Children, Custody & Support in Texas

Texas uses the term "conservatorship" rather than custody. A "conservator" is a person (usually a parent) with rights and duties regarding the child. **Joint Managing Conservatorship (JMC)** is the presumption in Texas. Both parents share rights and duties, but this does NOT mean equal possession time. Typically, one parent is designated the parent with the right to determine the child's primary residence (the "primary" parent), while the other has a Standard Possession Order (SPO). **Sole Managing Conservatorship (SMC)** is awarded when one parent should have exclusive rights, typically due to family violence, child abuse, or neglect. The other parent may become a "Possessory Conservator" with limited rights. Texas has a rebuttable presumption that joint managing conservatorship is in the child's best interest. The presumption does not apply if there's credible evidence of family violence.

The Standard Possession Order is Texas's default visitation schedule for the non-primary parent. For parents who live within 100 miles of each other, the SPO provides: - First, third, and fifth weekends of each month (Friday 6pm to Sunday 6pm, or extended to Monday morning) - Thursday evenings during the school year - Extended summer possession (30 days, often split into two periods) - Alternating holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break) For parents who live more than 100 miles apart, the schedule is modified to allow for longer, less frequent visits. The SPO is a starting point — parents can agree to different schedules, and courts can order modifications based on the child's best interests.

Texas uses a simple percentage-of-income model for child support, not the income-shares model used by most states. The guideline amount is a percentage of the obligor's (paying parent's) net resources: - 1 child: 20% - 2 children: 25% - 3 children: 30% - 4 children: 35% - 5 children: 40% - 6+ children: not less than 40% **Net resources** include wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, tips, self-employment income, rental income, dividends, and certain benefits — minus social security taxes, federal income taxes, union dues, and health insurance for the child. There's a cap: the guidelines apply only to the first $9,200 per month of the obligor's net resources (as of 2024). For high earners, the court has discretion to apply or not apply guidelines above this cap.