It is the month of May and summer in Texas is upon us. Just a little refresher on summer visitation and the standard visitation orders in Texas.
For the parent with visitation:
April 1st is the deadline to designate your thirty days of visitation in the summer if your standard possession order is out of Texas. If you designated days, then you know when your visit begins and ends. If you did not designate your visitation times by April 1st then it defaults to July 1 through July 31st . The possession beginning and ending times are 6:00 p.m. by default in Texas. Always check your order for exact dates and times.
Custodial parent (parent with custody):
For the custodial parent, you have certain times set out for you for summer visitation in Texas as well. If you give the visiting parent notice by April 15th you can designate one weekend in their thirty day period of possession to have the child. It will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and end at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday and you must do all the driving (i.e. pick up and drop off). If you did not designate this weekend by April 15th then you lose that weekend.
For example, if the visiting parent did not designate their thirty day summer possession by April 1st then we know they get the month of July. If the custodial parent gives notice between April 2 and April 15 of a weekend in July that they would like possession of the child, they get that weekend. If they do not give notice during that time frame they do not get any weekends during the thirty days summer visitation of the visiting parent.
The custodial parent gets and additional summer weekend pursuant to the standard visitation orders in Texas. This weekend takes place outside of the visiting parent’s thirty day summer possession. If the custodial parent gives the visiting parent notice by April 15th or 14 days written notice on or after April 16th, that parent can choose one weekend during the summer to exercise visitation that would have otherwise been the visiting parent’s weekend. Again, this visit begins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and ends at 6:00 p.m. on the following Sunday and the custodial parent must do all the driving.
Using our example above we know that the visiting parent has extended summer possession for the month of July in Texas without any other notice. That leaves June and August for the custodial parent to choose a weekend. Lets say custodial parent misses the April 15th date but gives written notice to the other parent on July 16th that they will exercise their summer visitation weekend on August 6th, a weekend that would have otherwise been the visiting parent’s weekend. Under that scenario, that parent would have the child beginning July 31st at 6:00 p.m. through August 20th at 6:00 p.m. (the next weekend possession by the visiting parent). That allows plenty of time for a summer vacation to some beautiful locale in the great State of Texas.
Again, check your order for exact times for pick up and drop off as they may vary in your order.
That about wraps it up for summer visitation in Texas under a standard possession order. As always, feel free to comment.
Tags: Divorce, holiday, Standard Possession Order, summer, Visitation
I do not have your orders and I was not present when the judge put them in place. However, it sounds as if the first weekends are your “weekend” visits. Weekend visits continue during the summer months which would mean that she has to send them. I answer these questions in other places on my blog. Please poke around in here and you will find answers to many of your questions.
It applies if it is in your order. Your order is controlling, period. If the order does not say thirty days, then it does not apply to you. If it says three 7 day periods, then that is all he gets.
I think your interpretation is correct. Once he begins moving around I think that provision disappears. However, I think each judge may have their own opinion on this so be careful. Additionally, if you have moved outside of the state I am wondering if that is in violation of a residency restriction. If it is, you may want to smooth things over with him to keep yourself out of court. Maybe split the transfers.
These answers can be found in other places of my blog if you will look around. There really is some useful information in here if you will just dig around. He will get the child for weekends in June. The weekday visits (Wednesdays in your order) typically do not apply during the summer. Read your order. If it says during the school term, then it means during the school term.
In indentifying the periods of extended posssesion. Can it begin on the monday following one’s weekend without that weekend being count in the number of days of possession, or end on the friday prior to one’s weekend?
Good Afternoon,
Is there a specific format and detailed verbiage that “written notice” should contain? Can I, as the primary, stipulate that the written notice was not detailed enough (i.e. dates, locations, transportation and living arrangements)? Basically, does the written notice have to be anything more than, “I plan to take possession of the children on 1 July.”
Also, my ex-wife wants me to allow my 14 to catch a bus to Oklahoma from Texas to spend time with her mother and grandmother. Do i have the right to say no if it is in the month of July (her visitation month)?
It only has to be as detailed as necessary. If they pick a specific date and the drop off and pick up times are set out in the order, then that is sufficient notice. You cannot control what she does with the child during her period of possession.
Yes.
What if the parent who is taking the visitation comes to pick up the child who then in turn tells that parent she does not want to go. Then the visiting parent decides she does not have to go and leaves the child home with the custodial parent. The visiting parent comes back on Thursday assuming they get regular visitation. Yet at the same time the visiting parent told the child they do not have to go on visitation. So the custodial parent was not home and the visiting parent called the police and is trying to cause legal problems for the custodial parent. What then?
my daughter’s father just notified me 1 week ago that he will be having possession of my daughter for the summer on July 1st – 31st.
Is that ok that he notifies me with such short notice?, It is the 1st time he requests the summer, I didn’t even have a chance to send a written letter to have my daughter for a weekend because he had never asked to have her before.
Can I still see her for a weekend or did I loose the chance for that already? I just don’t think this is fare what he is doing.
The NCP requested my two boys for his 30 day posession. Since the order has been in affect for about 3 years now he has never taken them for the 30 days, however he now has a girlfriend and they are living together so now he wants to take them. During their weekend stays with him he has refused communication with me and the boys. He disconnected his cell phone and I was instructed to go through his “girlfriends” cell phone for communication. Naturally my calls go unanswered, My text messages never get replied too and once after worrying for 3 days I went to his mother’s house to inquiry about them since I did not hear from them. This is a constant thing. Pretty much during his weekend possession I do not hear from them until they are dropped off. For the past TWO weeks with July1st fast approaching I have repeatedly tried contacting him regarding the 30 day possession. I wanted to know who would care for them while both he and his girlfriend are at work..A contact # where I could speak to them, because there is no way I am going 30 days without speaking to them. I called numerous times and finally sent the text message with those questions. Still no response. Finally my last attempt on Sunday I stated that if I did not hear from him by 6pm that they would not go for their 30 days because of a Safety Concern I had regarding the stay. Am I able to do this? I do not like to be in the dark regarding them and who will be caring for them and no communication has me worried.
