End the Pain and Drain of Divorce
Child Custody and Visitation Lawyers

Serving clients in Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney, Richardson, Carrollton, Highland Park, University Park, Garland and all of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Grayson, Hunt and Tarrant counties.

Many divorcing parents who come to our law firm want to have sole custody of their children. Essentially, they are asking for a divorce of their children from the other parent. Sole custody is rare in Texas and is granted only when there is evidence of extreme physical and mental cruelty to the child.

At The Barbknecht Firm, P.C., part of our job as lawyers is to help our clients set realistic expectations for child custody and visitation. Nobody should use children punitively against the other party in a divorce action. In Texas courts, the general rule is that the best interests of children are served by having two good functioning parents. Most parents do joint management conservatorship of their children. This means that all major decisions have to be agreed upon by both parents.

While the law is gender neutral, courts still have a tendency to award most time with a mother. The parent with the most time is also known as the possessory (or custodial) parent. The nonpossessory parent is granted visitation rights. For the best interests of children, we encourage loving and strong interaction with other parent as well as yourself.

Minimum and Enhanced Child Visitation
According to the law in Texas, the minimum visitation rights granted to a nonpossessory (or noncustodial) parent are as follows:

• The first, third and fifth weekends of month. The weekends last from the end of school Friday until Sunday at 6 p.m. (In the enhanced provision, the nonposessory parent has visitation rights from the end of school on Thursday until the beginning of school on Monday.)
• On Thursdays of each week during the regular school term beginning at 6 p.m. and ending at 8 p.m.
• Christmas, Thanksgiving and spring break visitation are awarded on odd or even calendar years.
• 30 days in the summer to be taken in two separate increments.

Beyond these minimum child visitation provisions, the court encourages parents to establish a parenting plan that best meets the needs of the child. A parenting plan is a temporary or final court order that sets out the rights and duties of parents in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship and includes provisions relating to conservatorship, possession of and access to a child, child support, and a dispute resolution process to minimize future disputes. 

Child Custody Contests
If the parents cannot agree on a parenting plan, the court may appoint a parenting co-ordinator to work out a plan. The parenting co-ordinator will be a degreed professional with the costs associate. The court will usually charge each parent 1/2 the fee. In addition, the parenting co-ordinator may request a psychological evaluation of both parents. A psychological evaluation can cost $10,000 and will usually be split between the two parties.

End the Pain and Drain of Divorce.
Call The Barbknecht Firm, P.C. for a free initial consultation.