Texas Family Code Section 102.004 sets the rules for when grandparents and other nonparent relatives can file for, or intervene in, a suit for managing conservatorship of a child. Original suits are limited to grandparents and blood relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity, and the petitioner has to show either that the child’s current circumstances would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development, or that the parents consented to the suit.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 102.004 – Standing for Certain Relatives and Other Persons Intervening in a pending case follows different requirements, and a separate statute requires every nonparent to file a sworn affidavit with the initial pleading. Miss any of these and the case is dismissed before a judge ever considers what is best for the child.
Who Can File an Original Suit
Section 102.004(a) opens the courthouse door to two groups: grandparents, and other blood relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 102.004 – Standing for Certain Relatives and Other Persons This standing sits alongside the general standing rules in Section 102.003, which cover parents, guardians, certain foster parents, and other specifically listed individuals.2State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 102.003 – General Standing to File Suit
One limit worth naming up front. A grandparent or relative filing under Section 102.004 can only ask for managing conservatorship. Possessory conservatorship is off the table in an original suit; a nonparent who wants that has to intervene in a case someone else already started.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 102.004 – Standing for Certain Relatives and Other Persons
Which Relatives Fall Within the Fourth Degree
Texas measures blood relationships by counting generations to a common ancestor. The first degree covers parents and children. The second degree covers grandparents and siblings. The third degree brings in great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews.3Legal Information Institute. 19 Texas Admin Code 100.1135 – Relationships by Consanguinity or by Affinity
The fourth degree is the outer edge for standing under Section 102.004. It adds first cousins, great-aunts and great-uncles, great-nieces and great-nephews, great-great-grandparents, and great-great-grandchildren. A relative further out than that has no standing under this section and would have to look to Section 102.003 or another provision.
The Two Grounds for an Original Suit
Being the right kind of relative is only the threshold. Section 102.004(a) then offers two alternative grounds, and a petitioner only needs one.
Significant Impairment
The first ground requires satisfactory proof that the order is necessary because the child’s present circumstances would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 102.004 – Standing for Certain Relatives and Other Persons Texas courts have described this as a prima facie showing of potential harm, and it is an intentionally high bar.
The kind of proof that tends to satisfy the standard involves documented neglect, physical abuse, a home dominated by substance abuse or criminal activity, or repeated relocations that destabilize the child. Speculation about what a parent might do, or a general disagreement with a parent’s choices, does not clear the bar. The impairment has to be tied to the child’s present circumstances, not to hypothetical future risks.
Parental Consent
The second ground sidesteps the impairment question. If both parents, the surviving parent, or the managing conservator or custodian filed the petition or consented to the suit, the relative has standing without proving harm.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 102.004 – Standing for Certain Relatives and Other Persons Where both parents are living, both must consent. One parent alone cannot open this door.
Intervening in a Case Already Filed
When a custody case is already pending, Section 102.004 sets separate rules for joining it, and the rules split based on how the intervenor is related to the child.
Grandparents and Fourth-Degree Relatives
Under Subsection (b-1), a grandparent or blood relative within the fourth degree may intervene if there is satisfactory proof that appointing a parent as sole managing conservator, or both parents as joint managing conservators, would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 102.004 – Standing for Certain Relatives and Other Persons Parental consent is not required for this intervention pathway.
Non-Relatives and Other Persons
Subsection (b-2) governs anyone who is not a grandparent or fourth-degree relative. The requirements are heavier. A non-relative has to show substantial past contact with the child, provide satisfactory proof of significant impairment, and obtain consent from each parent before the court will grant leave to intervene.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 102.004 – Standing for Certain Relatives and Other Persons The consent requirement gives each parent a practical veto.
Subsection (b-3) narrows things further for foster parents, relatives, and designated caregivers who received the child through a placement by the Department of Family and Protective Services. They can intervene under (b-2) only if they would independently have standing under Section 102.003(a)(11), which generally means at least 12 months of placement ending no more than 90 days before the petition is filed.2State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 102.003 – General Standing to File Suit
The Sworn Affidavit Every Nonparent Must File
A separate statute, Section 102.0031, requires any nonparent who files or intervenes in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship to serve a sworn affidavit with the initial pleading.4Texas Legislature. Texas Family Code Chapter 102 – Filing Suit The affidavit has to state, based on personal knowledge or information from someone with personal knowledge, that denying the relief would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development. It also has to include specific facts supporting that statement.
Vague or conclusory language will not do. The affidavit needs dates, descriptions of specific conditions or incidents, and an explanation of how those facts add up to harm. Because it is signed under oath, false statements carry perjury exposure. Filing without the affidavit, or with one that lacks the required detail, hands the opposing party grounds to move for immediate dismissal.
How the Other Side Attacks Standing
Standing under Section 102.004 is jurisdictional. Without it, the court has no authority to hear the case, and the merits never come up. A parent or other opposing party attacks standing through a plea to the jurisdiction, asking the court to dismiss before anyone argues who should have custody.
On a plea to the jurisdiction, the court examines the petitioner’s pleadings and any evidence bearing on the jurisdictional question. It accepts factual allegations as true unless the opposing party proves they were made fraudulently to manufacture jurisdiction. In practice, a nonparent has to be ready to prove significant impairment at the standing stage, long before any hearing on the best interests of the child. Courts have described this as a very high burden for grandparents and other nonparent relatives.
Visitation Is a Different Matter
Section 102.004(c) closes off a common misunderstanding. It does not create any right to visitation. Instead, it directs that questions about grandparent possession of or access to a child are governed by Chapter 153 of the Family Code.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 102.004 – Standing for Certain Relatives and Other Persons A grandparent who wants regular time with a grandchild, but not full custody, is looking at a different statute with a different standard. Section 102.004 is only the road to managing conservatorship.