Child Custody and Support

This area of family law is often very contentious and complicated. Since family members are directly at issue, especially minors, this area of law gets extremely personal because generally both parties often feel that “they are the best parent” and have their children’s best interest at heart. In these moments, things usually get really personal and hiring San Antonio family custody attorneys who can guide you through these difficult times is vital to your family’s future.

In determining the best interest of the child, your child custody lawyers can offer solutions and strategies to help in that regard while explaining all your legal courses of action to you. Legal battles involving custody and support go beyond monetary matters. They can include which parent gets to decide where the child will reside and what types of legal rights related to the child one receives. There are also child visitation schedules that must be evaluated and decided upon that meet the best interest of the child.

Highlights of Child custody and child support matters:

• Texas Courts presume that both parents will be joint managing conservators since both parties will share in parental rights and duties towards the child.
• In disputes regarding custody, the Judge has the final say. The Court’s major concern is “what is the best interest” for the child or children before the Court. Courts will consider a parents ability to make the child’s welfare a priority that are best for the child, whether a child’s physical, emotional, psychological needs will benefit from a particular custody arrangement, the geographic distance between the parents, whether the parents participated in the child rearing of the child prior to divorce proceedings, and the child’s preference if the child is 12 years of age or older.

Child Custody:

• Texas child custody is defined by Sole Managing Conservatorship or Joint Managing Conservatorship. Both types of Conservatorships have distinct parental rights so it’s important to meet with child custody attorneys to discuss these distinct rights and duties for each type.
• Texas allows for child support to be ordered to be paid while a divorce is pending.
• Custody battles include Physical custody, legal custody, joint custody, sole custody, and even split custody.
• Custody can change in time if one parent can prove that a parent awarded custody later becomes unfit or there is a material and substantial change that affects the parent and child’s lives.
• Parents can agree to a custom custody arrangement between the two parents with the help of a skilled attorney. Sometimes special circumstances require creative solutions to meet the best interest of the child and all involved. (For example, a fireman or a nurse schedules that are often challenging to define according to the code.)
• Grandparents have rights and our attorneys can explain those rights related to custody and visitation.

Child Support:

• The person who receives child support is the custodial parent.
• Texas law spells out guidelines for calculating child support in determining how much a parent will pay to assist with the costs associated with raising a child.
• Texas Courts can award retroactive child support to be paid.
• Only the Courts can modify child support amounts, parties cannot agree on their own to modify child support without a Court order regarding child support.
• Motions can be filed to enforce Court orders regarding child support.
• Child support normally continues until a child recached the age of 18 or graduates from high school even though the child is now 18 years of age.