Dallas Divorce Law Blog : Dallas Texas Divorce Lawyer & Attorney : O'Neil Anderson Law Firm : TX Child Support & Custody Issues

I wanted to share with our readers a very special song I heard today by the Zac Brown Band called Highway 20 Ride about a father's visitation with his son.  Here's the video and lyrics.  Hope this is as meaningful to you and it was to me:

Highway 20 Ride:

I ride east every other Friday
But if I had it my way
A day would not be wasted on this drive
And I want so bad to hold you
Son, there’s things I haven't told you
Your mom and me couldn't get along

So I drive and I think about my life
And wonder why that I slowly die inside
Every time I turn that truck around
Right at the Georgia line
And I count the days
And the miles back home to you
On that Highway 20 ride

A day might come you'll realize
That if you see through my eyes
There was no other way to work it out
And a part of you might hate me
But son, please don’t mistake me
For a man that didn’t care at all

And I drive and I think about my life
And wonder why that I slowly die inside
Every time I turn that truck around
Right at the Georgia line
And I count the days
And the miles back home to you
On that Highway 20 ride

So when you drive
And the years go flying by
I hope you smile
If I ever cross your mind
It was the pleasure of my life
And I cherished every time
And my whole world
It begins and ends with you
On that Highway 20 ride....
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

As a Dallas divorce lawyer, I frequently have clients that come into my office wanting “sole custody.”  Custody is a term that means different things to different people.  In this series of blog posts, I’ll explain how “custody” is determined in Texas.  The first post in this series will define the words Texas courts use in determining custody issues. 

In Texas conservatorship is the term that equates with custody.  Chapter 153 of the Texas Family Code sets forth the framework for appointing individuals as conservators and granting rights of possession and access to a child. 

There are two types of conservators: managing and possessory.  Managing conservators are further divided into two sub-categories, sole and joint.  A sole managing conservator is a person that is granted exclusive rights to make decisions for the child.  A joint managing conservator is one of two people who share the rights and duties of a parent, even if the exclusive right to make certain decisions (for example, the place of the child’s primary residence) is awarded to only one person.  A possessory conservator is a person who is designated by the court as having a right to possession of a child under specified conditions, and who is authorized during their periods of possession to exercise certain rights of a parent.  A very common misconception regarding joint managing conservators is that each parent must have equal periods of possession.  Also, a possessory conservator can exercise his or her periods of possession to the exclusion of a managing conservator. 

Now that we have the basic definitions down, we’ll look at how a court determines the rights and duties of parents and the periods of visitation to the child.  From the get go, it’s important to understand that the best interests of the child is the most important factor the court looks at when deciding issues of conservatorship, possession and access.  To establish a child’s best interests, parents usually are required to present evidence showing who can better serve the child’s interests. 

Approximately 30 years ago, the Texas Supreme Court identified a non-exclusive list of factors the court will consider in determining what is in the child’s best interests.  These factors are commonly called the “Holly Factors” because of the name of the case they were identified in.  Generally, the Holly Factors fall into three categories: (1) caring for the child; (2) maintaining family relationships; and (3) parenting skills. 

In the next post, I’ll write about the specific items courts consider in assessing the three main Holly Factors.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

House Bill 1012, passed by the Texas Legislature and awaiting Governor Perry's signature, changes the Texas Family Code provisions regarding access by a grandparent to a grandchild over the objections of a parent.  The statute allows a court to grant access over a parent's objection by a grandparent to a grandchild.  This changes the prior law that required a court to grant access upon meeting the terms of the statute.  Now, a court may or may not grant the access.  If the court does grant access over a parent's objection, the court must enter certain findings about whether the grandparent has overcome the presumption that a fit parent acts in the best interest of that parent's child by proving that the denial of access to the child would significanly impair the child's physical health or emotional well-being. 

Click here to see the text of HB 1012.

This new law further erodes grandparents' access to grandchildren, particularly in circumstances where one parent has passed away and the other parent refuses to maintain a relationship with the deceased parent's family.  Instead of requiring the court to award access upon meeting the already high standard of proof set out by the US Supreme Court in Troxel v. Granville, the new law allows a court to either grant access or not grant it, even in the face of the required proof.

As a Dallas family law attorney, I have found the Dallas County family court judges to be very amenable to grandparent access to grandchildren.  I have had a couple of cases where one parent passed away and the other parent denied a relationship between the deceased parent's family.  In those cases, the judges have all been very empathetic to the grandparent's situation and wanted to encourage that relationship.  But, I'm sure some judges are not so inclined.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

In a family law case where conservatorship or possession (aka parenting time) of children is at issue, the custody evaluation or social study can make-it-or-break-it.  I've often referred clients to the Separated Parenting Access & Resource Center website and specifically their Guide to the Parenting Evaluation Process.  This guide provides insight, aimed at nonprimary parents, for all parts of the process, such as the initial interview, importance of documentation, psychological testing, parent/child joint session, use of collateral contacts, and other aspects of the process.

Some custody evaluations are performed by a social worker, maybe one employed by the county where the case is pending.  These are often less-expensive than other versions of the evaluation.  If the parties can afford it, the better option is to use a private professional to conduct the custody evaluation.  A private professional can be a social worker that works in private industry.  Or, if mental health issues are a contested topic in the case, another option is to use a forensic psychologist to conduct the custody evaluation so that psychological evaluations will be a part of the process.  Often a court-appointed social study conducted by the county-paid workers will not involve a home study, whereas a private paid evaluation will.

The resulting report of the evaluation will be relied upon heavily by the judge and/or jury in deciding the conservatorship or possession issues.  That's not to say that you can't challenge an evaluation that goes against you, but it does make your case more difficult.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link