Child Custody in Texas: Conservatorship, Possession and the Best Interest of the Child

The short answer

In Texas, custody is called conservatorship TexasLawHelp.org, "How to Find and Afford an Attorney in a Family Law Case". The best interest of the child is always the court's primary consideration Tex. Fam. Code §153.002(a). The law presumes that naming both parents joint managing conservators is in the child's best interest, but a finding of a history of family violence removes that presumption Tex. Fam. Code §153.131(b). A parent who is not a managing conservator is usually named a possessory conservator Tex. Fam. Code §153.191, and the court sets that parent's time with the child Tex. Fam. Code §153.192(b).

What is conservatorship?

Conservatorship is the Texas legal word for what most people call custody. Possession and access is the legal term for visitation, or parenting time TexasLawHelp.org, "How to Find and Afford an Attorney in a Family Law Case" TexasLawHelp.org, "Child Custody". A custody case is also called a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, or SAPCR TexasLawHelp.org, "Child Support in Texas". Legal custody can only be created by a court order TexasLawHelp.org, "Child Custody".

Texas orders use these roles:

• Managing conservator. A parent can be named sole managing conservator, or both parents can be named joint managing conservators Tex. Fam. Code §153.131(a).
• Possessory conservator. A parent who is not a managing conservator is appointed possessory conservator, unless the court finds that is not in the child's best interest and that the parent's possession or access would endanger the child's physical or emotional welfare Tex. Fam. Code §153.191.

How does a Texas judge decide custody?

The child's best interest comes first. It "shall always be the primary consideration" in deciding conservatorship and possession Tex. Fam. Code §153.002(a). Texas public policy is to assure children frequent and continuing contact with parents who act in their best interest, to provide a safe, stable, and nonviolent environment, and to encourage parents to share the rights and duties of raising the child after they separate or divorce Tex. Fam. Code §153.001(a).

The court must consider each party's qualifications without regard to marital status or to the sex of the parent or the child Tex. Fam. Code §153.003. In a case between a parent and a nonparent, the law presumes a parent's care is in the child's best interest Tex. Fam. Code §153.002(b). See Grandparents' Rights in Texas: Custody and Visitation.

Will we both be joint managing conservators?

Often, but not always. Unless the court finds it would significantly impair the child's physical health or emotional development, a parent is named sole managing conservator or both parents are named joint managing conservators Tex. Fam. Code §153.131(a). Joint managing conservatorship is presumed to be in the child's best interest Tex. Fam. Code §153.131(b). A presumption is a starting point the court uses unless the evidence shows otherwise.

Family violence changes this. A finding of a history of family violence involving the parents removes the presumption Tex. Fam. Code §153.131(b). The court may not appoint joint managing conservators at all if credible evidence shows a history or pattern of child neglect, or physical or sexual abuse, by one parent against the other parent, a spouse, or a child Tex. Fam. Code §153.004(b). The court must also consider evidence of abusive physical force or sexual abuse from the two years before the suit or during it Tex. Fam. Code §153.004(a). If you are in danger, see Protective Orders in Parker County, Texas.

Joint does not mean equal time. Joint managing conservatorship does not mean the child's time is split equally TexasLawHelp.org, "Child Custody". When the court orders joint managing conservatorship without an agreed parenting plan, it must designate the parent who has the exclusive right to determine the child's primary residence, and either set a geographic area for that home or say there is no geographic limit Tex. Fam. Code §153.134(b).

Agreed or not. With a written agreed parenting plan, the court names joint managing conservators only if the plan meets the statute's requirements, including that each parent made it voluntarily and knowingly and that it is in the child's best interest Tex. Fam. Code §153.133(a). Without one, the court weighs factors such as whether the parents can put the child first and make shared decisions, whether each supports the child's bond with the other, whether both helped raise the child, how close they live, and, for a child 12 or older, the child's preference about the primary residence Tex. Fam. Code §153.134(a).

What is the standard possession order?

Most Texas custody orders include a Standard Possession Order (SPO), the default visitation schedule TexasLawHelp.org, "Child Custody". TexasLawHelp.org explains that the law presumes the SPO is in the best interest of a child age three or older, and that this presumption does not apply to a younger child TexasLawHelp.org, "Child Visitation and Possession Orders". That presumption also applies to temporary orders Tex. Fam. Code §105.001(g).

TexasLawHelp.org notes that for cases filed on or after September 1, 2021, if the parents live within 50 miles and don't agree, the times in Family Code §153.3171 apply TexasLawHelp.org, "Child Visitation and Possession Orders". The basic schedule in §153.312, for a possessory conservator who lives 100 miles or less from the child's primary residence, includes Tex. Fam. Code §153.312(a) Tex. Fam. Code §153.312(b):

• Weekends: 6 p.m. on the first, third, and fifth Friday of each month to 6 p.m. the following Sunday.
• Thursdays: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the regular school term, unless the court finds that is not in the child's best interest.
• Spring break: in even-numbered years. The managing conservator has it in odd-numbered years.
• Summer: 30 days. With written notice by April 1, the possessory conservator chooses the dates within the statute's limits. Without notice, it is 6 p.m. July 1 to 6 p.m. July 31.

