Under the expanded standard possession order in Texas, the noncustodial parent’s time rises to roughly 42 to 47 percent of the year, compared with about 25 to 27 percent under the basic schedule. Two mechanical changes drive almost all of the increase: Thursday visits become full overnights, and first, third, and fifth weekends stretch from Friday school dismissal through Monday morning drop-off instead of ending Sunday at 6 p.m. Texas Family Code Section 153.317 gives any possessory conservator living within 100 miles of the child the right to elect these expanded times, and courts must grant them absent evidence that the schedule would not serve the child’s best interest.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.252 – Rebuttable Presumption
How the Overnight Math Works
The basic standard possession order gives the noncustodial parent the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month from Friday at 6 p.m. to Sunday at 6 p.m., plus a two-hour Thursday evening visit from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the school year.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.312 – Parents Who Reside 100 Miles or Less Apart That Thursday visit produces zero overnights, and each weekend produces two. Combined with a 30-day summer block and alternating holidays, the basic schedule works out to roughly 90 to 100 overnights per year.
The expanded election changes both weekday and weekend counts. Weekends gain a third overnight because the child stays through Sunday night and goes to school Monday morning. Thursdays become a full overnight, with pickup from school Thursday afternoon and return when school resumes Friday. On a first, third, or fifth weekend during the school year, those two changes connect into a single four-night block running from Thursday afternoon through Monday morning.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.317 – Alternative Beginning and Ending Possession Times
Adding expanded holiday elections and the 30-day summer period brings the total to roughly 150 to 170 overnights per year. That range is where the 42 to 47 percent figure comes from. The exact count shifts year to year because the number of fifth weekends varies and school calendars differ across districts. Parents who elect only some of the available options, such as expanding weekends but not Thursdays, land somewhere between the basic and fully expanded figures.
What a School-Year Week Looks Like
During the school year, the expanded schedule creates two different week types. On a weekend week (the first, third, or fifth weekend of the month), the noncustodial parent picks the child up from school Thursday afternoon and does not return the child until Monday morning drop-off. Four consecutive overnights. On a non-weekend week, the parent picks up Thursday afternoon and drops off at school Friday morning, a single overnight.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.317 – Alternative Beginning and Ending Possession Times
That routine puts the noncustodial parent on school-transportation duty every week. Thursday afternoon pickups and Friday or Monday morning drop-offs become fixed. If a work schedule makes those runs impossible, the election is worth reconsidering before it goes into the order. A judge can deny expanded times if evidence shows they would not serve the child’s best interest, though grants are the norm when requested.
Holidays and Summer Under the Expanded Election
The expanded election does not replace the holiday schedule. It extends pickup and drop-off times. Holidays follow the same alternating-year pattern regardless of whether a parent elects expanded times: the noncustodial parent gets the first half of Christmas vacation in even years and the second half in odd years, Thanksgiving in odd years, and spring break in even years.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.314 – Holiday Possession Unaffected by Distance Parents Reside Apart
What changes with the election is the clock. A parent electing expanded times can pick up at school dismissal rather than waiting until 6 p.m. for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and spring break. Father’s Day possession can run through 8 a.m. Monday, and Mother’s Day can stretch from Friday school dismissal through when school resumes after the weekend.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.317 – Alternative Beginning and Ending Possession Times These extensions contribute a handful of additional overnights per year.
One boundary worth knowing: outside the school term, the expanded weekend adjustments do not apply. Summer weekends revert to the basic Friday 6 p.m. to Sunday 6 p.m. schedule, and Thursday visits pause entirely.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.312 – Parents Who Reside 100 Miles or Less Apart Summer possession itself stays at 30 days for parents within 100 miles. The noncustodial parent must give written notice by April 1 specifying the summer dates, which can be split into two blocks of at least seven consecutive days each. Without notice, the default is July 1 through July 31. Missing April 1 locks the parent into the July default.
Who Qualifies for the Expanded Election
The 100-Mile Rule
Section 153.312’s standard possession order applies when the noncustodial parent lives 100 miles or less from the child’s primary residence.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.312 – Parents Who Reside 100 Miles or Less Apart Parents beyond 100 miles fall under a different schedule with fewer but longer visits, and the expanded weekly structure under Section 153.317 does not fit that arrangement.
Distance is measured between the two residences. The statute does not specify driving distance versus straight-line distance, which occasionally becomes disputed when a parent lives near the boundary. A move beyond 100 miles after an expanded order is in place lets the custodial parent seek a modification to the long-distance schedule; a move closer lets a parent petition to adopt the expanded times.
Children Under Three
The standard possession order, including the expanded elections, does not automatically apply to children younger than three. The court designs a schedule tailored to the child’s needs, weighing each parent’s caregiving history, the child’s developmental stage, proximity of the homes, and the child’s need to develop attachments to both parents.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.254 – Child Under Three Years of Age Courts often phase in overnights gradually, starting with shorter daytime visits.
The statute also requires a prospective order that takes effect on the child’s third birthday, and that prospective order presumptively follows the standard possession schedule.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.254 – Child Under Three Years of Age A parent who wants the expanded version of that prospective order should make the election when the possession order is rendered. Waiting until the child turns three and then trying to modify adds months and expense.
How to Secure the Expanded Percentage
The percentage only matters if the election is actually in the order. The simplest path is electing at the time the possession order is first created, typically in a divorce or original custody case. The election must be made before or at the time the court enters the possession order, either by filing a written document with the court or by stating the election on the record during the hearing.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.317 – Alternative Beginning and Ending Possession Times This is the detail that catches parents off guard: if the order is rendered without the election, the parent gets the basic schedule and must file a modification to switch.
Section 153.317 lists nine separate election options covering weekends, Thursdays, spring break, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and extended holiday weekends. A parent can elect all of them or pick individual options. Electing all nine produces the maximum time percentage.
A parent who already has a basic order must file a petition to modify with the court that issued the original order, specifically requesting the expanded elections under Section 153.317. Forms are available through Texas Law Help or the local district clerk’s office, and filing runs through eFileTexas.gov.6Texas Law Help. I Need to Change a Custody, Visitation, or Support Order (Modification)7Texas Law Help. How to E-File The SAPCR modification filing fee is $80 statewide under Family Code Section 110.002, though some counties add a domestic relations office fee of up to $15.8Texas Judicial Branch. County-Level Court Civil Filing Fees If both parents agree, a short prove-up hearing finalizes the new order. If the other parent objects, the case proceeds to a contested hearing where the judge decides whether the expanded times serve the child’s best interest.
Does More Time Lower Child Support?
For most parents researching the expanded percentage, this is the real question. Texas child support guidelines set the noncustodial parent’s obligation as a flat percentage of net resources (20 percent for one child, 25 percent for two, and so on) without a built-in formula that reduces support based on overnight counts. Electing the expanded schedule does not, by itself, lower the child support obligation.
Texas courts do have discretion to deviate from the guideline amount based on the circumstances of the case, and a judge can consider each parent’s time with the child as one factor. Parents carrying nearly half the overnights sometimes argue that their direct spending on housing, food, and transportation already covers a significant share of the child’s costs. Whether a judge finds that persuasive depends heavily on the income disparity between the parents and the child’s actual expenses. Courts are generally cautious about deviating downward when the primary conservator still bears fixed costs like health insurance and school fees, so there is no guarantee that a jump from 27 to 47 percent of overnights will change the support number.