Family Law Attorney ◖ Victoria, Texas ◗

What orders are in the best interest of your child?

Best Interest Factors Courts look to the following factors to decide what orders are in the best interest of a child.
1. The desires of the child;2. The emotional and physical needs of the child;3. The emotional and physical danger to the child;4. The parental abilities of the person seeking custody;5. The programs available to assist the parties to promote the best interest of the child;6. The plans for the child made by the person seeking custody or the agency;7. The stability of the home or proposed placement;8. The acts or omissions of the parent that indicate that the existing parent-child relationship is not a proper one; and9. Any excuses for the parent’s acts or omissions.
Who is going to get custody?
In most cases, the parent who has had the children most of the time the past two years will get primary custody. However, if you and your co-parent agree to another arrangement, a court will generally honor your agreement. Courts have discretion to decide who gets custody provided the decision is supported by the best interest of the child(ren). For example, a court may award you custody if your child is 12 or older and will tell the court he or she wants to live with you, or if there are immediate safety or welfare concerns for your child due to the other parent, even if you have not had primary custody in the past.
What does visitation look like?
The parent without primary custody is typically awarded a "standard possession schedule" unless there is clear and convincing evidence that another schedule is better for the child. The standard possession schedule provides visits on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends each month during the school year, extended visitation during the summer, and rotating holiday visitation. Depending on the circumstances, a court may to modify the standard visitation schedule to accommodate a parent's work schedule or as needed to protect the child(ren).
How is child support calculated?
Texas law provides child support guidelines based on the income of the parent who pays support. You can use the calculator maintained by the Office of the Attorney General here. Depending on the circumstances, a court may modify the amount of support due based on changes in income, or other factors like travel expenses when a child moves with the other parent over 50 miles from the parent paying support.
If you have any questions regarding your custody or visitation case, call me at (281) 900-8504.