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
Hello,
We have SPO and I (mother) am custodial parent. Father is military and frequently does not exercise visitation at last minute and it’s a given that I will cover his visitation for his drills and travels. He backed out of his half of Christmas and most recently Easter. The last several summers he has traveled with his job and not done visitation. He will be out of town this summer as well. He does not want me to have time alone and has done this consistently.
At time of divorce, 1.5 years ago, he was making over $6K/month, I had been homemaker making $0.
I cannot afford to cover his visitations or obviously a lawyer but it’s seems politically incorrect to request extra money from a soldier to cover her own childs expenses but the fact is I simply cannot afford it. He can. Also, His salary doubled during the course of our marriage, we moved many times, and he was away at various schools and trainings for his jobs. I was not given any money to update skills after being stay at home mom for 9 years. I have custody but. Oh my God, it’s too much issues and he is completely inflexible but I’m expected to respond to his last minute whims and his work travel with no money or means to develop my own career to support my child. I don’t even know what I’m asking at this point.
if the noncustodial parent elects not to exercise 30 consecutive days in July, but want to have visitation the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekend throughout the summer does notice needs to be given to the custodial parent? Or will the non custodial parent forfeit visitation in July?
The noncustodial parent did not give notice to the custodial parent regarding summer visitation. The noncustodial parent’s job keeps the noncustodial parent away from home from Monday – Thursday. Therefore, the noncustodial parent’s job schedule is conflicting with the extended summer visitaion time from July 1 through July 31. May the noncustodial parent elect to have vistation on the 1st and 3rd weekends in July or will the visitation time be lost in July, if it is not taken consecutively from July 1 – 31?
Under the standard possession order for > 100 miles, what does “seven days before school starts” mean? School resumes August 27. SPO says the summer visitation must end at least 7 days before school resumes. NCP designation ends Aug 13. I designated Aug 14 – Aug 20. NCP says this is invalid because it’s less than 7 days before school resumes. Is he right?
I am not sure why you are designating anything. If you are custodial, under a standard possession order, the most you would be designating would be a weekend. Not sure why you are designating a week unless you do not have a standard possession order. You may need to pay an attorney to look at this.
That is tough to say without looking at your order. If the NCP did not designate extended summer possession, then they get July 1 – July 31st. They get every weekend that month under a standard possession order. Under that standard order, if they do not pick up the child on the 1st they waive the entire visit and weekends would resume in August.
If that is the case with your order, I still suggest you work something out where they can visit in the month of July. It is best for the kids. You should address your questions to an attorney whom you pay to review your order and advise you.