Posts Tagged ‘Standard Possession Order’

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august and the Texas standard possession order

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

It is August and time to discuss important upcoming dates in the Texas summer standard possession order.  Before we begin however, I need to address an issue that arose in July at the end of the extended summer period of possession.

There was an anomaly this year where the 31st of July fell on a Saturday in a fifth weekend.  I have looked forward on my calendar and do not see this situation arising again anytime in the near future.  As a brief refresher, the parent with visitation get their standard first, third and fifth weekends during a Texas summer.  However, those summer weekend periods are trumped by the default 30 day extended summer visitation from July 1st through July 31st.  So what happens when the 31st of July falls on a Saturday in a fifth weekend?

I don’t know.  That is the simple answer.  I am of the opinion that there are no weekend visits in the month of July because they are overwritten by the extended summer possession.  Since the fifth weekend begins on Friday, July 30th, it is overwritten or erased from the board as it is within the extended Texas summer possession.  Otherwise, where does it state in a standard possession order when the visitation starts on a Saturday?  There is no continuity or logical flow of the order as with all the other sections of the standard possession order.

For instance, in July 2015, the 31st of July falls on a fifth Friday of the month.  The extended Texas summer visitation ends at 6:00 p.m. on that Friday and a weekend possession begins at 6:00 p.m. on a fifth Friday.  There is a logical flow to this and the fifth weekend would apply in this situation.

Now that I have stated my position, let me say that apparently I am in the minority on this issue.  Most attorneys feel that the weekend does apply since it is a fifth weekend, regardless of the day it begins.  So there you go…there is no good answer that I have seen.  Bottom line, just work it out with the other parent.  It is not worth the stress and hassle for an extra day of visitation.

Now, on to August.  Most likely Texas summer visitation is over (and it may have ended with a bang as seen above) and we are now looking at our standard weekends, the beginning of school, and the weekday visits beginning again.  The standard weekends are August 6th and August 20th (Fridays).

If your child’s school begins this month, you will begin exercising your weekday visitation which is typically Thursdays.  However, read your order because it may be another day.  If your child’s school begins on the 23rd of August, that will follow a third weekend of visitation.  It seems another issue may arise with the way these days fall.  If you return your child on Sundays during the summer but return them to school on Mondays following weekends during the school term, what do you do?

It seems to me that the reason you would return them on Sundays during the summer is because they are not in school and there is no place to return them on Monday.  However, if school is in session following your weekend you should be able to return them to school.  But, when the weekend began it was still summer!  I don’t have the answer to this, and my argument here may be in conflict with my argument above for July.  Who knows!  Just work it out with the other parent.  It is not a big deal.

That is it for August.  Enjoy the rest of your blistering Texas summer!

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Posted in Children, Divorce, Visitation | 3 Comments »

visitation for young children under three years of age

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

A reader asked that I address Texas visitation for children under three years of age.  Obviously anytime you are in a divorce in Texas or other custody case, young children present an interesting issue.

The Texas Family Code, Section 153.254 addresses this topic.  The statute basically says that the Court shall enter an appropriate order for children under the age of three years old.  It goes on to say that it is presumed that when the child turns three years old a standard possession order will be entered.

What does this mean?  It means that the court is not bound by the rules for a standard possession order for Texas visitation when a child is under the age of three.  Does it mean that in every case with a child this young that the court will not order a standard possession order?  No.  The key phrase in the statute is an “order appropriate under the circumstances”.   There are many factors the court could consider in making this determination:

  • The age of the child
  • The emotional health of the child
  • The involvement of each parent in the child’s life
  • The abilities of each parent to properly care for the child
  • The length of time the parents have been separated
  • The distance between the parents if separated
  • The parent’s ability to work together on behalf of the child, and
  • A million other factors, or none of them

Dependent upon how these questions are answered will determine whether the court enters a special order for a child under the age of three.  In my practice I often see the courts modify only the summer possession of a standard possession order because of the extended period (up to thirty days if the parties live within one hundred miles of each other) the child would be away from one parent.  All other provisions for weekends and holidays remain the same.

