Child Custody

Custody battles are the most difficult area of family law. It is hard on parents to share access to their children, but it is even harder on children when parents do not maintain a friendly relationship with each other.

Texas courts consider many different factors in determining custody, but they must ultimately decide which parent will provide an environment that will best encourage your child's physical, emotional, moral, and mental development. In order to share custody, it is necessary for both parents to be actively involved in their children's lives, meaning both parents would know about and be involved in the child's education, extracurricular activities, and health.

Courts are hesitant to disrupt the status quo if one parent has been the child's primary caretaker. You will need an experienced advocate in any case. Our child custody lawyer has handled numerous complex and contentious child custody disputes.

Let us help you with visitation and child custody issues. Call 512- 436-2779 now to speak with an experienced divorce and custody lawyer about your situation.

Working through a child custody case is an emotionally exhausting process. The legalities and strain of the case is a big hurdle divorced parents will have to burden. However, you don’t have to face the difficulty alone. Our experienced child custody attorney in Austin, TX can help you through the process of filing and winning the custody terms of your child.

According to the child custody laws in Texas, either parent can be granted custody based on the welfare of the child. An experienced family law attorney can greatly increase your chances of having a favorable decision. Most of all, it will protect the interest of your child.

In Texas, there are various custody, or conservatorship orders. Here are the types of child custody according to the state laws:

On this setup, only one parent will be granted custody. The custodial parent will have full and exclusive rights to decide about the upbringing of the child. That includes visitation or participation of the other parent. The child will only reside in the custodial parent’s residence.

Most Texan courts prefer joint custody over other arrangements. This is to encourage the child will have a balanced and meaningful relationship with both the parents. The child will reside with one parent and the other is granted visitation rights. Also, both parents will have shared decisions about the child’s upbringing.

In this setup, both the parents enjoy custodial benefits. The child has two residences from both parents and s/he has to live in each one for at least 35% of the year. 

In the event that there’s more than one child, a split custody ruling may be given. This is rare since it will cause siblings to be parted. With that, each parent is entitled to have custody of at least one child.

Most of the time, the child custody laws in Texas allow courts to have its own discretion. But as much as possible, the following are accounted for:

Divorcing parents are usually required by the Texas court to attend and finish the parenting class before a ruling is observed. This applies to all parents who have minor children and that will undergo child custody proceedings.

This class is intended to help parents deal with the emotional and mental trauma of the separation. Unless the court issues a waiver, both parents are required to finish this class.

Also, the mandatory parenting class is a requirement in the child custody laws in Texas. If you want to increase your chances of securing the custody, you will need to comply with this.

Overall, you don’t have to go through this alone. A family law and child custody attorney Austin, TX can help you with the complexities of the case. Call the Law Offices of Robert R. Kiesling to schedule a consultation.