Custody, Helping You Understand Your Rights as a Parent

Child custody is a delicate matter that can shape your relationship with your child

Child custody is a delicate matter that can shape your relationship with your child. The legal team at Marvel Law Group will guide you through your child custody disputes and keep you thoroughly informed of your parental rights. The firm’s goal is to lessen the emotional burden a legal case can bring instead of adding to your stress. The staff at Marvel Law Group will communicate straightforwardly with you to explain the entire custody process, and we serve parents in the following areas of child custody:

• Establishing a custody order
• Enforcing visitation
• Building a parenting plan
• Requesting a temporary order

Schedule an initial consultation with Marvel Law Group online to get started. Representing parents in Bexar, Kendall, Guadalupe, Medina, Wilson, and Comal Counties.

Conservatorship and Parenting Plans

Texas law presumes that parents should share managing conservatorship (custody) unless this is not in the child’s best interests, such as if a parent’s decision-making abilities are impaired due to substance abuse.

Parents who share conservatorship should develop a parenting plan that delegates the responsibilities of each parent, including time-sharing, child support, and childcare duties like who will take the children to the doctor. Parents can decide on a plan between themselves, but if they cannot agree on a schedule, the court can issue a “standard possession order.” 

Enforcing Possession

If the other parent is not meeting their end of the parenting agreement, such as by withholding the child from you, you have the right to enforce visitation. To do so, you and your attorney may file an enforcement lawsuit that includes:

• the provisions of the order you want to enforce (that is, which terms the other parent has violated);
• how the other parent did not comply with the order; and
• what you are asking the court to do.

The court cannot enforce an order that has not been formally written out or detailed. An experienced custody law firm can help you build a strong petition for enforcement.

The “Best Interests of the Child” 

When deciding on the terms of a child custody plan, the Texas Supreme Court laid out in Holley v. Adams , 544 S.W.2d 367 (Tex. 1976) the following factors for the court to decide the best interests of the child:

• the desires of the child;
• the emotional and physical needs of the child now and in the future; 
• the emotional and physical danger to the child now and in the future;
• the parental abilities of the individuals seeking custody;
• the programs available to assist these individuals to promote the best interest of the child;
• the plans for the child by these individuals or by the agency seeking custody;
• the stability of the home or proposed placement;
• the acts or omissions of the parent which may indicate that the existing parent-child relationship is not a proper one; and 
• any excuse for the acts or omissions of the parent.

Child custody issues can be difficult to handle both because of their emotional weight and because of the legal complexities. Marvel Law Group is a board-certified law firm in Texas handling child custody, and the legal team will take a compassionate and knowledgeable approach to your case. 

Contact Marvel Law Group for an initial consultation to get started today.