This is my first post in a series on the Texas Standard Possession Order and the wording associated with visitation in Texas.
The foundation for the Texas Standard Possession Order is the weekend visit. Weekend visits occur on the first, third and fifth Friday of every month. When looking at a standard calendar, find the first Friday of any given month and that is the first Friday described in the standard possession order. The third weekend is self explanatory and occasionally there will be a fifth Friday in a month.
When there is a fifth Friday in a given month, the immediately following Friday will be the first Friday of that month, in effect giving two weekends in a row. This pattern continues throughout the year and is only superseded (or replaced) by holiday visitations.
The standard pickup time for the Texas Standard Possession Order is 6:00 p.m. on Friday. However, the person exercising visitation has the right to elect that their visits begin at the time the child’s school is dismissed, or any time between the time the child’s school is dismissed and 6:00 p.m., if that election is made before entry of the order and it is reflected in the order. This means that you cannot elect this provision after the order is entered.
The standard drop off time for the Texas Standard Possession Order is 6:00 p.m. on the Sunday following the first, third or fifth Friday of the month. However, as stated above, the person exercising visitation has the right to elect that the visitation ends at time school resumes on the Monday following the first, third, or fifth Friday of any given month provided the election is made prior to entry of the order.
If the parties live more than 100 miles from each other, the person exercising visitation can either exercise the weekend visits as set out above or they can elect to exercise one weekend per month of their choice to begin at 6:00 p.m. on that Friday and ending at 6:00 p.m. on the following Sunday. The visiting parent must give 14 days written or telephonic notice of the weekend they choose. Additionally, this election for one weekend per month must be made in writing to the parent with custody of the child within 90 days after the parties begin to live more than 100 miles apart.
If a first, third or fifth weekend (or the weekend designated if over 100 miles) coincides with a school holiday during the school term or with a federal, state or local holiday during the summer, the weekend possession will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday immediately preceding a Friday holiday or it will end at 6:00 p.m. on the Monday holiday. If alternate pick up and drop off times were made as described above then those would apply here as well.
By way of example, if Memorial Day weekend is a person’s visitation weekend, then their possession would end on that Monday holiday at 6:00 p.m. and not at 6:00 p.m. the preceding Sunday. If they had elected to return the child to school at the end of their possession times then that parent would return the child to school on Tuesday morning following the Monday holiday.
In my next post, I will discuss the Thursday periods of possession of the Texas Standard Possession Order.
Tags: Children, Divorce, Modification, possession, Standard Possession Order, Visitation
My ex-husband and I have the Standard order of possession, He moved away (out of the county) hasn’t paid child support in going on 2 years, I remarried and moved away (just over the state line) where we have a home that paid for (we couldn’t keep paying rent) so now neither of us live in the county where we were divorced in, however we keep everything going through there because its halfway for both of us.
Over the last few weeks the other parents has insisted i meet him halfway. I told him i didn’t mind meeting him halfway but I can only do it on my weekends off (which is opposite of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th) but still every other weekend. He insist I meet him halfway on the weekends i work meaning i would be late every friday and sunday i work. I spoke with my boss and this is unaceptable. the other parent went as far as calling the law to do a welfare check on us because i didn’t show up when he told me to show up.. after i told him i wouldn’t be there, sent him an email as well stating i wouldn’t be there and a text message. what do i do
Visitation starts on Friday, but the first weekend of the month is defined by the Saturday. So the second weekend is the one in question. is this correct
Under a standard visitation order in Texas, it is measured by Friday. The first, third and fifth Fridays of the month.
In the case the non custodial parent lives greater than 100 miles away: The weekend request starts on the last day of the month and the Saturday and sunday are in the following month, which month does this weekend visitation count for?
[...] is just around the corner so let’s review the Texas standard visitation schedule. The weekends and Thursdays are pretty [...]
