Child custody in Texas is governed by two separate concepts in the Texas Family Code: conservatorship, which covers a parent’s legal rights and decision-making authority, and possession and access, which covers the physical time a parent spends with the child. The word “custody” does not appear in the statute. Understanding that split is the first step, because the label a parent receives determines what medical, educational, and residential decisions they can make on their own, and a separate schedule determines when the child is actually with them.
The Three Conservatorship Roles
Texas recognizes three roles: joint managing conservator, sole managing conservator, and possessory conservator. Each carries a different bundle of rights.
Joint Managing Conservator
This is the starting point. The Family Code creates a rebuttable presumption that appointing both parents as joint managing conservators serves the child’s best interest.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.131 – Presumption That Joint Managing Conservatorship in Best Interest of Child Rebuttable means a parent can overcome it with evidence; without that evidence, the court defaults to a shared arrangement.
Joint managing conservatorship does not mean equal time, and it does not mean equal authority on every question. One parent is typically designated as the one who determines the child’s primary residence. Both parents share access to school and medical records, the right to attend school activities, and input on major decisions. The order itself spells out which decisions require agreement and which each parent can make alone.
Sole Managing Conservator
A sole managing conservator holds exclusive authority over major decisions. The Family Code grants that parent the right to choose where the child lives, consent to medical and surgical treatment, make education decisions, represent the child in legal matters, and consent to marriage or military enlistment, among other rights.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.132 – Rights and Duties of Parent Appointed Sole Managing Conservator Courts typically reserve this designation for situations where joint decision-making has broken down or where one parent poses a risk to the child.
Possessory Conservator
The parent who is not named a sole or joint managing conservator usually becomes a possessory conservator. That role preserves the right to scheduled time with the child and access to records, but removes independent authority on major decisions. A possessory conservator still has the right to receive information about the child’s health, education, and welfare. Courts lean heavily against cutting a parent out entirely, so even a possessory conservator retains meaningful contact unless the court finds a specific reason to restrict it.
How a Judge Decides: Best Interest and the Holley Factors
Every conservatorship and possession decision in Texas turns on one question: what serves the child’s best interest? The Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Holley v. Adams established the factors judges use to answer it.3Justia. Holley v. Adams They include:
- The child’s wishes, if the child is old enough to express a meaningful preference.
- The child’s emotional and physical needs, now and going forward.
- Any emotional or physical danger the child faces in each parent’s care.
- Each parent’s actual parenting ability.
- Programs and resources available to help each parent.
- Each parent’s plans for the child.
- The stability of each parent’s home.
- Past conduct suggesting the current parent-child relationship is not working, along with any valid explanation for that conduct.
The list is not exhaustive. Judges can weigh anything relevant, and two judges looking at the same facts might reach different conclusions. That discretion is part of why experienced family lawyers often push for settlement rather than leaving the outcome entirely to a judge.
Does the Child Get to Choose at 12?
No. If a child is 12 or older, the court must interview the child in chambers when any party or the child’s attorney requests it. For children under 12, the interview is optional.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.009 – Interview of Child in Chambers The child’s stated preference carries weight, but the judge is never bound by it. The child gets a voice, not a vote.
When Family Violence Changes the Default
The presumption favoring joint managing conservatorship disappears when there is a history of family violence between the parents.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.131 – Presumption That Joint Managing Conservatorship in Best Interest of Child When credible evidence shows a pattern of past or present physical abuse, sexual abuse, or child neglect directed at the other parent, a spouse, or a child, the court cannot appoint the parents as joint managing conservators at all.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.004 – History of Domestic Violence or Sexual Abuse
The statute also creates a rebuttable presumption that a parent with a history of abuse should not be the conservator who decides where the child lives. Courts also consider whether a final protective order has been issued against either parent. If you have evidence of family violence, get it in front of your attorney early. It changes the legal analysis from the ground up.
Possession and Access Schedules
Possession and access is the time each parent physically spends with the child. Texas has a default called the Standard Possession Order, laid out in Sections 153.311 through 153.317 of the Family Code. Parents can agree to something different, but without an agreement, the court applies the standard schedule.
Parents Within 100 Miles
When the possessory conservator lives within 100 miles of the child’s primary residence, that parent gets possession on the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month, from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Sunday, plus Thursday evenings from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the school year.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.312 – Parents Who Reside 100 Miles or Less Apart
An expanded version stretches weekend possession to begin when school lets out on Thursday or Friday and end when school resumes on Monday. Many parents opt for the expanded schedule, and some courts apply it as the default.
Summer possession under the close-distance schedule runs 30 days. The possessory conservator can pick the dates by giving written notice by April 1. Miss that deadline and the default period is typically July 1 through July 31.
