Parental Alienation
What courts can do about a child turned against a parent.
Conservatorship is about decisions, not overnights
Conservatorship is the bundle of parental rights and duties: who decides on schooling, on non-emergency medical care, on psychiatric treatment, who can access records, who holds the right to determine the child's primary residence. Texas starts from a rebuttable presumption that naming both parents joint managing conservators is in the child's best interest (Tex. Fam. Code § 153.131).
Joint managing conservatorship does not mean equal time. It is common for parents to be joint managing conservators while one holds the exclusive right to determine primary residence and the other has a possession schedule. Parents who hear "joint" and assume "half" are frequently surprised, and that surprise is usually avoidable with a clear explanation early.
How This Plays Out in Practice
What courts can do about a child turned against a parent. The specifics turn on facts — the length of the marriage, what is in the estate, whether children are involved, and how much the two of you still agree on. What does not change is the framework: Texas courts apply the Family Code, and the outcome follows from how your facts meet it.
Lisa G. Garza handles these matters from the firm's Dallas and McKinney offices, for families throughout North Texas.
Questions
What does it take to change a custody order?
Under Texas Family Code § 156.101, modification requires that the change be in the child's best interest plus one of several grounds: a material and substantial change in circumstances since the order was rendered, a child 12 or older telling the court in chambers who they want to determine primary residence, or the conservator with that right having voluntarily relinquished primary care for at least six months.
What is a standard possession order?
It is the possession schedule set out in Subchapter F of Chapter 153. Texas Family Code § 153.252 creates a rebuttable presumption that it provides reasonable minimum possession for a parent named possessory conservator or joint managing conservator and is in the child's best interest. Section 153.316 sets general terms that apply regardless of how far apart the parents live.
Does Texas favor mothers in custody cases?
No. Texas Family Code § 153.003 prohibits the court from considering the sex of a parent or the child in determining conservatorship. The governing standard is the best interest of the child under § 153.002, and § 153.131 creates a rebuttable presumption that appointing both parents joint managing conservators serves that interest.
Does joint custody mean equal time?
No. Joint managing conservatorship under Texas Family Code § 153.131 allocates decision-making rights and duties between the parents. It is separate from the possession schedule. Parents are commonly named joint managing conservators while one holds the exclusive right to determine the child's primary residence and the other exercises a possession order.