What am I supposed to do with an ex-wife and her husband that has decided occording to the her husband of less than a year that I am a dead beat dumb SOB because I am $1551 behind on child and medical support including interest! My ex’s husband Roy, is very controling to the extint that he has told me that he goes thru the phone records to see when I call! Aswell, he is on the phone with her 90% of the time when I go to make the exchange and he started texting me after they were maried, asking me about the time and place we were going to meet to exchange, only to find out most of the time he wasn’t even there with her but on the OTR driving his semi to or from a pick-up or delivery and says he makes $2000 a week and they aren’t hurting and he can afford to cover his body in really cool tatoos and has my ex and my 6 yr old daughter living in a one room travel trailer!! Now she is not letting me get my daugther for my visits and all this started because the informed me that she was putting my daughter into city league soccer, and she needed her back early! Not calling asked talking to me like an adult to no surprise! I played sports and want to be apart of my daughters life! This all coming from my ex wife who after she came to me saying she wanted to have a baby. I replied that we wasnt ready because the only reason she wanted 1 was because her mom n grandmaw wanted her too! So she pulled out her IUD and got pregnant on purpose and her & her OBGYN lied to me and told me I knocked it out of place during sex, thats how she got pregnant and if I didnt like it she would divorce me and get child support from me. so thats what she did and the women of her family got me fired from Yellow because the had pull in the Union job where I made $18/hr. But she wants to gripe at me about child support and says she is the sole parent of our daughter! Just like her mother! What can I do to get my fair involvement in my daughters life?? She needs both of her parents! Married or not! Please help… I’m remarried and my wife has two kids and her ex is over $30,000 behind in child support with no job and is on dope and stills money from his kids wallets while they are sleeping on his weekends! But they call me a dead beet……
On what grounds can the custodial party deny requests for visitation when ample notice has been given?
My boyfriend’s ex girlfriend (mother of his child) has denied the State of Texas’ Standard Possession Order. He went to the Office of the Attorney General’s Office to open a case to apply for having the rights to his son for every other weekend and all of the other visitation rights given by the standard possession order. The father did this just a few weeks after his son was born. The day came where the father and mother had to show up at the Attorney General’s Office to set up everything and get things in motion for visitation rights. The mother did not show up and when she was called by the Attorney General’s Office she informed them that she would not be showing up and that she had hired a lawyer. The case was then closed, and from there the father hired a personal lawyer to began a court date. From the months of August to to December the father of the child had been awaiting for a court date. But during the span of those 5 months the mother of the child had dropped the court date and did not inform the father. Also during that time she had blocked his phone number. Therefor the father did not see his son for 3 months.
The father of the child wants to propose the idea of the Standard Possession Order once again to the mother. But if she denies it once again, what can he do? He currently is allowed to see his son Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6pm-8pm. As well as Saturday afternoons from 2pm-6pm. We are searching for answers and trying to keep everything civil and where we won’t have to go to court. Please help and any information or advice that you could give would be greatly appreciated.
I just want my boyfriend and his family to receive the deserved time that they have missed and the time they deserve now to see their son and grandson. Please help!
Thank You
Hello I get my son 1st ,3rd, 5th weekend every month. This coming weekend my son has Thursday and Friday off for a teacher in-service days. Doesn’t this mean I would get my son on Wednesday at 6pm? I have tickets booked for Denver and my ex says because its not a holiday that I do not get him.
Are decree reads as follows:
Parenting time with child:
If a weekend period of possession ends on or is immediately followed by a Monday that is a SCHOOL holiday during the regular school term OR a Federal, State or Local holiday during during the summer months when school is not in session that weekend period of possession shall end at 6 pm on the Monday school holiday.
[...] is finishing with a 5th weekend (measured by Friday) of the month so the noncustodial parent (the one without custody will have had last the last [...]
[...] is finishing with a 5th weekend (measured by Friday) of the month so the noncustodial parent (the one without custody ) will have had the last weekend [...]
I have a question about SUMMER POSSESSION. Does my ex husband have the right (without written notice) to pick up the children during my month of summer vacation? Without written notice, he is to pick up the children JULY 1ST (2012) and return them end of JULY, BUT, he is threatening to take me to court if I don’t surrender the children this FRIDAY, which is JUNE 29TH 2012. He has been picking the children up for the 1st and 3rd weekends of this month (just because he said it was his weekend and I had no other plans). Thanks!