As with all other child related divorce issues, the court has broad discretion to enter orders that are in the best interest of the child.  With a child under the age of three, the discretion of the court grows.  To know how a court will address each specific case is impossible, but hopefully this will shed a little light on the issue.

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Posted in Children, Visitation | 9 Comments »

expanded standard visitation in Texas

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

What is expanded standard visitation?  The statutes governing expanded standard visitation can be found at Section 153.317 of the Texas Family Code.  To understand expanded standard, you must first understand standard visitation.

A discussion of a standard visitation order for Texas can be found here:

Expanded standard visitation simply adds time on to the standard possession order.  You can elect to add time on to the following times:

Weekend periods of possession, pursuant to §153.317(a)(1)(A) and (B) provides that you can pick up the child when school is dismissed on Friday and/or return the child when the child’s school resumes the following Monday.

Thursday periods of possession, pursuant to §153.317(a)(2)(A) and (B) provides that you can pick up the child when school is dismissed on Thursday and/or return the child when the child’s school resumes the following Friday.

Essentially this creates uninterrupted visitation from the end of school Thursday through the following Monday morning for a parent’s weekend possession.

There are more time available for holiday periods of possession and for extended weekends due to holidays.  These can all be found at §153.317 of the Texas Family Code.

If you notice above, I used the word “elect” for determining when these apply.  Under the code, the parent exercising visitation can “elect” these additional times provided as follows:

  1. The court finds that the expanded standard visitation times are in the best interest of the child; and
  2. The election is made before or at the time that the visitation order is entered; and
  3. The election is written and filed with the court or an oral statement is made in open court (i.e. at a hearing) on the record (a court reporter typing).

What does all that mean?  It means that if you are in a current lawsuit over a visitation order, and the court is ordering a standard possession order, you can elect to have any of the expanded standard visitation times set out in §153.317 if you file a written request with the court or request it at a hearing on the record, and the court thinks it is in the best interest of the child.

The important notes are that the person exercising visitation gets to choose, and that there must be a current lawsuit pending regarding visitation.  You cannot make these elections after an order is entered.

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Posted in Divorce, Modification, Visitation | 7 Comments »

july and the Texas standard visitation order

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

July is upon us. Summer is here and so is the Texas heat! What important things do we need to remember for July and the Texas standard possession order?

If you are the parent who exercises standard visitation in Texas and you did not designate your thirty days for summer possession by April 1st, then you will have thirty days beginning July 1st and ending July 31st.  If you did designate your thirty day summer possession (and it was not July), then you will have your normal first, third and fifth weekend periods of possession which would be this weekend, the 16th, and the 30th.  Typically these possessions will begin on Friday, but check your order for the specific times.

If the other parent gave you notice by April 15th of a weekend they wanted inside of your thirty day Texas summer possession, then they will have the weekend designated.  If no notice was given, then you will have an uninterrupted thirty day visitation.

Also remember that with 14 days written notice, the non-visiting parent can designate a weekend outside your thirty day summer visitation period.  If you designated a time other than the month of July, this provision could come into effect this month.  This weekend is more fully discussed in the Texas summer possession section of this blog.

As always, check your specific order for the terms of your visitation.  This discussion simply involves a standard visitation order in Texas.  If there were any modifications to the standard language, you will find it in your order.  Pickup and drop off times can vary widely in order, while the underlying standard schedule remains in place.

If you have any general questions, you can comment on this post or email me at the email address to the right.

Have a fun summer, and spend lots of time with your kids.

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Posted in Divorce, Visitation | 8 Comments »

june and the Texas standard visitation order

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

It’s June and summer is here.  Following are some dates and other things that you need to be aware of this month for purposes of standard visitation or standard possession order in Texas:

  • If your child is out of school (or if the school district the child would attend is out of school) then your Wednesday (depending on how old your order is) or Thursday visits are over under a Texas standard visitation order.
  • If your child is still in school until Friday then you will get your standard Wednesday or Thursday night visit per standard visitation schedule.
  • Your weekends this month will be the 4th and the 18th unless you otherwise designated your extended summer possession for some time this month.  If you did not designate your time, then your summer visitation will be next month.
  • Remember that the other parent may select a weekend outside your extended summer visitation to have the child if proper notice is given.  If you need further clarification of this, please review this post.

