Co-Parenting: Know Your Parental Rights
There is nothing more important than protecting your child’s best interests in a divorce. At John Delk Attorney at Law, our attorney has the resources and experience to help you protect your children and preserve your relationship with them. Serving clients in Texarkana and throughout the state of Texas for over 20 years, John Delk can help you negotiate a parenting plan, and, if necessary, we can help you protect and fight for your parental rights.
Child Custody And Conservatorships In Texas: Decision-Making
In general, Texas law refers to child custody as a conservatorship and identifies the parents as conservators. The law assumes that the parents will be co-parents, but there can be different designations for co-parenting. Typically, when two parents are getting a divorce, the law presumes that both parents will be joint-managing conservators and share equally in the decision-making responsibilities relating to the child.
However, if there is good cause, the court can also designate one parent as a sole-managing conservator, allowing that parent to have the exclusive right to make decisions for the child. Reasons for designating a sole-managing conservator can include abuse, neglect, alcohol abuse, a history of family violence or a history of absence in the child’s life by the other parent.
What Is A Possessory Conservator?
When one parent has been named as the sole-managing conservator in a divorce, the other parent is usually named the possessory conservator. A possessory conservator still has parental rights but not to the same extent as the sole-managing conservator.
When one person is granted sole-managing conservator rights, they may:
- Establish the child’s primary residence
- Receive child support
- Make decisions for the child’s medical and mental health treatment
- Make decisions related to the child’s education
While Texas law presumes a joint-managing conservator co-parent relationship, the circumstances of each family law case can dictate otherwise. At John Delk Attorney at Law, we can help you understand your parental rights in custody and conservatorship matters.
Child Support: Know Your Rights And Obligations
The laws in Texas state that both parents are responsible for financially supporting their children. In most cases, the parent who spends the least amount of time with the child is the obligor and pays support to the other. To calculate child support, the court uses an income percentage method based on a percentage of monthly income.
After a divorce has been finalized, incomes and circumstances can change. If you are seeking a modification or contesting a modification of your divorce decree and/or child support, let us help you at John Delk Attorney at Law.
We Are Here To Help – Call Us Today
Whether you need help getting the child support you deserve or are fighting to preserve your parental rights, you don’t have to do it alone. Let our lawyer help you. Call us today at 1+903-310-1435 or email us to schedule a no-obligation consultation.