Under Texas Family Code Section 71.003, “family” includes people related by blood, people related by marriage, parents of the same child regardless of whether they were ever married or lived together, foster children and foster parents, and former spouses.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 71.003 – Family The definition exists for one practical reason: fitting inside it is what gives a person legal standing to ask a Texas court for a family violence protective order. The categories are broader than most people assume, and each one has edges worth knowing.
Blood Relatives
Anyone related by consanguinity qualifies. The statute borrows its test from Government Code Section 573.022: two people are related by blood if one descends from the other or if they share a common ancestor.2State of Texas. Texas Government Code 573.022 – Determination of Consanguinity Adopted children are treated as children of their adoptive parents for this purpose.
Closeness is measured in degrees. You count up to the nearest shared ancestor, then back down to the other person, one degree per generation.3State of Texas. Texas Government Code 573.023 – Computation of Degree of Consanguinity Through the third degree, that covers:
- First degree: a parent or child.
- Second degree: a sibling, grandparent, or grandchild.
- Third degree: a great-grandparent, great-grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew.
Every one of these relatives qualifies as “family” under Section 71.003 without any requirement that they currently or ever share a home. A grandmother in another city, an uncle you rarely see, a nephew who has never lived under your roof: all count. The blood tie alone is enough.
Relatives By Marriage
Section 71.003 also includes individuals related by affinity, meaning a relationship created through marriage.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 71.003 – Family Government Code Section 573.024 provides the rule: two people are related by affinity if they are married to each other, or if one person’s spouse is a blood relative of the other.4State of Texas. Texas Government Code 573.024 – Determination of Affinity Your spouse’s blood relatives become your relatives by affinity at the same degree your spouse holds with them. A mother-in-law is first-degree; a sister-in-law or spouse’s grandparent is second-degree, and so on.
There is a wrinkle most people miss. Divorce or a spouse’s death ends an affinity relationship unless the couple had a child together. If a child of that marriage is still living, the law treats the marriage as continuing for affinity purposes.4State of Texas. Texas Government Code 573.024 – Determination of Affinity So someone who divorced years ago but shares a living child with the ex-spouse remains “family” with their former in-laws for Section 71.003 purposes.
Former Spouses
Former spouses are listed in the statute as “family” with no qualifier.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 71.003 – Family There is no time limit after the divorce, and there is no requirement that the couple had children. A person divorced ten years ago still counts as family to their former spouse under this provision.
Parents Of The Same Child
People who share a child qualify, and the statute strips away the limitations you might expect. It does not matter whether the parents were ever married. It does not matter whether they ever lived together.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 71.003 – Family If two people are both legal parents of the same child, each is “family” to the other for Section 71.003 purposes. This matters constantly in co-parenting disputes where the adults have no other legal link between them.
Foster Children And Foster Parents
A foster child and foster parent are included, and the statute specifies that this applies regardless of whether they still live together.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 71.003 – Family A former foster child who aged out, or a child whose placement ended years earlier, still has standing against a former foster parent, and the former foster parent has standing against the child.
The explicit residency language carries more weight here than in the other categories. Blood relatives and former spouses obviously keep their status when they move apart. Foster relationships, though, are temporary living arrangements by design, and without the “regardless of residence” phrase someone could argue the relationship ended when the placement did. The statute shuts that argument down.
Family Versus Household Member
Section 71.003 is not the only category Texas protective order law recognizes. “Household member” is a separate definition in Section 71.006, covering anyone who lives or previously lived in the same dwelling.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code 71.006 – Member of a Household Roommates, live-in partners who were never married, and other people sharing a home can fall there even when they don’t meet the “family” definition. If you don’t fit under 71.003, check 71.006 before concluding you have no path to a protective order. Dating relationships are covered under their own definition in Section 71.0021.
Why The Definition Matters
Section 71.003 is a gatekeeper. Whether a particular act qualifies as “family violence” under Section 71.004 depends on it: the statute defines family violence as an act by a member of a family or household against another member of that family or household that is intended to cause physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, or a threat that reasonably places the other person in fear of imminent harm.6State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 71.004 – Family Violence Self-defense is carved out. The definition also pulls in child abuse by a family or household member and dating violence as defined in Section 71.0021.
The practical effect: if the person you need protection from falls inside Section 71.003 (or 71.006, or 71.0021), you can apply for a protective order under Chapter 82 of the Family Code. If they don’t fit any of those categories, you may still have options under other parts of Texas law, but the family violence protective order track is not one of them. That is the whole reason the statute’s reach is worth reading carefully: a cousin, a former in-law, a co-parent from a one-time relationship, or a foster parent from a placement that ended a decade ago can all qualify, and that is often not obvious until you look.