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?
What does a 7 day notice mean, for example if the one parent has to give the other a 7 day notice for a weekend possession what is the definition of a 7 day notice? For example if the parent(non custodial) wants the child the weekend of March 9th by when should I get the notice(telephonic notice)?
Can the Summer Visitation letter sent to the custodial parent be written and signed by some one other then the non-custodial parent. Example: My ex’s wife is the one that send and signs the letter ecery year. Do I have to abide by it since it was not sent by him.
I would say yes as long as it comes from the household. Another attorney may disagree. Talk to a local attorney and see what they say. Do you really want to waste money on legal fees over something this small?
I would think the notice would have to be sent by today, March 2nd. This is a common theme in some of the comments to my posts. I have a questions for you. What difference does it make if it was sent on the 2nd of March, the 3rd or even the 5th of March? As long as you are getting some kind of notice, what difference does it make? I can understand if the notice was on March 8th, but it seems you are haggling over hours. Why? After almost twenty years of practice I guess I still don’t understand people’s need to argue over these silly little things.
Sorry to go off on a rant. I hope everything works out for you. Just take a deep breath and relax. Let one slip by and see how it feels (I know your answer….they NEVER let anything slip by so why should I?). Good luck to you.
Chris,
Does Father’s day visitation during the summer visitation supersede the child under 3 visitation?
Thanks
My husband has the standard 1,3 & 5 plus Thursdays. When summer rolls around, does he keep his 1, 3 and 5 plus gets an additional 30 days? It gets confusing when one parent dictates the time! Thanks!!!
Does the extended visitation letter have to be signed by a judge to be valid? I do not see that anywhere in that entire summer vacation section and my daughters’ mothers boyfriend told me it has to be signed by a judge. I believe im correct and he just wants to make things more difficult for myself. So am I correct?
My childs father is requesting to me what is 4 separate periods in his extended summer. (he gets 1st, 3rd, 5th weekends)He has chosen june 18-28 (he has his weekend which he isnt counting) then july 2-5 wouldnt this be considered 2 separate periods?
He does this again july 12-19 and july 23-29. So basically.he has taken every weekend in june and july. and has requested 4separate periods. Please help!
In identifying the periods of extended possession. 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?
Or would the adjacent weekend be considered as attached and count as part of the 30 days since the summer extended trumps weekend possession and since the children do not change possession?
That is correct, the weekend would not count in the extended summer possession as the parent gets thirty designated days in addition to the 1st, 3rd and 5th weekends. They would get these days otherwise, so just because they craft it this way is not getting them additional days that they would not otherwise have been entitled to.
Remember, under a standard visitation order in Texas, you get to choose one weekend inside the thirty day extended summer possession and you get one weekend outside that thirty days. You can also be crafty in the way you choose those dates to diminish the amount of time the child is away.
Good luck.
It is hard to follow your facts, but the first thing that jumps out at me is in a typical summer possession order is limited to two designated periods. It appears he is designating four. Also remember that you can steal one of his weekends inside his extended summer possession and one outside.
I think you will need to speak to an attorney about this if you cannot get it worked out. Good luck.
If you are referring to the letter to designate the periods of summer possession, then no it does not have to be signed by a judge.
You are correct. He gets weekends and thirty days.
The “summer weekend possession by me” section in the order states i shall have possession of the child on any one weekend begining etc and ending on the following sunday during any one period of the extended summer possession by father…
Now he has given me his summer possession with 3 weeks between June and July then 1 week in august. Does this mean that i get to have 2 weekends with her since he broke it up into 2 periods?
You get one weekend inside the summer possession (which is both designated periods) and one weekend outside his designated summer possession (i.e. one of his 1st, 3rd or 5th periods of possession).
So even though he broke up his 30 days into 3 weeks and then 1 week which means this is 2 periods, i only get 1 weekend out of those 2 periods to designate as mine? I already understand the outside of summer period.
Correct, you get one weekend during his extended summer possession.
