A divorce with kids in Texas follows the same court process as any other Texas divorce, but the petition and final decree must also resolve conservatorship, a possession and access schedule, child support, and health coverage for the children. Before anything else, one spouse must have lived in Texas for six months and in the filing county for 90 days.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 6.301 – General Residency Rule for Divorce Suit Only one of you needs to meet those thresholds. If you recently moved within Texas, you can wait out the 90 days in your new county or file where your spouse qualifies. Military families stationed in Texas can generally use the duty station to satisfy residency.
Filing, Service, and the 60-Day Wait
The case opens when you file an Original Petition for Divorce with the district clerk in your county. When children are involved, the petition includes the requested conservatorship arrangement, a possession schedule, and child support. Filing fees vary by county and typically run a few hundred dollars; if you cannot afford the fee, an affidavit of inability to pay can waive it.
Your spouse must then be formally notified. A process server or constable can deliver the papers, or a cooperative spouse can sign a waiver of service. Nothing moves forward until service is complete or waived.
Texas then imposes a mandatory 60-day waiting period starting the day after filing. No judge can finalize your divorce before that clock runs out. The only exception is when the respondent has a family-violence conviction or the petitioner has an active protective order based on family violence during the marriage.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 6.702 – Waiting Period Contested divorces with children usually take considerably longer than 60 days.
What Happens Between Filing and the Final Decree
Either spouse can ask the court for temporary orders during the waiting period. These set the ground rules while the case is pending: who stays in the family home, a preliminary possession schedule, temporary child support, and limits on spending marital assets. Temporary orders remain in effect until the judge signs the final decree.
Texas courts can refer any custody dispute to mediation, and most judges do. A neutral mediator works with both parents on conservatorship, visitation, and property. An agreement reached in mediation becomes binding once both parties sign and the judge approves it. If you have been a victim of family violence, you can object to mediation in writing. If the court orders it anyway after a hearing, the judge must keep you and the other parent in separate rooms.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.0071 – Alternate Dispute Resolution Procedures
Many Texas judges also order both parents into a Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course. The course runs 4 to 12 hours and covers how divorce affects children, co-parenting, and conflict management.4State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 105.009 – Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course It is not automatic in every case, but judges have wide discretion to order it.
The case ends when the judge signs a Final Decree of Divorce that incorporates every decision on conservatorship, possession, child support, health insurance, and property.
Conservatorship: How Texas Labels Custody
Texas does not use the word “custody.” Legal rights and responsibilities are called conservatorship, and the physical time a child spends with each parent is called possession and access.
Joint Managing Conservatorship
Texas law starts with a rebuttable presumption that appointing both parents as Joint Managing Conservators is in the child’s best interest.5State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 153.131 – Presumption That Parent to Be Appointed Managing Conservator Both parents share decision-making authority over education, medical care, and other major life decisions. Joint conservatorship does not mean equal time. In most cases, one parent’s home is designated the child’s primary residence, and the other parent receives a possession schedule.
A history of family violence between the parents eliminates that presumption entirely.5State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 153.131 – Presumption That Parent to Be Appointed Managing Conservator Even without violence, either parent can present evidence that joint conservatorship would harm the child.
Sole Managing Conservatorship
When one parent poses a risk through abuse, neglect, substance abuse, or family violence, the court can name the other parent as Sole Managing Conservator. That parent makes major decisions alone. The other parent is usually named a Possessory Conservator with visitation but limited decision-making authority. Courts do not grant sole conservatorship on allegations; you need evidence.
The Standard Possession Order
For children three and older, the Standard Possession Order is the baseline schedule Texas courts presume is appropriate.6Office of the Attorney General. Parenting Time Schedule Under the default version, the noncustodial parent has:
- The first, third, and fifth weekends of each month, Friday evening to Sunday evening
- Thursday evenings during the school year
- Alternating major holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring break on a rotating basis
- An extended summer possession period, typically 30 days
The noncustodial parent can also elect an expanded schedule when the order is entered, extending weekends from Thursday overnight through Monday morning.6Office of the Attorney General. Parenting Time Schedule Without an election, the default applies. For children under three, the court is not bound by the Standard Possession Order and has more flexibility to tailor a schedule.
Parents who live more than 100 miles apart follow a modified version with fewer but longer visits. Parents who agree on a completely different schedule can present it to the court, and judges will generally approve any arrangement that serves the child’s interests.
