I’ve previously talked about getting child support through the Attorney General’s office. Click here and here to read more. Regardless of whether you have orders pertaining to your children before you file for divorce or not the Court will still make orders related to your children as part of your divorce. Many people do not realize that the court needs to consider issues pertaining to your children as part of the divorce. If you have prior orders, your divorce petition must reference those prior orders. Depending on the situation, you may want to modify those orders during the divorce or you may want to keep them in place.
A recent article was written about the effect living with divorced parents has on children. To read that article click here. If you are able to work out an agreement that works for your family, the Judge will typically approve that agreement. Finding an arrangement that works for your family allows you the opportunity to have control over your situation. If, however, you are unable to reach and agreement, the Judge will consider the following factors.
1. Conservatorship
Typically the court will determine who should be the primary conservator over the children. The primary conservator’s address is typically the address that is used to determine the school for the children.
2. Rights and Duties
The Court will determine which rights and duties each parent has with respect to the children. The rights may be exclusive to one parent, or independent (meaning either parent can make the decision), or joint (requiring both parents to agree).
3. Possession and Access
After primary conservatorship has been granted to one parent the Court will determine what visitation the other parent should have. Typically this is based on the Standard Possession Order which I discussed previously here. There are variations to possession and access that may be considered based on your family’s needs.
4. Child Support
The parent who is the primary conservator will typically receive child support. This will usually be based on guidelines that have been established in the Texas Family Code. The Court may consider other factors depending on the circumstances.
Even if your prior orders establish all of the above, the Court may be able to modify those orders depending on the situation.