What if the 3rd weekend is in the middle of one of extended summer possession days? Does that count as part of the 30 or not? To me it would count since it is in the middle of a possession.
i.e. He chooses extended summer for Monday-Friday (5 days) and then his standard possession weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday)and then he chooses another extended summer for Monday-Friday (5 days). All in a row, What is the count in the end?
M-F 5 days
Sunday 1 or do these days count as part of the 30? (2)
M-F 5 days
does this equal 12, 11 or 10
Also can you explain “calendar” day…and thank you for the quick answer
Chris,
If during my summer possession, the child’s 2nd birthday falls the day before father’s day, how does that work? The decree states after the 2nd birthday I get my child for 4 more hours. Instead of 10-2pm on saturdays I get 10-6pm on saturdays. Well it just so happens the birthday falls on the 3rd saturday of June and during my 30day possession with my other child (same mother) and also fathers day weekend.
Am I still able to get my child for the whole weekend? or would it just be for that saturday from 10-6pm?
I’m confused how the child under three works, with holidays and summer etc.
Please help clarify for me.
We have an extended visitation. In the decree I have 42 days during the summer. I did not give written notice bc I wanted them June 15-July 27. Fathers day is in between that time frame. Does he get them for 2 weekends he picks and fathers day? Also it says he gets 21 days in no more than 2 possessions no less than 7 consecutive days. If he picks a weekend I already have plans to be on vacation and out of town can I decline them? How does the 1,3,5 weekends and every Thursday visits work with that? Do I still get them?
Hello,
My child’s non-custodial parent has opted to utilize the standard July 1-July 31 Summer visitation schedule; however, my child’s birthday is July 5.
According to the standard possession order the parent not otherwise entitled under this order to present possession of a child on the child’s birthday shall have possession of the child beginning at 6 p.m. and ending at 8 p.m. on that day, provided that the parent picks up the child from the residence of the conservator entitled to possession and returns the child to that same place.
The order does not make any statements about alternating years for the child’s birthday; therefore, my interpretation is that I will only be permitted see my child on his birthday from 6 pm to 8 pm, forward more.
Is this correct?
Thank you for time and consideration.
Ok My friend’s ex is saying his extended summer possession will start June 3rd and end June 26th for the first of 2 sections, but he is actually taking possession on the 30th of May because that’s when his “regular weekend” starts. He is trying not to count the his regular scheduled weekend as part of his extended possession days. Do these count toward the 30 days or is he correct in skipping them in the count. I am under the impression that all days he has her in possession count toward the 30 since there is no exchange in possession between the 30th of May and June 3rd.
Weekend visitation: Decree states: On weekends beginning at the time school is dismissed on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Fridays of each month and ending at the time school resumes on the following Monday.
The ex thinks he only gets 1st, 3rd and 5th during the school year and then he only gets 30 days in the summer. That is wrong, right?
Also, he gets every Thursay during school. What if a school holiday falls on that Friday? Does he return them at 6:00 pm? Decree states they are returned on Friday when school resumes.
Chris,
My question is…what do I do if part of my summer visitation during the same time as my child under 3 (turing 2) birthday, which also lands on the saturday before father’s day Child under 2 states I get her from 10-2pm until 2nd birthday then its changed 10-6pm. Do I get her for the same time as her sister, who isn’t under 3, for the full summer visit or only those saturdays? Since her birthday falls on the 3rd weekend (fathers day weekend) would I get to pick her up that friday or only get her from 10-6? I’m confused. Its just easier for everyone if I had both children at the same time.
First Bless you for being willing to take our questions! You are a very busy man!
My question is on the summer weekends also. I understand that we have 1,3 and 5 weekend in addition to our 30 days we can choose or take the month of July.
We have a standard order with 1st, 3rd, and 5th weeneds and 30 days in summer.
We have been told that if normal weekends are with in one of his two periods they count toward his 30 days.
So we have choose to have kids from Friday the 1st to the 10th. The 1st – 3rd is considered one of his normal weekends. So here lies the question…
Do we count that as 10 days or 7 days?
Thank you thank you thank you again!