Parents More Than 100 Miles Apart
When the possessory conservator lives more than 100 miles away, the schedule accounts for travel. The parent can keep the regular first-third-fifth weekend pattern or elect one weekend per month with 14 days’ written notice. That election must be made in writing within 90 days of the parents beginning to live more than 100 miles apart.7State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.313 – Parents Who Reside Over 100 Miles Apart
Long-distance parents also receive the entire spring break and 42 days of summer possession, up from 30. With written notice by April 1, those 42 days can be split into two periods of at least seven consecutive days each. Without notice, the default runs June 15 through July 27.7State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.313 – Parents Who Reside Over 100 Miles Apart
Holidays
Major holidays alternate between parents. In even-numbered years, the possessory conservator has the child from the start of Christmas vacation through noon on December 28, while the managing conservator gets that window in odd-numbered years. The second half of the break flips. Thanksgiving alternates in a similar pattern.8State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.314 – Holiday Possession Unaffected by Distance
Geographic Restrictions on Where the Child Can Live
Most Texas custody orders include a geographic restriction limiting where the child can live, typically confining primary residence to the current county and any contiguous counties. The point is to keep the child close enough that the possession schedule actually functions.
If the parent with primary residence wants to move outside the restricted area, they must file a petition to modify. Moving without a modification violates the order. If the court approves the move, it will likely adjust the possession schedule and may recalculate child support to reflect increased travel costs. In some cases, if the other parent moves outside the designated area, the restriction on the primary parent may be lifted.
Child Support
Child support in Texas is a percentage of the paying parent’s monthly net resources:
- One child: 20%
- Two children: 25%
- Three children: 30%
- Four children: 35%
- Five children: 40%
- Six or more: not less than the amount for five children
Those percentages apply to net resources up to a cap of $11,700 per month.9State of Texas. Texas Family Code 154.125 – Application of Guidelines to Net Resources The cap increased from $9,200 effective September 1, 2025, so orders entered before that date may be worth a second look. For a parent earning at or near the cap with one child, guideline support works out to $2,340 per month.
Parents earning less than $1,000 per month in net resources fall under a lower schedule: 15% for one child, 20% for two, and so on.9State of Texas. Texas Family Code 154.125 – Application of Guidelines to Net Resources For high earners above the cap, a court can order support beyond the guideline amount if the child’s proven needs justify it, such as private school tuition or maintaining an existing standard of living.
Starting a Custody Case
A Texas custody case begins with a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, called a SAPCR. Texas courts can make an initial custody determination only if Texas is the child’s “home state,” meaning the child has lived in Texas for at least six consecutive months before filing, or lived here within the past six months and a parent still resides in the state.10State of Texas. Texas Family Code 152.201 – Initial Child Custody Jurisdiction Once Texas has jurisdiction, the petition is filed in the county where the child lives.
Once the other parent has been served, they have until 10 a.m. on the first Monday after 20 full days have passed from service to file a written answer. Missing that deadline can result in a default judgment.
Temporary Orders While the Case Is Pending
A SAPCR can take months to resolve. Temporary orders fill the gap by setting conservatorship, child support, and possession rules that apply while the case is pending. Under Section 105.001, the court can issue temporary orders on conservatorship, temporary child support, restrictions on removing the child from a geographic area, orders restraining a party from disturbing the peace of the child or the other parent, and payment of attorney’s fees and court costs.11State of Texas. Texas Family Code 105.001 – Temporary Orders Before Final Order If the other parent is restricting your access to the child, a temporary orders hearing is often the fastest route to enforceable visitation.
Modifying an Existing Order
Custody orders are not permanent. To modify conservatorship or possession, you must show that modification serves the child’s best interest and that at least one of the following applies:
- A material and substantial change in the circumstances of the child or a conservator since the order was last entered or since the underlying settlement agreement was signed.
- The child is at least 12 and has told the court in chambers which parent they want to have primary residence authority.
- The parent with primary residence rights has voluntarily relinquished primary care and possession of the child for at least six months.
Child support modifications work on similar logic. If at least three years have passed since the amount was set and the current order differs by 20% or more from what the guidelines would produce today, you have grounds to modify.13Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Support Modification Process With the September 2025 cap increase from $9,200 to $11,700, older orders often now fall well below current guidelines.
Enforcing an Order When a Parent Ignores It
When one parent ignores a custody order, the other can file a Motion for Enforcement. The court has authority to enforce any provision of a temporary or final order, including through contempt.14State of Texas. Texas Family Code 157.001 – Motion for Enforcement Contempt findings can carry jail time and fines for each violation. Beyond punishment, courts can order make-up possession time to compensate for denied visits and may require a bond to secure future compliance.
Enforcement is filed in the court with continuing, exclusive jurisdiction, usually the court that entered the original order. Enforcement and modification are separate tools. If a parent is ignoring the current order, enforcement is right. If the order itself needs updating because circumstances have changed, modification is the path. Filing the wrong motion wastes time, and judges notice.