Child Custody Lawyers
How Child Custody is Decided in Texas Family Court
At the Schneider Law Firm we know how important your children are to you. Our child custody lawyers are committed to preserving your relationship with your child to protect the special bond you share. We are dedicated legal advocates, protecting clients’ parental rights in child custody matters in trial and negotiations.
Types of Child Custody
Although most people talk about child custody and visitation, you will hear different terms used in Texas family court. Your attorney and the judge will talk about conservatorship, possession, and access.
Conservatorship defines who has the ability to make decisions on behalf of the child. Decisions such as, religious upbringing, medical care, and education. Decisions could be made jointly by both parents or solely by one parent. The Texas State Legislature has told the courts to assume that a joint managing conservatorship is preferred.
If you believe that shared decision making will be unworkable, then it is the job of your child custody lawyer to prove to the judge why you should be granted sole conservatorship. An example might be that you and your former spouse cannot communicate or there has been a history of family violence.
Possession and Access considers where the child will live and how much time the child will spend with each parent. Once again, most parents share possession, but the child will typically live at one home and “visit” the other. The child custody agreement will define the visitation schedule.
The court wants to ensure each parent has ample access to his/her child. However, there may be reasons why that should not happen. If there has been neglect, abuse, or the other parent is in some other way unfit, your child custody lawyer may present the case for limited or supervised visitation.
Protecting Parents from False Charges
Unfortunately, some parents try to manipulate the courts by making false claims. They may falsely claim the other parent has a bad temper, is physically or emotionally abusive, has an addiction problem or is neglectful. This kind of dishonest behavior can be extremely damaging to the parent-child relationship of the accused parent.
The Schneider Law Firm is well positioned to handle these cases. Our firm handles both family law and criminal law cases. Your child custody attorney can quickly access a highly experienced criminal lawyer to help you fight false charges and unfair protective orders.
Contact Our Custody Attorneys
Fort Worth | Arlington | Mansfield | Keller | Alliance Area
At the Schneider Law Firm, our goal is to protect your most important relationship – that of a parent and a child. Call our Fort Worth office at 817- 755-1852, our Arlington office at 817-799-7125, or our Keller/Alliance office at 817-576-8084 to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our skilled child custody lawyers.
