Children — Page 4

October 29, 2012 by Aaron Tress

Custody Basics in Texas

“I want joint custody.”

This is a comment my clients initially make. Many parents wrongly believe that agreeing to joint custody will allow for equal sharing of children and reduce conflict at court. Unfortunately, designation as joint managing conservators is often not the end of conflict, but the beginning.

Because appointment as joint managing conservators is the default, disputes over custody do not revolve around joint and sole custody—as is commonly believed. Rather, disputes over custody revolve around which of the joint managing conservators receives the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child.

In 1995 the Texas Legislature changed the law requiring Judges to name both parents as “joint” conservators of their children.

However, Judges still have to grant one parent the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child. Custody battles typically center around this issue. Most custody battles are decided by a judge, but either parent can request that a jury decide who has the right to determine the child’s residence.

Q: What does Texas seek to accomplish through its custody laws?

A: The guiding consideration behind all of Texas’ custody laws is the best interest of the child. Because the “best interest” standard is incredibly broad, judges and juries have wide discretion concerning how to achieve the child’s best interest. That said, the Texas Family Code sets out criteria to help judges and juries determine the child’s best interests:

It is the Public Policy of Texas that a child should have regular contact with both parents.
Texas requires that the child’s environment be “safe, stable, and nonviolent.”
Texas encourages both parents to participate in raising their child.
Child support is independent from custody and visitation. That is, a child cannot be kept from a parent merely because the parent has not paid child support.

Q: What is a conservator?

A: “Conservator” is the legal title that designates the rights and duties a person has over a child. A conservator’s rights and duties are set out in the Texas Family Code. Although persons other than a parent can become a conservator, this article only addresses parent conservators.

Texas uses the term “conservatorship” rather than “custody” to emphasize the responsibilities and rights of parents rather than emphasize children as objects of property. This article, however, will use the terms interchangeably.

Q: Does Texas give preference to the mother or the father in determining custody?

A: No. Texas no longer presumes that the mother would make the better conservator. Today, judges should not consider the sex of the parents when determining conservatorship.

Q: Does the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child contain a geographical restriction?

A: Sometimes. Sometimes the conservator with this right is restricted to a geographical area, but sometimes the conservator with this right has no geographical restriction. If a court assigns a geographical restriction, the geographical restriction could be as small as a school district or as large as the United States.

One common reason the non-custodial parent may ask for a geographical restriction is to ensure that the child attends a particular school. Furthermore, the geographical restriction allows the non-custodial parent greater access to the child. On the other hand, a geographical restriction limits a custodial parent’s liberty. For example, a geographical restriction may affect the custodial parent’s ability to remarry, pursue a career, live near family, or allow the child to attend a different school. If the custodial parent wants to move and the court initially assigned a geographical restriction, the custodial parent must petition that the court modify the restriction. Judges and juries do their best to balance parents’ interests with the child’s best interest, but sometimes the interests of all the parties can’t be satisfied.

Q: Can a child choose which parent she wants to live with?

A: Yes (unless it is not in the child’s best interest). In 2009, the legislature repealed the section of the Texas Family Code permitting the child to file in writing the parent with whom she preferred to live. This section has been surrounded by controversy for years. The practice of filing in writing gave rise to the phenomenon known as “dueling affidavits” because each parent “assisted” the child to nominate their self.

Although courts no longer permit a child to file in writing the parent with whom the child prefers to live, a judge may interview the child in his chambers. Courts are not bound by the child’s wishes, but the interview does help the court determine the child’s best interest.

October 16, 2012 by Aaron Tress

UCCJEA: Order of Confirmation to Register a Foreign Order in Georgia

Here is a sample order: Order of Confirmation to Register a Foreign Order

Here is one court’s granted order.

Q: What is the UCCJEA?

A: After separation, some parents move out-of-state. To enable states to work together to enforce custody and visitation orders, states have adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction And Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). (The UCCJEA deals with interstate custody and visitation; to deal with interstate child support issues, see UIFSA.)

Q: What is the purpose of the UCCJEA?

A: The UCCJEA helps to eliminate interstate competition over custody disputes, helps to eliminate forum shopping, and helps to address the problem of child snatching (“the abduction and/or concealment of a child without the consent of the other parent”).

Q: How do states cooperate?

A: Take the example of Jack Doe and Jill Doe. The couple marries and has one child together. Later, the Doe’s divorce in Texas, giving Texas home state jurisdiction. (The home state is the state in which the child lived with his parent or parents for at least six months prior to the commencement of the proceeding. Determining the home state is important because the home state will typically have exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over the custody and visitation orders.)

Jack remains in the home state of Texas, but Jill and the child move to Georgia. Because Texas retains exclusive, continuing jurisdiction, only Texas can modify custody and visitation orders. Georgia, on the other hand, will have the role of enforcing Texas’ orders.

Jack and Jill agreed in their Texas divorce decree that they would alternate primary physical custody of their child every other year. Jill moved to Georgia with the child during her year of custody. At the end of Jill’s custodial year she refused to return the child to Jack in Texas.

Q: How do you begin the process of enforcing the Texas order in another state where the child resides?

A: Look at Chapter 152 of the Texas Family Code.

A: You must send two copies, including one certified copy of the last Texas court order to the appropriate county court in the foreign state.

A: You must draft and submit a statment under penalty of perjury that to the best of your knowledge and belief that the court order submitted has not been modified.

A: You will need to contact the foriegn state’s clerk’s office and find out the cost of filing and serving the request for registration.

A: If Jill fails to contest the validity of the the order sought to be registered you will need to submit an order of confirmation.

A: Here is a sample order: Order of Confirmation to Register a Foreign Order

A: Here is one court’s granted order.

August 1, 2011 by Bill McNamara

Child Support

Child support in Texas is often determined by a simple formula where a percentage of income is paid depending on the number of children before the court and the number of children a parent must support. When all of a parent’s children are before the court, the percentages of income paid out as child support increase as follows.

One child – 20 percent
Two children – 25 percent
Three children – 30 percent
Four children – 35 percent
Five children – 40 percent

These percentages will be applied to the first $7500 of the obligor’s (parent who must pay child support) net monthly resources. Net monthly resources are determined by averaging gross monthly income and deducting standard amounts as prescribed in the Texas Family Code. The final amount is usually referred to as “guidelines child support” and that amount is presumed to be in the best interest of the child; however, sometimes guidelines support is too much or to little based on the child’s and the parent’s circumstances.

When guidelines support is inappropriate, or when a parent is hiding money, you need an experienced attorney. As a board certified family law attorney, I have the discovery and trial experience needed to track down hidden sources of income and bring them before the court. Don’t get stuck with an unbearable child support burden. Don’t let your children go without because their parent is not paying as much as they should. Call me today for a consultation.