Austin Child Custody Attorney

When your children’s future hangs in the balance during a divorce, you need an advocate who understands Texas child custody laws and prioritizes your family’s well-being. Call Thompson Law at (512) 543-1973 to book your consultation with a highly experienced Austin child custody attorney from our firm who can help you understand and protect your parental rights.

Understanding Child Custody in Texas

Although many people use the term “child custody,” Texas law does not recognize custody as a legal concept. Instead, child custody in Texas typically involves three main components:

• Conservatorship determines parental decision-making authority including educational, medical, and mental health decisions. Also chief among conservatorship issues is the right to designate the child’s primary residence, and the parent awarded this right is commonly referred to as the “primary” parent.
• Possession and access governs the days and times that a child spends with each parent, including parenting time during the school year, summer and holidays.
• Support means any amount that one parent pays to the other for the support of a child, as well as the payment of health and dental insurance premiums and expenses not reimbursed by insurance.

At Thompson Law, we possess extensive experience and knowledge within local courts in the greater Austin area. Our familiarity with specific judges and their staffs, court procedures, and local practices gives our clients a strategic advantage when presenting their custody cases. We know how Austin-area courts typically approach custody disputes and can tailor our evidence and arguments to resonate with decision-makers in your jurisdiction.

We help clients navigate the distinctions among different types of conservatorship, possession and support, and we advocate for the child custody arrangement that best serves your children and you.

Child Custody: Conservatorship in Texas

Managing Conservatorship

Managing conservators possess the right to make significant decisions about the child’s life, including education, non-emergency medical care, and religious upbringing. Texas courts typically appoint both parents as joint managing conservators unless evidence shows that the arrangement would not serve the child’s best interest.

Possessory Conservatorship

Possessory conservators maintain the right to spend time with the child but lack decision-making authority over many key life choices. Courts assign possessory conservatorship when one parent demonstrates superior ability to make decisions or evidence suggests joint decision-making would harm the child.

Common Conservatorship Arrangements

Texas law provides several conservatorship arrangements that govern both legal decision-making authority and the child’s physical residence. Understanding these options can help you determine the arrangement that best fits your family’s needs and circumstances:

• Sole Managing Conservatorship: One parent receives exclusive decision-making authority over key life choices, such as the right to designate a child’s primary residence, or to make decisions regarding a child’s education, mental health treatment, and non-emergency medical procedures. Courts award sole managing conservatorship only when evidence demonstrates that joint conservatorship would not be in the best interest of a child.
• Joint Managing Conservatorship: Both parents share decision-making responsibilities for major life choices, requiring agreement between the parents before a decision can be made. Joint managing conservatorship remains the preferred arrangement in Texas unless circumstances warrant a different approach. Even when parents share joint managing conservatorship, however, one parent typically (though not always) is awarded the right to designate the child’s primary residence, which is what the term “primary” parent typically refers to.
• Temporary Conservatorship: Courts issue temporary orders to establish interim arrangements while a case is ongoing. Temporary custody orders address immediate needs while the court gathers information to make permanent decisions.

Child Custody: Possession and Access in Texas

In Texas, “possession and access” means the schedule that defines when your child is with each parent (the actual parenting time). Texas law presumes that both parents should have frequent and continuing contact with their children, and the court establishes possession schedules that protect the parent-child relationship while prioritizing the child’s best interest. The factors that a court considers are as unique as each family’s circumstances, but the three most common types of possession schedules are:

•     Standard Possession Order
•     Expanded Standard Possession Order
•     50/50 Possession Order

Standard Possession Order (SPO)

Texas law presumes that a Standard Possession Order is in a child’s best interest when both parents are deemed safe and fit, and the parents live less than 100 miles apart. The parent receiving a Standard Possession Order generally has possession:

• First, third, and fifth weekends of each month (Friday evening through Sunday evening)
• Thursday evenings during the school year from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (dinner visit)
• Extended summer possession for 30 days, which can be split or consecutive
• Alternating holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring break

The Standard Possession Order provides meaningful time with the non-primary parent while maintaining consistency and stability in the child’s primary residence.

Expanded Standard Possession Order (ESPO)

Texas law also provides for an Expanded Standard Possession Order when parents live less than 50 miles apart. In general, an Expanded Standard Possession Order provides more parenting time than a Standard Possession Order, with the key features being increased parenting time during the school year and more school-to-school exchanges (versus 6:00 p.m. exchanges at one parent’s home). Generally, the parent receiving an Expanded Standard Possession Order has possession:

• First, third, and fifth weekends during the school year beginning at the time school releases on Thursday and continuing until school resumes on the following Monday (versus Friday evening until Sunday evening).
• Thursday evenings during the school year beginning at pickup after school and ending when school resumes on Friday morning (versus 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays without an overnight).
• Extended summer possession is essentially the same as a Standard Possession Order (30 days, which can be split or consecutive).
• Alternating holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring break, are essentially the same as the Standard Possession Order, except that start and end times may run from school-to school (versus 6:00 p.m. exchanges at one parent’s home).

The critical difference between a Standard Possession Order (SPO) and an Expanded Standard Possession Order (ESPO) is the additional overnight parenting time during the school year.

50/50 Possession Order

The Texas Family Code, which is the law governing child custody, does not contain provisions for 50/50 possession. However, courts commonly award 50/50 custody under appropriate circumstances. Common types of 50/50 possession orders include:

• Week-on-Week-Off Possession means that each parent has possession for seven consecutive days, with exchanges typically occurring on Friday after school or Sunday evenings. This schedule is typically favored for (and by) teenage children.
• 2-2-3 Schedule provides that Parent A has possession Monday and Tuesday, Parent B has possession Wednesday and Thursday, and Parent A has possession over the weekend. The schedule then flips the following week.
• 2-2-5-5 Schedule means that one parent has possession every Monday and Tuesday, the other parent has possession every Wednesday and Thursday, and the parent alternate weekends.

