Often, I am asked or informed by a party that they want “SOLE CUSTODY” or “JOINT CUSTODY.” And I quickly inform them, that neither of these terms have any legal meaning under Texas Family Code, nor can either of the terms be found anywhere in the Texas Family Code. This article is short attempt to further discuss these matters.

What is Joint Custody?

            In Texas, we don’t use the term “custody” to describe the time parents spend with their children. We use “possession and access” to describe what most people think of when they use the word custody. When people use the term joint custody, they typically are speaking of a 50/50 possession and access schedule. At the present time, there is no 50/50 possession and access schedule delineated in in the Texas Family Code. However, that DOES NOT mean that it does not exist. There are numerous “equal” possession schedules that courts and parties use in these situations.

What is a Joint Managing Conservator?

The term conservator describes a legal relationship a person has with a child in Texas. It is not the same thing as a possession and access schedule. The presumption in Texas is that biological parents should be named joint managing conservators of their children regardless of what their possession and access schedule is going to look like. Section 153.135 of the Texas Family Code makes it clear that having equal periods of physical possession of and access to the child is not the same as being a joint managing conservator. In almost all cases, parties ARE named joint managing conservators of their children while the majority of possession schedules are not completely equal.

Joint Managing Conservatorship does not mean that the parties are going to have completely equal rights and duties when it comes to the child either. The court has discretion when naming parents joint managing conservators to limit rights and duties. Joint Managing Conservator is just a title given to a party, it does not necessarily say anything about the time a person is entitled to spend with a child or the extent of the relationship they have with the child.

WHAT IS SOLE MANAGING CONSERVATORSHIP?

SOLE MANAGING CONSERVATOR

A party is appointed as Sole Managing Conservator in very limited situations. Typically, a judge may appoint a party as the Sole Managing Conservator for the following reasons:

• The other parent is absent in the child’s life
• The other parent abuses or neglects the child
• The other parent is violent
• The other parent abuses drugs or alcohol

EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS OF THE SOLE MANAGING CONSERVATOR

When one parent is appointed the sole managing conservator, the other parent is appointed possessory conservator. Under Texas Law, you as the sole managing conservator have the following rights and duties exclusively:

• You have the right to make decisions about the child’s education
• You have the right to decide what will be the primary residence of the child
• Your consent will be sought before the gets medical, dental and any other medical treatments including surgery
• You can act as the agent of your child’s estate if any action is required by the federal, state or foreign government
• You have the right to the services and earnings of the child
• You have the right to consent to enlistment in the armed forces and marriage
• You have the right to make any legal decisions for the child and represent the child in legal action
• You have the right to receive child support payments and hold or disburse these funds for the child’s benefit

Why Does this all Matter?

When dealing with any legal matter using proper terminology matters. If a term has a specific meaning under the family code, it’s important to understand that when using that term in an order that the meaning under the family code is going to be the meaning it is interpreted as having.