Please review my prior posts for discussions of summer, weekend and Thursday periods of visitation to refresh yourself on the standard visitation rules for Texas.

As always, check your specific possession order as yours may not be standard or there may be subtle modifications.  This post is for a standard visitation order in Texas.

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Posted in Children, Divorce, Holiday visitation, Summer visitation, Visitation, Visitation in Texas | No Comments »

summer visitation in Texas

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

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.

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Posted in Children, Divorce, Summer visitation, Visitation | 106 Comments »

father’s day visitation in Texas

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

I love this time of year.   This kids are almost out of school, swimming pools are opening and fun vacations are coming up.  What does that mean for you?

If you are a father, then the Father’s Day holiday is rapidly approaching.  In looking at the calendar for this year, Father’s Day will fall on a standard visitation weekend.  If dad is the one with standard visitation, then it is his weekend anyway because it is the third Friday of the month.

If mom has standard visitation, even though it is a third Friday, she will not exercise that weekend’s visitation as it is a time for a father and child and their holiday trumps mom’s period of possession.

Typically the visitation for a father on Father’s Day begins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and ends that Sunday at 6:00 p.m.  However, always check your order for the exact times that your visitation begins and ends as they may begin when school is dismissed and end when school resumes.  Your order will dictate the pick up and drop off times for holiday visitation or your weekend period of possession, whichever is applicable.

If you are asking yourself why I am discussing weekend visitation in the summer, then perhaps you should review my post on weekend periods of possession as they last throughout the year under a standard visitation order.

It is also important to note that under a standard visitation order Father’s Day weekend trumps summer weekends or summer extended periods of possession chosen by the mother.  Basically it trumps everything.

It is a great time to be a dad as y’all get the whole weekend to yourself.  Take a trip to Six Flags, go for a bike ride, or just hang out at the house and watch a movie. The most important part is to spend time with your kids.  Enjoy!

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Posted in Children, Divorce, Holiday visitation, Visitation | No Comments »

texas standard possession order de-mystified – holiday possessions

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

I will finish up my series on the Texas Standard Possession order with a discussion on the holiday visits.  These holidays typically include Spring Break, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Other “holidays” can include Father’s day, Mother’s day, children’s birthdays, Halloween, 4th of July, etc…  However, the standard is the first three.

I do not typically run into many issues with Holiday visits in my practice as they are pretty self explanatory.  They typically begin at the time the child is dismissed from school and end at 6:00 p.m. on the day before school and follow an odd and even year pattern.

I sometimes get asked why the possessions end at 6:00 p.m. and not on the following Monday morning as a standard weekend may end.  The only answer I can provide is that it is designed for the child to be able to unwind after the holiday and get back into the school routine prior to returning to school.  This is not to say that your order cannot say something different, this is just the standard language in Texas.

The pickup time “when the child is dismissed from school” used to be a source of controversy, especially around Thanksgiving.  Many schools would let out for the week of Thanksgiving which is easy to follow, but they would also schedule a teacher day or in-service day the Friday before the holiday week.  The confusion arose over whether this was actually the beginning of the holiday or not.  The Texas legislature recently fixed that problem by confirming that the in-service day was indeed the beginning of the “holiday”.

That is about all I have on the Texas standard possession order and holidays.  If my readers have some general comments or questions, I would be happy to answer them under the comments section.

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Posted in Children, Divorce, Holiday visitation, Modification, Visitation, Visitation in Texas | 18 Comments »

texas standard possession order de-mystified – thursday possession

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

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. (more…)

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Posted in Children, Divorce, Modification, Visitation | 32 Comments »

texas standard possession order de-mystified – weekend possessions

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

This is my first post in a series on the Texas Standard Possession Order and the wording associated with visitation in Texas.
(more…)

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Posted in Children, Divorce, Modification, Visitation | 61 Comments »

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