The right possession schedule depends on your children’s ages, parenting history, school schedules, extracurricular activities, parents’ work schedules, and geographic distance between homes, among many other factors. Texas courts have flexibility to customize possession orders that serve your family’s unique needs.

Our child custody attorneys in Austin, Texas can evaluate your situation and recommend parenting time structures. We explain how different arrangements function in practice and help you develop persuasive arguments supporting your preferred outcome.

How Do Courts Determine Custody in Texas?

Texas Family Code Section 153.002 directs courts to make decisions about conservatorship and possession based solely on the best interest of the child standard. While Texas law does not provide a specific list of factors, courts have developed guidelines through case law, primarily from Holley v. Adams, to evaluate which conservatorship arrangement promotes a child’s welfare and development. Courts consider:

• The desires of the child (children age 12 or older may express a preference to the court)
• The child’s emotional and physical needs now and in the future
• The emotional and physical danger to the child now and in the future
• The parental abilities of each individual seeking conservatorship
• The stability of each home or proposed placement
• Plans for the child by each parent
• Each parent’s willingness to support the other parent’s relationship with the child
• Acts or omissions by either parent that may indicate the parent-child relationship is not proper
• Each parent’s past involvement in the child’s education, medical care, and activities
• Geographic proximity between parents’ residences
• Each parent’s work schedule and availability for parenting
• Each parent’s physical and mental health
• History of family violence, abuse, or neglect

No single factor is determinative, and judges exercise considerable discretion when weighing these factors to determine the appropriate conservatorship and possession arrangements. Our custody lawyers help you to identify and present evidence that highlights your strengths as a parent while addressing any concerns the court might raise or that you may have about your children’s other parent.

Common Conservatorship Concerns

Parents frequently have concerns that could influence conservatorship decisions or their ongoing relationship with their children. Addressing these matters proactively can strengthen your case and demonstrate your commitment to your children’s well-being. Common concerns include:

• Mental health conditions affecting parenting capacity
• Domestic violence history or protective orders
• Substance abuse problems or addiction recovery
• Parental alienation attempts by the other parent
• Relocation requests that would separate children from one parent
• Introduction of new romantic partners to children
• Religious or cultural differences in parenting approaches
• Special needs children who require specific accommodations
• Work schedules that limit availability for parenting time
• Grandparent visitation rights and other family relationships

Our legal team works with you to address these issues proactively, rather than waiting for your spouse to raise them against you. We collect evidence demonstrating your capabilities as a parent in order to show how your proposed conservatorship arrangement and possession schedule serves your children’s best interests. When valid concerns arise regarding the other parent’s behavior or fitness, we document them carefully and present persuasive evidence to the court.

How Is Child Support Determined in Texas?

In Texas, the parent with less possession time typically pays child support to the parent who has the child more often to offset for the costs of that additional parenting time. When parents share equal possession time, child support calculations become more complicated, but Texas courts may still order support based on income disparity and other factors.

Texas child support follows statutory guidelines based on the paying parent’s income, and the income of the parent receiving child support is not typically considered, though courts can deviate when circumstances warrant.

Guideline Child Support

Texas uses a percentage-of-income model applied to net monthly resources (up to $11,700):

• 1 child: 20%
• 2 children: 25%
• 3 children: 30%
• 4 children: 35%
• 5+ children: 40%

A parent’s net monthly resources are not the same as a parent’s actual net monthly pay. Typically, net monthly resources include reductions for social security and Medicare (FICA) payments, federal and state income taxes, and contributions towards child health and dental insurance. It does not include reductions for voluntary contributions toward retirement or health savings accounts, for example.

Above-Guideline Child Support

When parents earn over $11,700 monthly, courts may order additional support based on the child’s proven needs, including private school, specialized medical care, or extracurricular expenses. You must document actual costs demonstrating why additional support benefits the child.

Below-Guideline Child Support

Courts rarely order below-guideline support but may consider it when the paying parent, for example, has significant parenting time (50/50), the child’s needs are fully met at lower amounts, or special financial circumstances exist. Below-guideline deviations require a determination that the guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate under the circumstances. Child support reflects the child’s right to financial support from both parents.

Why Choose Thompson Law to Fight for You?

We have over 50 years of collective experience handling family law matters with compassion and legal insight. Our custody attorneys at Thompson Law understand that every case involves real people facing genuine concerns about their children’s welfare and future relationships.

We have a proven track record of achieving outcomes that protect both the children’s and parents’ interests through strategic advocacy and personalized attention. Whether you face a contested custody battle or seek to modify an existing custody arrangement, our team brings the knowledge, experience and dedication your family deserves during challenging times.

Award-Winning Legal Representation

Our Austin child custody lawyers have earned accolades and recognition from esteemed organizations, including Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers and the Travis County courts. These distinctions reflect our commitment to excellence in family law practice and our consistent success in securing favorable results for clients.

Ready to Speak to an Austin Child Custody Attorney? Contact Thompson Law Now

Your children deserve stability and the opportunity to maintain meaningful relationships with both parents whenever possible. When conflicts arise over conservatorship or possession schedules, experienced legal counsel is vital to protect your parental rights and advocate for arrangements that genuinely meet your family’s needs.

Contact Thompson Law at(512) 543-1973 or reach out online today to book your consultation with an award-winning Austin child custody lawyer who will listen to your concerns, assess your situation candidly, and develop a strategic plan to achieve your objectives. Our team is dedicated to guiding you through the legal process while keeping your children’s best interests at the center of every decision.