The new Texas child custody laws expand how much time the non-primary parent gets by default, tighten protections in cases involving family violence, and reinforce a parent’s right to see their child’s records. The biggest change is in Texas Family Code Section 153.3171: when parents live 50 miles or less apart, courts must now apply the expanded Standard Possession Order automatically, rather than only on request. These rules apply on their own to new cases. Older orders keep their original terms until a court modifies them.
Expanded Possession Is Now the Default
Section 153.3171 of the Texas Family Code took effect September 1, 2021. If the parents live within 50 miles of each other, the court must apply the expanded possession schedule unless a parent opts out in writing or on the record, or the court finds the expanded times would not serve the child’s best interest.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 153 – Conservatorship, Possession, and Access – Section 153.3171
The most visible change is the Thursday overnight. First, third, and fifth weekends of the month now start when school lets out on Thursday and run until school resumes on Monday morning. Holiday and summer times shift in the non-primary parent’s favor as well.
The word “shall” in Section 153.3171 matters. This is not a factor the judge weighs against others. If the distance requirement is met, the expanded schedule is the starting point. A parent who prefers the shorter times has to decline them by written filing or oral statement on the record. Separately, Section 153.252 creates a rebuttable presumption that the standard possession order provides reasonable minimum time and is in the child’s best interest, so a parent arguing for less than the schedule provides carries the burden of proving why.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 153 – Conservatorship, Possession, and Access – Section 153.252
Stronger Rules in Family Violence Cases
Texas Family Code Section 153.004(e) creates a rebuttable presumption that unsupervised visitation is not in a child’s best interest when credible evidence shows a history or pattern of child neglect, child abuse, or family violence by the parent seeking time. The presumption also reaches anyone living in that parent’s household and anyone the parent allows unsupervised access to the child during possession periods.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 153 – Conservatorship, Possession, and Access – Section 153.004
The parent with the violence history must overcome the presumption by showing unsupervised contact is safe. Courts look at protective orders, the severity and recency of the violence, and whether the parent has completed counseling or intervention. If the presumption is not rebutted, the court orders supervised visitation with a neutral third party, and the parent subject to the restriction usually pays the supervision cost.
When a Child’s Preference Counts
Under Section 153.009, once a child turns 12, the court must interview the child privately in chambers about their preference on which parent to live with if any party or attorney asks for it. For children under 12, the interview is discretionary.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 153 – Conservatorship, Possession, and Access – Section 153.009
The child’s preference carries weight but does not decide the case. The judge still applies the best-interest standard and considers each parent’s stability, home, and ability to co-parent. The rule matters most in modifications: Section 156.101 lists a child reaching 12 and expressing a preference as its own independent ground for modifying conservatorship, separate from the material-and-substantial-change ground.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code 156.101 – Grounds for Modification of Order Establishing Conservatorship or Possession and Access
Access to Records and Information
Section 153.073 gives a parent appointed as a conservator the right to information about their child at all times. That covers medical, dental, psychological, and educational records, and the right to consult directly with doctors, teachers, and other professionals involved in the child’s care.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.073 – Rights of Parent at All Times
The 89th Texas Legislature is considering Senate Bill 112, which as of early 2025 has passed the Senate and is pending in a House committee. If enacted, SB 112 would amend the Education Code to guarantee parental access to all electronic records a school district keeps, including attendance, test scores, grades, disciplinary records, counseling records, and reports of behavioral patterns. It would also require written parental consent before a school administers any student well-being questionnaire, health screening, or survey.7Texas Legislature. 89(R) SB 112 – Introduced Version – Bill Text
If a school, medical provider, or the other parent blocks access, the parent shut out can file an enforcement action. Judges can order compliance, award attorney’s fees, and impose contempt sanctions for repeated obstruction.
Electronic Communication in the Order
Section 153.015 lets courts include provisions for electronic communication with the child as part of a possession order. This covers video calls, phone calls, texting, and other digital methods. Courts use these provisions most often where distance limits face-to-face time, but they appear in local orders too.8State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 153 – Conservatorship, Possession, and Access – Section 153.015
The statute is clear that electronic communication supplements physical possession and does not replace it. A court cannot cut a parent’s in-person time and swap in video calls. Orders typically require each parent to make the child reasonably available during the other parent’s scheduled communication time and to allow uncensored conversation. If you are negotiating an order or a modification, spelling out frequency, duration, and platform up front heads off arguments later about whether a short weekly call meets the requirement.
Getting an Older Order Updated
None of these rules rewrite an existing order on their own. If your order was signed before September 1, 2021, its terms govern until a court changes them. To update it, you file a Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship in the court that issued the original order. That court has continuing exclusive jurisdiction and is the only one with power to change the terms.
Section 156.101 allows modification when the change is in the child’s best interest and one of these grounds is met:
- A material and substantial change in the circumstances of the child, a conservator, or another affected party since the order was signed or since the last mediated or collaborative law agreement.
- The child is at least 12 and has told the judge in a chambers interview which parent the child prefers for the primary right to designate residence.
- The parent with the primary right to designate residence has voluntarily given up primary care and possession to someone else for at least six months, with military deployments excluded.
Parents seeking the expanded schedule most often argue that the legislature’s decision to make expanded times the default is itself a material and substantial change in circumstances. The argument has logical force, but it is not a guaranteed winner. Courts keep their discretion, and a judge may want to see additional changed circumstances beyond the law itself. Coming in with evidence that the expanded schedule benefits your child specifically strengthens the petition.
Child Support and Taxes Can Shift Too
A schedule change can change the money. When the non-primary parent’s overnights go up substantially, that parent is covering more meals, activities, and day-to-day costs, while the custodial parent’s direct costs drop. Texas calculates child support with a percentage-of-income formula, and time with each parent is a factor the court can consider. If you are already filing to modify possession, address child support in the same petition rather than opening a second case later.
Taxes shift as well. Under IRS rules, the parent who has the child for more than half the tax year is generally the one eligible to claim the child tax credit.9Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit Texas courts cannot order which parent claims the credit, because federal law controls that question. Parents can agree between themselves and put the agreement in the order: one parent takes it every year, they alternate, or they split children. If the order is silent, the IRS defaults to the parent with more overnights.
When parents agree to let the non-custodial parent claim the credit, the custodial parent completes IRS Form 8332 to release the claim for the relevant year, and the non-custodial parent attaches it to the return.10Internal Revenue Service. Form 8332 Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent
Enforcing the Order When the Other Parent Ignores It
The framework only helps if the order is followed. When the other parent interferes with your possession time, blocks records, or makes unilateral decisions the order does not allow, you can file a motion for contempt. Depending on the violation, a judge can impose fines, jail time, make-up possession to cover missed visits, payment of your attorney’s fees and court costs, or, with repeated non-compliance, modification of the custody order itself.
Enforcement works best when the violations are documented. Save text messages, emails, and calendar entries showing denied possession or refused information requests. A paper trail moves a judge in a way one parent’s word against the other’s rarely does.