My husband and I moved to Oklahoma in October of 2011> My step-daughter moved here with us in February 2012 so she could finish out her 1st semester in Texas>
Question: What is the law for visitation when we live 4 hours away from her mother (over 100 miles from her) What is her mothers responsibility as far as having posession of her on the 1st 3rd 5th weeken of every month? In other words, shouldnt she be responsible for seeing her child, not my husband and I making sure she sees the child. She feels it is our responsibility that she see the child (as in us bringing her ti her residence every other weekend and picking her up when the weekend has ended. We (I) have offered to meet her halfway, which in reality “I” be be doing more drive time for her, she wouldnt have to travel as far as me both ways. But her excuse for no meeting us halfway, “I would spend more time driving than getting to actually visit with her.
Then last night I called to ask if she would help us out with her Epilepsy meds, without insurance it is going to cost us $300 dollars for 30 day supply. She went lefy fiel on me and starting threatening me, telling she wil F*** me up if I hurt the child, how dare I call and ask her for money when we are not letting her see the child, and that the child belongs to her and the daddy, not me I was not her mother and I needed to keep out of it. Hmmmmmmm, she chose to tell the judge on the day of their divorce that she wanted out of the marriage so he could have custody of the child. I have been raising the child since she was 3. She will be 9 in October. I have stayed up with her all hours of the night when she was and is sick, taken to ER, doctors visits, Neurologist, etc.. Gets her up in the mornings, feed, clothe, bathe, do homework, study with her, RELIGIOUSLY take her to Church everytime the Church doors are open and I love her as if I myself gave birth to her, i TREAT HER NO DIFFERENT FROM my 24, 21 or 4 year old kids. And the child knows this. She tells me she loves me all the time, asks “ME” to tuck her in and say prayers with her. I have the the one and only constant in her life since that age of 3. Not her grandparents, mother of Father. He is always working and when he is home he pays little to no attention to her. When she visits her mom, 9 times out of 10 she sends her to her grandparents. Mother and step-dad scream, holler and curese each other the entire time child is there. “WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH”? WHEN DOES MOM HAVE TO START TAKING RESPONSIBILITY AS A PARENT”? NOT WHEN ITS CONVENIENT OR SHE NEEDS TO LOOK LIKE AN INVOLVED PARENTS FOR OTHERS TO SEE. Oh and she has not called to check on the child since we got her home in August from her summer visit with the mom. she didnt even ask about her lastnight when I called for financial help with her meds.
Any help or just support would be appreciated. When she started threatening me last night and going off on me I started shaking so uncontrolaby as is I was standing out naked in 32 below weather. I was so upset and angry and hurt that the most important thing was everything but the Health and Welfare of this sweet chilf.
My children are not of school age. What does the holiday schedule look like for standard visition? Everything I see referes to when school gets out/in.
It’s the same. You simply use the school district schedule where the children would go to school if they were in school.
My ex is very inconsistent with visitation. He has thanksgiving holiday this year. If he does not show up tomorrow to pick them up at 6 pm does it mean he forfeits his visit. I only ask because I am not from this area and I will be spending the holiday with my family. I do not want to sit around and wait and he decides to get them on thanksgiving day only then return them the same day. Can I get in trouble for taking them out of town with me if he does not pick them up Tuesday at 6 pm?
I have standard possession with regards to my child. This is my yr for Xmas holiday/vacation. My question is this. Which weekend is the 1st, the 3rd and the 5th weekends of Dec. 2012. Rather, what are the dates that these weekends are “excepted”, acknowledged by the State of Tx. to begin and end? Thank you for your time.
This weekend is the mothers Possesion period ..(I am the designated conservator).. Well, Monday is federal holiday (Martin Luther king day) and followed by the next day,Tuesday is teacher in service. My boys do not go back to school till Wedensday .. Question : when do my boys come back home? Monday (Martin Luther king day) at 6pm or Tuesday at 6pm(teacher in service day)?
Your order should address what day the children should be returned. I bet it says Monday.
I am confused about summer possession. I am not a custody parent. So, when summer comes, the custody parent will have the kids all the way from the day they dimissed from school and I can’t have kids on regular 1st, 3rd, 5th weekend right? The weekend possession ONLY applies on the regular school day time?
The weekends continue in the summer. The weekday possessions do not (Thursdays). I have posted on this topic many times on this blog, if you will take the time to look around you will see that a lot of your questions are answered.