FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions

This is another post in the Super Simple FAQ series…

What is conservatorship in Texas?

Conservatorship is the term used in Texas and most other states to address the legal and physical aspects of sharing children when the parties are no longer or have never been married. Some

When it comes to establishing each parent’s individual roles and their levels of involvement, influence, and time spent with the children, the terms most discussed and debated are joint custody, sole custody, and visitation. Generally, physical child custody (whether sole, shared, or split) really comes down to the amount of time spent with one’s children. Custody in the legal sense (that is, legal custody) governs who will make what types of decisions affecting the health, education, and general welfare of the children and under what circumstances such decisions will be made.
Although maximizing parental time is very important, it should yield to the best interests of the children. And obviously, each parent’s differing views about what is or is not in the children’s best interests is one of the many contributors to child custody chaos. The desire for power and control are other major contributors.
Continue Reading A Family Friendly Approach to Resolving Child Access

The Fathers’ Rights movement is grounded in constitutional rights and imperatives. It has grown out of the very real changes in men’s traditional roles in Western society, and the current generation’s more egalitarian attitude towards shared parenting, which has resulted in gender neutral custody laws in virtually every state of the United States.
Continue Reading Fathers Really Do Have Rights

In my previous post I talked about the various terms used in Texas courts regarding child custody. I also stated that the best interest of the child is the first priority for any Texas court presented in a conservatorship and/or possession determination. In this post, I’ll continue our discussion by looking at the factors courts consider in determining what is in the best interest of a child (i.e., the Holly Factors).
Continue Reading So you want sole custody?? Part Two

In a July 31, 2009 opinion by the Dallas Court of Appeals, it was confirmed that Federal law trumps Texas law when it comes to income tax issues. In In re S.L.M., the mother brought child custody proceedings against father. The district court appointed mother and father as joint managing conservators and awarded mother the right to claim the children as exemptions on her federal income tax return. On appeal, father contended the district court erred in awarding mother the right to claim the two chidlren as tax exemptions. In re S.L.M., ___ S.W.3d ___, No. 05-08-01277-CV, 2009 WL 2343264 (Tex. App. – Dallas July 31, 2009, no pet. h.).
Continue Reading Federal law trumps Texas court on tax issues.

A North Carolina judge has been reprimanded for “friending” a lawyer in a pending case, posting and reading messages about the litigation, and accessing the website of the opposing party. Judge B. Carlton Terry Jr. and lawyer Charles Shieck both posted messages about the child custody and support case heard last September, the Lexington Dispatch reports. Terry also accessed the website of the opposing litigant and cited a poem she had posted there, according to the April 1 public reprimand (PDF) by the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission.
Continue Reading Facebook and Google Get Judge in Trouble