Category: Law Firms

What Are Your Parental Rights in A Texas Custody Case?

Couples with children who end their relationships must work with family law attorneys on issues of child custody and satisfying the state’s custody requirements.

While the most important detail that lawyers stress to their clients is that decisions should be made according to what is in the child’s best interest, parental rights are a concern as well.

Each parent has rights in the arrangement and family law firms point out that creating a workable custody agreement requires each parent to recognize those rights as they attempt to co-parent together.

Parental Rights in Texas

Regardless of the relationship between parents, whether divorced or never married in the first place and are now separating, according to child custody lawyers all parents in Texas have the same general parental rights.

The only time they do not is when they have either voluntarily waived their parental rights or if parental rights have been taken away by a family court judge.

Those rights include:

  • Every parent in Texas has the legal right to co-parent with the other parent and collectively make decisions relating to a child’s education, health, and general well-being, regardless of who is the custodial parent. This includes their right to visitation plus having full access to school and medical records as well as other information about the child. Parents should refer to their lawyers for assistance if the other parent is refusing co-parenting according to the custody agreement. 
  • Parents have the right to attend school functions, extracurricular activities, and social events at any time, including on “off” days or weekends. Attorneys warn that parents may not prohibit each other from participating in any of these events. 
  • In terms of emergency medical care, both parents have the right to collectively discuss and decide on emergency treatment for their child. In cases where one parent is not accessible and decisions need to be made quickly, a single available parent may make those decisions alone, on behalf of both parents.

Aside from these more general parental rights, law firms will advise their clients that there are two more parental rights that only custodial parents hold.

Those custodial parental rights are the right to decide where the child’s primary residence will be and the right to provide a receipt for child support payments accepted from the other parent.

These two, since they are given only to the custodial parent, are the ones that family attorneys find to be the more highly contested rights.

In Summary

Texas parents have the right to co-parent their children with ex-spouses and ex-partners and with that right, the ability to take part in important decisions for their child.

Any parent having their parental rights denied should reach out to a family law firm to discuss the situation and whether legal enforcement of parental rights by the court must be considered.

Getting Divorced? Prepare With This Pre-Divorce Checklist!

Though most of the work involved with getting a divorce might involve the guidance and advice gained from lawyers hired to help, soon-to-be divorcees can do some preparation beforehand, too.

This simple checklist can help spouses consider the future, even before they turn to law firms for legal help.

Working out these four details before filing will also facilitate talks with the lawyers at a divorce law firm and allow them to better understand their client’s position on important factors in the legal discussion on both sides.

  1. Budgeting - Before filing, it is essential to understand not just current living expenses but also the legal expenses charged by a law firm, as they can really add up in the event that the divorce becomes more complicated than expected. Income level must be considered as well as the potential need for a job for spouses who are not working, where to get health insurance, and how to cover all personal bills and debt. Since this can be a complicated matter on its own, lawyers at divorce law firms recommend that those interested in divorcing start out by first creating a personal budget and then figuring out how they will support themselves afterward.
  2. Living Arrangements - An important part of budgeting, but also worth separate mention, is the issue of living arrangements and who will live where. Divorcing couples must agree on which spouse will leave the marital home, which will stay, and how each of those living spaces will be paid for. Law firms stress that this one decision can become even more complicated if there are children in the family, as it is good to try to go into a divorce with at least some kind of agreement on where the kids will live and go to school.
  3. Children - Beyond living arrangements, there are many decisions to be made pertaining to child care as well as custody and how divorcing parents will handle co-parenting. While all of this is subject to further negotiation once a law firm is involved, it is beneficial for parents to begin discussing the decisions ahead of time. Spouses who can work together amicably on the basic, obvious decisions will have an easier time making official ones with their lawyers. If the discussions go poorly, it is an indicator that more help from a divorce law firm will be required.
  4. Filing Plan - Spouses should also plan ahead as to who will file, where they will file, and when they will do it, once they have prepared by working out the above details.

Divorce law firms advise that getting divorced involves a great deal of planning and negotiation, some of which should start before filing.

By considering and discussing the four essential questions on this pre-divorce checklist, spouses will be more prepared to make efficient use of their lawyers time to get through the process more easily.