Relationships change over time, ending a bond that two people often think will last forever. In the wake of going separate ways, children are often an anchor holding together two individuals who may struggle with the ability to communicate and relate to each other. However, maintaining some form of relationship is necessary for a child’s well-being.
Determining child custody can be an emotional event that often leads to further challenging feelings and confrontations between former partners. If you are fighting for the best interests of your child, Le & Le, PLLC incorporates years of experience in family law issues to help you find the best solutions for your child while providing the supportive attorney-client relationship that a parent needs in the midst of overwhelming struggles while seeking guidance in child custody decisions.
Texas Parental Rights
Determining how a child will spend time with both parents when this relationship is ending requires challenging but vital decisions to be made. Under Texas law, the most critical aspects of determining custody will lay in examining what is in the best interest of the child. Texas family law takes the position that both parents will participate in the child’s life to create the healthiest environment for them to thrive in.
However, a healthy balance may be difficult when issues of family violence, abandonment, abuse, or substance disorders exist. The compassionate team of Le & Le, PLLC has witnessed the devastation that can come with these issues, and guiding our clients in critical decision-making is a priority. Options exist in child custody, and we will help you explore what works best for your child and gather vital information to ensure your child’s safety and health.
Joint Managing Conservatorship
Texas law works to ensure that both parents are conservators of a child, allowing for a joint managing conservatorship to be formed. This type of agreement establishes the parental rights for each parent when the child is in their possession and allows them to have a say in the critical decisions in a child’s life. These decisions can be about where a child is educated, what religion a child will be raised in, and decisions on medical treatments and interventions.
This custody agreement may also define the role of each parent, naming a custodial and noncustodial parent. The designation of the custodial parent will allow a child to primarily live with this parent while still giving the noncustodial parent rights in decisions other than living arrangements. Let Le & Le, PLLC fight on your behalf to establish the custody of a child when parental disagreements stifle the progress of decision-making.
Sole Managing Conservatorship
When a parent is awarded sole managing conservatorship, often known as sole custody, that parent will be exclusively responsible for making vital decisions in a child’s life instead of sharing the decision-making process with the other parent. Sole managing conservatorship may be awarded based on the following evidence:
- A history of abuse or family violence exists
- The stability of each home
- A parent’s relationship and involvement with a child
- The emotional and physical needs of a child
It can be frightening when a parent feels their child’s safety is in jeopardy. It is up to the parent requesting sole custody to prove this arrangement is in the child’s best interest. Working with an attorney experienced in Texas family law is imperative, and we want what is best for your child.
Serving as your child or children’s sole conservator does not always imply fault with the other parent. This type of conservatorship is often the best option for both parents, particularly when one parent is responsible for a more active role in a child’s life and for supplying a child’s needs.
Possessory Conservator
The other parent without sole custody is often named possessory conservator, granting them rights as a parent while allowing the parent with sole custody to retain decision-making power. A possessory conservator may also be known as the noncustodial parent. The goal is to continue to foster a parent-child relationship and a relationship with other siblings.
The noncustodial parent still retains the following rights as a parent:
- If necessary, work with the custodial parent to make critical decisions about a child, with the sole managing conservator retaining final decision-making authority
- Receive information about a child’s welfare, including their health, medical records, and educational records
- Attend school functions
- Serve as the emergency contact for a child
- Ensure non-invasive medical care for a child and act to make emergency medical decisions when necessary if a child is in their possession
Possessory conservators still retain parental rights and play a vital role in a child’s life, while the managing conservator has the final say in essential decisions for a child. And when parents can work together, they may equally share managing conservatorship.
Establishing Visitation Rights
Le & Le, PLLC understands that spending time with your child is the way to establish and maintain a strong connection with a child and ensure they are thriving. A possession order is a document describing the terms of each parent’s visitation rights. Let our team work to establish your parental rights of visitation.
Standard Possession Orders
Texas family law states that parents will have possession of the child on the terms they agree to, according to the Standard Possession Order. However, working together to determine this schedule may not be possible. When parents cannot agree, a parenting time schedule guideline provides a schedule that takes into consideration the distance parents live from one another.
Modified possession orders can meet a family’s needs, and our goal is to find the best solution for your family to ensure a child feels confident in the time spent with each parent. When parents establish visitation rights, and the child is under three, the Standard Possession Order does not apply because a child’s needs are different, but the orders can address what should happen once the child reaches three years old.
Supervised Possession Orders
When concerns about a child’s safety exist, Supervised Possession Orders may be issued, allowing a neutral third party to be present when visitations occur. Let us work with you to provide the safest environment for a child. Even parents whose relationship with their child may be strained or questionable will be allowed supervised visits.
Custody Disputes Resolution
Parents struggling to settle custody disputes may turn to the courts for help. Ultimately, a judge’s ruling will be the final word, so parents are encouraged to work together to resolve their child custody issues. Our role as a child custody attorney in Dallas is to help clients seek alternative dispute resolution options to have a say in the outcome of a child custody case.
A parenting plan can be established even when the courts do not order them to address the child custody and possession of a child and be included in the court order. Parenting plans can be established with input from each parent and through the mediation process.
Child Custody Mediation
Dispute mediation services allow a neutral party to hear each parent’s case, listen to the presented information, and then help both parties agree on custody issues. Sometimes, a court will mandate the services of a mediator to help parents reach an agreement on custody issues.
Parents are responsible for covering the cost of mediation services.
Arbitration
A suit affecting the parent-child relationship (SAPCR) may be referred to arbitration with the agreement that the parents will follow the recommendations of an arbitrator. Le & Le, PLLC works closely with clients, ensuring the parent’s wishes are expressed to an arbitrator to facilitate the best outcome for a child. Arbitration cannot be forced in a SAPCR.
An impartial third party will listen to the information presented in a suit. Using this information, the arbitrator will determine the best outcome for a child.
Establishing a Child’s Best Interest
Ultimately, the courts are most concerned about the best interest of a child. Some of the factors used in determining a child’s best interest are as follows:
- Present and future physical and emotional needs of a child
- The parent’s ability to seek custody
- The child’s wishes
- The stability of the home
- Programs available to each parent that promote the child’s best interests
- A parent’s involvement in a child’s life
- The relationship between the parent and child is proper
Let us work with you to relay any factors in a child’s parental relationships that may cause concern to the judge in the case. It is imperative to present this information in the determining stages. Once the orders have been handed down, it can be challenging to change them.
Trusted Child Custody Attorneys in Dallas
Parents are looking for honesty and trust in a Dallas child custody attorney, as these two qualities often feel out of reach during disputes. Le & Le, PLLC wants to assure you that when we establish an attorney-client relationship, we are here for you during all the challenges that legal custody presents. Serving the Dallas area, we help provide stability for families in our area.
Choose a Dallas child custody attorney with your best interests at the forefront and someone willing to work aggressively for your child. Le & Le, PLLC is the confident team you need by your side in overwhelming legal custody matters.