That is a tough call. Did you select a weekend inside his extended summer possession? If you didn’t then you need to start doing that. That way you can break it up a bit. You really need to take this up with a lawyer in your area. There are positives and negatives on both sides. If you deny his access then technically you are in contempt of the court’s order. If you have a problem with the court’s order then you need to modify it through the court.
If you read your decree, the July 1- 31 provision is when HE DOES NOT PROVIDE NOTICE assuming you have a standard decree. If that is what it says then he does not have to give you any notice at all. You should get in the habit of designating your weekend inside his extended summer whether he uses it or not. You cannot exercise your weekend inside his extended summer now as the time has passed to designate. However, you can still pick a weekend that would otherwise be his OUTSIDE of his extended possession. Read your decree and follow the instructions in there. Typically it is 14 days notice.
They are entitled to possession of the child on each date set out in the decree (however Thursdays typically do not apply in the summer so you must be referring to a date in the past). They can forfeit individual visitations without forfeiting them all. If it becomes a pattern that they are constantly cancelling, then you need to request that the court modify the order for visitation so that you can free yourself up.
I am the custodial parent and my son’s father has chosen July 1st to July 31st as his extended possession. We have the TX Standard Possession Order. On April 12th I delivered notice to him that I was going to pick the weekend of July 15th as my weekend during his extended possession. I also indicated in that notice that I was also going to choose the weekend of August 5th as my additional summer weekend as allowed by the decree. Here is our specific verbiage:
2. Summer Weekend Possession by mother – If mother gives father written notice by April 15th of a year, mother shall have possession of the child on any one weekend beginning at 6pm Friday and ending at 6pm on the following Sunday during any one period of the extended summer possession by father in that year, provided that mother picks the child up from father and returns the child to that same place and that the weekend does not interfere with Father’s Day weekend.
Also mentioned in my email on April 12th – if you look at bullet point #3 on Page 10 it states:
3. Extended Summer Possession by mother – If mother gives father written notice by April 15 of a year or gives father fourteen days’ written notice on or after April 16 of a year, mother may designate one weekend beginning no earlier than the day after the child’s school is dismissed for the summer vacation and ending no later than seven days before school resumes at the end of the summer vacation, during which an otherwise scheduled weekend period of possession by father shall not take place in that year, provided that the weekend so designated does not interfere with father’s period or periods of extended summer possession or with Father’s Day Weekend.
My ex-husband is telling me that he will now tack on 3 days after July 31st to “take back” the 3 days that I am trying to “steal” from him and he also claims that I do not get the weekend in August whether I request it or not. If he does not allow me access to my son at these times – which he was served notice of prior to the deadlines – is he in violation of the order?
Thank you so much for your time.
Dad has 3yo for month of July. He told mom he was putting her in daycare, but mom called daycare today only to be told that the child is not enrolled. Does dad have to give mom information about childcare? Dad sent mom text message on Sunday that she can’t have phone contact with child during “his” month with child. Mom has exclusive rights to health and to education. Pretty postive that dad will not list mom has an emergency contact if child is enrolled in daycare. He already told mom that he told daycare that mom could not have any contact of info on child. His mother is a teacher and is out of work right now. Court order states that she is not allowed in the childs presece at all. We believe she may be watching her while dad and GF are at work. But lawyer says only way to proove it in court is to hire a private dectective. The real question right now is, does he have to give mom child care info and atleast keep in contact with her on childs well being?
Yes, he is in violation and you can sue him for enforcement of the court order if he violates.
Should he? Yes. Does he have to? Not unless it is in the court order. How do you fix that? Have it put in the court order via a request to modify the order.
On the 30 days with written notice by april 1st…should the two periods of possession that begin and end by 6 p.m. total out to 30 24-hour days, or 30 calendar days. If it’s 30 calendar days then with the beginning/ending times being 6 pm, this equates to 28 24-hour periods. The option B in 153.312 (July 1st-31st) states 30 days as well and is stretched over 31 calendar days. So which is is for option A, calendar day or 24hr day? Thanks!
Sorry if this is a dumb question- we have 50/50-one week here one week there. If i choose the thirty days in the summer -how does that affect my normal visitation with him? She has primary.
Holiday visits, including summer, take precedent over normal visitations.
This question has been vaguely addressed and confusingly answered, so I’m going to pose it again. Can a parent during periods of his/her possession deny VERBAL access to the child(ren)? Does it have to be in the decree? Does it vary from state to state? I’ve read cases where denying the parent without the period of possession access to the child was viewed as the parent with the period of possession causing the children to negatively view the mom, which was contrary to the decree. I know that I could always try and take him back to court because my son is Autistic, the father has failed to seek medical treatment when required by law (as when my daughter was bitten in the face by a strange dog), he has failed to give me notification of illness or injury within a reasonable period of time (as when my daughter broke her arm and he waited two days to tell me). And the list goes on, believe me, but I would rather not go back to court if I do not have to. Please tell me what my rights are and what I can do.
If it is not in the decree then there is no requirement that it be done. If you want it in the decree then you will need to modify the decree.
How does Summer visitation work for under 3 yrs of age?