Your relationship isn’t going well, and you think it may be better to get a divorce or separate from your partner. Although you love your children dearly, you aren’t happy with the way things are going. Luckily, you can create a child custody agreement in custody attorney Houston that documents how you and your partner will look after the kids when the relationship ends. In Texas, the JMC applies when both parents are awarded custody of their children.
The judge will determine what rights and duties each parent, as well as the parents together, will hold as guardians. In case of an emergency, parents can also authorize the child to receive medical, surgical, or dental treatment, especially if the child’s health or safety is at risk immediately. The courts will issue a standard possession order that spells out the visitation schedule, even if there is a judicial mediation agreement. But even then, the parents may not share equal time with the child.
An SMC allows one parent to act as the child’s primary caretaker and make important decisions about the child’s medical and educational welfare. When only one parent wants custody, or if the other parent is unfit to share custody attorney Houston, such as when the other parent has abused or abused drugs or alcohol, or when he or she has had legal trouble or has not been present in the child’s life, an SMC can be utilized.
Both sides would be considered and a parent’s parenting skills would be assessed before a court could make a ruling.The term ‘visitation’ in Texas law is actually ‘possession and access to the child.’ A parent can request possession and access, and a judge decides whether or not the request will be granted depending on what’s in the child’s best interests.
Parents who have possession and access to their children have a responsibility to ensure that the child receives appropriate care, including a roof over their heads, food, clothes, and medical care. Parents can consent for the child to have invasive medical or dental treatment, and they are also responsible for overseeing the moral and religious education of the child. Parents must protect their children, discipline them reasonable punishments and care for them.
Children who are in need of visitation rights will get a possession order, also known as a visitation schedule, only if they are three or older.A judge determines the visitation schedule for children younger than three years old. The child is not allowed to decide who owns and has access to their property before turning 12. Only after turning 12 can the child choose who lives with them.