the court can be more or less restrictive than that if circumstances require.    If you have an older order that does not restrict the children's domicile to a particular area, you are still required to give the other party 60 days notice of your intent to move the children, and if the other party wants to try to stop you from moving, they will likely file for a temporary restraining order preventing you from moving until a hearing can be held. At the time of the hearing, it will be your burden to show the court some compelling reasons why you need to move. Some compelling reasons the court may consider would be that your job is moving you and you can't find comparable work locally, or that your family resides elsewhere and you need their help and support with the children. If the court suspects that you are moving away to interfere with the children's relationship with the other parent, you will lose for sure.