TexasLawHelp.org notes that the schedule also covers alternating holidays TexasLawHelp.org, "Child Visitation and Possession Orders". Parents may share time whenever they both agree. If they cannot agree, they must follow the court-ordered schedule TexasLawHelp.org, "Child Visitation and Possession Orders" TexasLawHelp.org, "Child Custody".

Visitation and child support are separate. A court may not make a parent's possession or access depend on paying child support Tex. Fam. Code §153.001(b), and you cannot withhold visitation because support is unpaid TexasLawHelp.org, "Child Support in Texas". See Child Support in Texas: How It Is Calculated and Who Collects It.

Can my child choose which parent to live with?

Not on their own. In a nonjury trial or hearing, if a party or certain court-appointed attorneys ask, the court must interview a child 12 or older in chambers (privately, in the judge's office) about the child's wishes on conservatorship or on who decides where the child lives. It may interview a younger child Tex. Fam. Code §153.009(a). But the interview "does not diminish the discretion of the court" in deciding the child's best interests Tex. Fam. Code §153.009(c). In a jury trial, the court may not interview the child on an issue the jury will decide Tex. Fam. Code §153.009(d).

Do we have to go to mediation?

The court may send your case to mediation, a meeting where a neutral person helps you try to settle, on its own or if you both agree in writing Tex. Fam. Code §153.0071(c). A signed mediated settlement agreement that prominently states it is not subject to revocation is binding Tex. Fam. Code §153.0071(d), and a party is entitled to a judgment on it Tex. Fam. Code §153.0071(e). If family violence was committed against you or your child, you may file a written objection to mediation. The case then may not go to mediation unless, on a party's request, a hearing is held and the court finds the greater weight of the evidence does not support your objection. If it does go, the order must keep you in separate rooms with no face-to-face contact Tex. Fam. Code §153.0071(f). This objection rule does not apply to CPS suits under Chapter 262 Tex. Fam. Code §153.0071(f).

In Parker County

District court family cases are filed with the Parker County District Clerk, the clerk for the 43rd and 415th Judicial District Courts Parker County, "District Clerk". The office is at 117 Fort Worth Highway, Weatherford, and the civil/family phone is 817-598-6114 Parker County, "District Clerk". Parker County's county courts at law also have the jurisdiction general law gives district courts Tex. Gov't Code §25.1862. The District Clerk's sheet dated 1/1/2026 lists $350.00 for a new civil/family suit Parker County District Clerk, "Civil/Family Court Costs" (1/1/2026).

The District Clerk does not provide forms and points you to Texas Law Help Parker County District Clerk FAQ, "Where can I get forms to file my lawsuit or divorce?", which has a guide for a parent asking for a custody order TexasLawHelp.org, "Child Custody". The 43rd District Court's page says children are not allowed in the courtroom unless the case is their adoption, and it lists parenting programs and supervised visitation providers in its resource directory Parker County, Texas, 43rd District Court.

For legal help, see Finding a Family Lawyer in Weatherford and Parker County: Divorce, Custody, Child Support and Protective Orders. Court contacts are on Parker County and Weatherford, Texas: CPS and Family Courts, Court Records, DFPS Office and Free Legal Help.

What the law says

The best interest of the child shall always be the primary consideration of the court in determining the issues of conservatorship and possession of and access to the child.

In plain words: every custody and visitation decision turns on what is best for your child.

It is a rebuttable presumption that the appointment of the parents of a child as joint managing conservators is in the best interest of the child. A finding of a history of family violence involving the parents of a child removes the presumption under this subsection.

In plain words: the law starts from the idea that both parents should share custody, but not when the court finds a history of family violence.

Questions to ask a lawyer

• Is joint managing conservatorship likely in my case, or is there a family-violence issue?
• Who should have the right to decide our child's primary residence, and within what area?
• Does the standard possession order fit our family, or should we ask for a different schedule?
• Should I object to mediation, or ask for safety measures?

Related

• Getting a Divorce in Parker County, Texas
• Child Support in Texas: How It Is Calculated and Who Collects It
• Changing a Custody or Child Support Order in Texas (Modification)
• Finding a Family Lawyer in Weatherford and Parker County: Divorce, Custody, Child Support and Protective Orders
• Parker County and Weatherford, Texas: CPS and Family Courts, Court Records, DFPS Office and Free Legal Help