While the weekend possessions of a Texas Standard Possession Order are the backbone of visitation in Texas and widely understood, Thursday periods of possession are many times completely misunderstood.
Probably the most misunderstood part of the Thursday possession is when it occurs. While the weekend possessions follow essentially an every other weekend schedule, Thursday visitations under the Texas Standard Possession Order occur every week during the school term. This means that they DO NOT occur during the summer. If the child concerned is not in school, then it follows the school term for district in which the child would be enrolled if in school. For instance if the child is in daycare in Plano and lives in Plano, then the Plano Independent School District calendar would control.
Thursday periods of possession begin at 6:00 p.m. and end at 8:00 p.m. the same day. However, much like the weekend periods of possession, the person exercising visitation can elect to have the visits begin at the time the child’s school is dismissed, or anytime between the time school is dismissed and 6:00 p.m., and end when school resumes the following Friday.
If you are following along with a calendar, and I know you are, you will notice that during the school term, this essentially creates a long weekend when it is the visiting parent’s weekend if they have made the elections to pickup from school or drop off at school. Under this scenario the visitation would begin at the time the child’s school is dismissed on Thursday and end on the Monday following the weekend at the time school begins. It gets even longer if the weekend ends with a Monday holiday as described in my post on weekend visitation under the Texas Standard Possession Order.
For parents who live over 100 miles there is no Thursday period of possession in the standard possession order.
In my next installment I will discuss summer possession under the Texas Standard Possession Order.
Tags: Children, collin county, Divorce, holidays, Modification, possession, Standard Possession Order, Visitation
[...] – http://chrislawyerblog.com/2010/03/texas-standard-possession-order-de-mystified-thursday-possession/ [...]
“if they have made the elections to pickup from school or drop off at school”
What does this phrase mean? Does this election have to be formally requested prior to filing?
Usually those are not elections and are specifically set in the order. Read your order. I would be surprised if it had “election” language. If they do have a choice per the order, then I do not think that there is any formal requirement for the election. Again, your order will control this, or should.
Thank you for posting this. My question is this: If his father elects to pick him up on Thursday at the time of school dismissal, whose responsibility is it to return the child to daycare/school on Friday morning when school resumes? My 3 year old is not in school of course, but has a nanny who cares for him in my home. My ex has interpreted the possession order to say that at the end of his period of possession on Thursdays, it is my responsibility to pick him up. Obviously, I interpret it to mean that my ex is required to return my son to his daycare, even though daycare happens to be at our home.
[...] standard weekends this month are Friday the 5th and Friday the 19th (maybe, see below). The Thursday (or Wednesday if you have an old order) possession will continue this month with the exception of [...]
[...] now. With the holidays behind us we enter a few months of normal standard visitation weekend and weekday [...]
Regarding thursday possesion, pick up when school is dismissed and drop off when school resumes on Friday; what if school is out on Friday for inservice and it is the custodial parents weekend? What time and where does the non custodial parent conclude their thursday overnight possession?
That should be provided for in your decree. Typically the language reads 9:00 a.m. or something like that. If your decree is silent, then common sense would seem to be return at the time school would normally have started.
So should the weekend schedule follow the Thursdays of the month or the Fridays of the month in this scenario?
That should be provided in your decree. It would be a provision for transfer when the child is not in school. Typically it is 8:00 a.m. at other parents house or sometime around then. Again, check your order.
Not sure what scenario you are referring to, however, weekends are usually measured by the 1st, 3rd and 5th Fridays.
[...] Thursdays should be standard all the way through the month. The only holiday this month is Easter weekend. Unless you have a specific provision for Easter in your decree, it will be the custodial parent’s weekend. [...]
My order states this:
3. Thursdays – On Thursday of each week during the regular school term, beginning at the time the child’s school is regularly dismissed and ending at the time the child’s school resumes on Friday.
Next Friday the 22nd is Good Friday so there is no school. I am 100% certain my ex thinks because there is no school that he doesn’t need to return her til 6pm that Friday.(since normal visitation times during the school term begin and end at 6pm) Is there any legal site with documents online that you suggest I point him to if he pitches a fit, since I don’t have a lawyer on retainer right now to refer him to?