How Texas Calculates Child Support
Texas calculates child support as a percentage of the paying parent’s monthly net resources:
- One child: 20% of net resources
- Two children: 25%
- Three children: 30%
- Four children: 35%
- Five children: 40%
- Six or more: not less than the amount for five children
These are presumptive figures. The court applies them unless a parent shows the result would be unjust or inappropriate given the child’s needs.7State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 154.125 – Application of Guidelines to Net Resources
What Counts as Net Resources
Net resources are not take-home pay. The court starts with gross income from all sources and subtracts a specific list: Social Security taxes, federal income tax (calculated as a single filer claiming one exemption and the standard deduction), state income tax, union dues, the cost of the child’s court-ordered health or dental insurance, and mandatory retirement contributions for parents who don’t pay Social Security.8State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 154.062 – Net Resources Voluntary 401(k) contributions and personal living expenses are not deducted.
The Cap and the Low-Income Table
The guideline percentages apply only to the first $11,700 per month in net resources.9Office of the Attorney General – Texas. Monthly Child Support Calculator For one child, that puts the guideline maximum at $2,340 per month. For a parent earning above the cap, the court can order more if the child has proven needs, but the requesting parent carries the burden of showing them. The cap is adjusted every six years for inflation and published in the Texas Register.7State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 154.125 – Application of Guidelines to Net Resources
If the paying parent’s net resources fall below $1,000 per month, a lower schedule applies: 15% for one child, 20% for two, 25% for three, 30% for four, 35% for five, and not less than the five-child figure for six or more. These reduced rates apply to cases filed on or after September 1, 2021.7State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 154.125 – Application of Guidelines to Net Resources
Health Insurance for the Children
Every Texas child support order must address health coverage. The court will order one or both parents to provide it and reviews available options in a set priority order.10State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 154.181 – Medical Support Order If insurance is already in place when you file, it usually continues during the case.
There is a cost ceiling. “Reasonable cost” means no more than 9% of the obligor’s annual gross resources for one child’s coverage, and the combined cost for multiple children on the same order cannot exceed that 9% threshold.10State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 154.181 – Medical Support Order When neither parent has access to affordable coverage, the court can order cash medical support instead, which the custodial parent uses to buy insurance for the child.
Dividing Property When Children Are Involved
Texas is a community property state. Anything either spouse earned or acquired during the marriage belongs to both of you, and the judge divides it in a manner considered “just and right,” taking into account the rights of each spouse and any children.11State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 7.001 – General Rule of Property Division “Just and right” is not a 50/50 formula. A judge can award a larger share to one spouse based on income disparity, fault, and the needs of the children.
Separate property stays with the spouse who owns it: anything owned before the marriage, gifts and inheritances received during the marriage, and personal injury recoveries other than lost wages. You have the burden of proving something is separate. If you cannot trace it clearly, the court may treat it as community property.
Retirement plans like a 401(k) or pension require a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, a separate court order that directs the plan administrator to split the account. Without a proper QDRO, the plan will not release funds to the non-employee spouse, and errors on this document can trigger unexpected taxes or penalties.
Who Claims the Children on Taxes
Federal tax law controls which parent claims a child as a dependent after divorce, regardless of what your Texas order says about conservatorship. The IRS treats the parent with whom the child slept more nights during the tax year as the custodial parent, and that parent gets the dependency claim and the Child Tax Credit by default. If the nights are equal, the parent with the higher adjusted gross income wins the tiebreaker.12Internal Revenue Service. Publication 504 – Divorced or Separated Individuals
A Texas judge can order parents to alternate who claims the child, but the IRS will not honor a state court order on its own. The custodial parent must sign IRS Form 8332 releasing the claim for that year, and the noncustodial parent must attach it to their return.13Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8332 – Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent If the custodial parent refuses to sign, the noncustodial parent’s only path is back to the Texas court for enforcement of the order.
Changing Orders After the Divorce
Texas allows modification when circumstances change. For child support, you can ask for a modification if there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances since the last order, or if at least three years have passed and the current order differs by 20% or $100 from what the guidelines would produce today. A custody modification requires showing the change serves the child’s best interest, with a higher bar when you are trying to change who the child primarily lives with.
Modifications are filed as a new case in the same court that issued the original order. Until a judge signs a modified order, the original terms remain in full effect. Losing your job does not pause a support obligation. Missed payments become arrears. File promptly when your finances change rather than waiting for the court to forgive missed payments retroactively, because it almost never does.