Your question is a bit confusing. Does the ex not have standard visitation? If he does this would be the 5th weekend of the month and he would get the child from Thursday after school to return to school on Monday a.m. If he does not have standard visitation, then I cannot answer your question without seeing your order. Most orders have a provision that states what happens when the child is supposed to be returned to school and is not in school. My orders typically state 8:00 a.m. at the custodial parent’s house if the child is not in school. Check your order and see if that provision is in there. If it is not, then there is no answer to that question as only your order would control that situation.
[...] are Friday, May 6th for a mother who is not the custodial parent and Friday, May 20th. All the Thursdays (or Wednesdays) should be standard this month unless your child is in a school that lets out for [...]
On Thursday possession, what happens with this scenario because we are all in complete disagreement: School is dismissed for the summer on Thursday at 1130….as custodial parent we have interpretted that is the beginning of summer and non custodial does not get the child on that Thursday. Correct?
Is the Thursday possession during the summer left up to different lawyers interpretations? I have been divorced for a few years and we have always follow the Thursday possession during the school year as well as during the summer. If the kids are in fact not suppossed to be with him on Thursday’s during the summer then I will bring it up to my ex. However, I don’t want to have a huge fight over something that may be obscure or different lawyers take different ways.
Read your order. The answer is right there. Does the Thursday possession say “during the school term”. If it does, then there is your answer. If it does not then that is your answer as well.
Was the child in school on Thursday? What FULL DAY is the first day of summer? That is your answer.
It is calendar days. July 1-31st is not 31 days. You do not count the first day. Day one would be July 2nd.
My husband has extended visitation. He would normally pick up today and return child to school fri. This is my weekend. Tomorrow is a teacher in service day so there is no school. Should he return child to me in the am or pm?
Read your order. There is usually language that controls the situation of transfers when the child is not in school. If there is none, and your husband has overnights Thursday nights, then most likely he would get the overnight and return to you sometime in the a.m. I usually use 8:00 a.m. in my orders. I assume that since you are referring to him as “husband” and he has standard visitation that you must be under temporary orders. That leads me to believe you are probably represented by counsel. If you are, this a questions for your attorney as they know all the facts. If you do not, you probably need to get one.
Good luck.
The standard order I have states Thursday overnights begin when the child is enrolled in school and school is defined as the primary or secondary school the child is enrolled in. My child is enrolled in a private school that offers classes pre k to 6th grade. I could not find a specific definition of primary school other than elementary school or that it is a school that offers elementary grades. The question is since my son is in pre k does that entitle overnight thursday visits. Technically all the decree says is enrolled in a primary school and technically he is enrolled in a school that houses elementary grades and prek is offered in some elementary schools. The co parent says it means kindergarten and that is age 5. Doesn’t seem to be defined anywhere and we don’t agree.
If your order does not state the answer then there is no answer. I suggest that you talk to a local attorney that knows the judge and get their opinion. I could make good arguments either way, but only the judge can ultimately decide.
Thank you. Would this be grounds for a modification to the custody agreement?
My husband has extended visitation for his son. We are confused in regards to the Christmas Break. His son is out for school on the 12/16/11 which is the 3rd weekend of the month. Do we not get him that weekend or does his mom pick him up on Friday since its the start of his Christmas break? We don’t get him until Jan 28th at noon but what about the following Thursday during the break 12/22/11. Does he still get his son for the normal Thursday pocession? Normally we get him when he is dismissed from school and drop him off at shool the following morning but since it is during Christmas break we were unsure. Thanks in advance!
Holidays override weekend and weekly visitation. No Thursdays and no weekends during holidays.
What can be done if you go to pick up your child for Thursday visit and she is not there? Then you find out she’s over 100 miles away without notifying you?
File a Motion to Enforce the visitation order.
My ex has Thursday visitation, and they spend the night (since he doesn’t work on Fridays), he takes them to school on Friday. Since this Friday is Good Friday and my kids are off, does he have to return them on Sunday at 6:00pm, which is written in my decree (like a typical weekend) OR can does he keep them until Monday?
What if a person needs to be at work by 7:30am on Friday? The paperwork says to return the child at 8AM, however most jobs begin before that. Mother of the child refuses to stray away from the paperwork…would it be a hassle to have the paperwork ammended for a 7AM exchange instead of 8AM?
That depends on the mother. Could it be a hassle, yes. Do you need to do it, yes.