A non-custodial parent in Texas keeps a court-ordered schedule of time with their child, direct access to the child’s school and medical records, a voice in major decisions about the child’s welfare, and legal remedies when the other parent interferes. Texas law calls this parent a “possessory conservator” rather than using the word “custody,” and the state’s public policy is to keep both parents involved after a divorce or separation.1State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 153.001 – Public Policy The specific rights come from the Texas Family Code and from your court order, which usually tracks a default schedule known as the Standard Possession Order.
What “Possessory Conservator” Means
The parent whose home is the child’s primary residence is the managing conservator. The other parent is the possessory conservator. Subchapter B of Chapter 153 guarantees a baseline of rights and duties to any parent appointed as a conservator, and your court order fills in the detail.2State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 153.192 – Rights and Duties of Parent Appointed Possessory Conservator Being the non-primary parent does not mean having weaker rights. It means having a different set of rights, most of them enforceable in court.
Your Scheduled Time With Your Child
Texas courts start from the Standard Possession Order (SPO). There is a rebuttable presumption that it provides reasonable minimum possession and serves the child’s best interest for children age three and older.3State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 153.252 – Rebuttable Presumption What the SPO looks like depends on how far apart you and the other parent live.
If You Live 100 Miles or Less From the Child
You get the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month, from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Sunday, plus Thursday evenings from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the school year.4State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 153.312 – Parents Who Reside 100 Miles or Less Apart Summer possession is 30 days. Give the managing conservator written notice by April 1 and you can split those 30 days into two blocks of at least seven consecutive days each; miss the deadline and the default window is July 1 through July 31. Spring break alternates by year, with the possessory conservator taking it in even-numbered years.
If You Live More Than 100 Miles Away
You can keep the first-third-fifth weekend schedule or switch to one weekend per month of your choosing with 14 days’ written or phone notice.5State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 153.313 – Parents Who Reside Over 100 Miles Apart You must make this election in writing within 90 days of the parents beginning to live more than 100 miles apart. Thursday evenings are not part of the long-distance schedule. In exchange, summer possession grows to 42 days, splittable with April 1 notice into two blocks of at least seven consecutive days, with a default window of June 15 through July 27. Long-distance parents also get spring break every year.
The Expanded Standard Possession Order
You can ask the court to extend your SPO hours without changing its structure. Under the expanded version, weekend possession begins when school lets out Friday and ends when school resumes Monday morning, and Thursday visits run from Thursday dismissal through Friday morning, converting them into overnights.6State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 153.317 – Alternative Beginning and Ending Possession Times Either parent can request these times. If your current order does not include them, you can raise it when the order is created or through a later modification.
Holidays
Holidays override the regular weekend and Thursday schedule, no matter the distance. Thanksgiving goes to the possessory conservator in odd-numbered years, from 6 p.m. the day school lets out through 6 p.m. the following Sunday. Christmas splits in half: you get the first half (school dismissal through noon on December 26) in even-numbered years and the second half (noon on December 26 through the day before school resumes) in odd-numbered years. Fathers always have Father’s Day weekend, mothers always have Mother’s Day weekend, and the parent who does not otherwise have the child on the child’s birthday gets a two-hour evening visit from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Rights You Keep Between Visits
You are not shut out of your child’s daily life when the child is not with you. Section 153.073 of the Family Code gives every parent appointed as a conservator a set of rights that apply at all times unless a court specifically restricts them.7State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 153.073 – Rights of Parent at All Times These include:
- Obtaining the child’s medical, dental, psychological, and educational records directly from the provider.
- Consulting with the child’s doctors, dentists, psychologists, and school officials about the child’s welfare and progress.
- Attending school activities, including lunches, performances, and field trips.
- Being listed as an emergency contact on the child’s records.
- Consenting to medical, dental, or surgical treatment during an immediate danger to the child.
- Conferring with the other parent before major decisions about the child’s health, education, or welfare.
You do not need the managing conservator’s permission to use any of these rights. A school or clinic that refuses to release records to a possessory conservator is defying the order. Carry a copy of your decree and present it when any institution pushes back.
Passports and International Travel
Federal law requires both parents to appear in person or provide written notarized consent before a passport can be issued for a child under 16.8eCFR. 22 CFR 51.28 – Minors The managing conservator cannot obtain a passport for your child behind your back. Narrow exceptions exist, such as a court order granting one parent sole legal custody or termination of the other parent’s rights. If your custody order says nothing about international travel, this federal rule still protects you. For an added safeguard, you can enroll your child in the State Department’s Children’s Passport Issuance Alert System, which notifies you if an application is submitted.
Claiming the Child on Your Taxes
By default, only the managing conservator can claim the federal child tax credit. The managing conservator can release that claim to you by signing IRS Form 8332, which lets you take the child tax credit, the additional child tax credit, and the credit for other dependents. Some things do not transfer with the form: the managing conservator keeps head of household filing status, the earned income credit, and the child and dependent care credit regardless of who claims the child.9IRS. Publication 504 – Divorced or Separated Individuals Some Texas orders already require the managing conservator to sign Form 8332 in alternating years or under set conditions. If yours does not, raise it in negotiations. A divorce decree alone will not do the job; the IRS wants Form 8332 or a statement containing the same information.
If the Other Parent Won’t Follow the Order
A court order is enforceable. When the managing conservator refuses to hand the child over, blocks your access to records, or otherwise violates the order, file a Motion for Enforcement in the court that issued the order.10State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 157.001 – Motion for Enforcement The judge holds a hearing, both sides present evidence, and if the judge finds a knowing violation, the available remedies are serious. The court can hold the violating parent in contempt, with fines or jail. It can order make-up possession time to replace what you lost. It can order the other parent to pay your attorney’s fees and court costs. Filing fees generally run between $45 and $80 depending on the county.
Documentation is what wins these cases. Keep text messages, emails, and a written log with dates, times, and what happened. Judges respond to specifics. “On March 14, I arrived at 6 p.m. as the order requires and the managing conservator refused to answer the door, as shown in this text exchange” carries real weight. Vague complaints do not.
Changing the Order Later
Possession orders are not permanent. Either parent can file to modify the order if the change would serve the child’s best interest and one of three things is true: circumstances of the child or a parent have materially and substantially changed since the order was signed, the child is at least 12 and has told the judge in chambers which parent they prefer to live with, or the managing conservator has voluntarily given up primary care of the child for at least six months.11State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 156.101 – Grounds for Modification of Order Establishing Conservatorship or Possession and Access The “materially and substantially changed” standard carries most modifications. Courts look for genuine shifts: a meaningful change in income, a relocation, a new safety concern, or changes in the child’s needs as they grow. Routine disputes or minor lifestyle changes usually will not clear the bar.
Child Support and Health Insurance in Brief
The flip side of the possessory conservator’s rights is usually a child support obligation. Texas sets support as a percentage of the paying parent’s monthly net resources: 20% for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, 35% for four, and 40% for five, with six or more set at not less than the five-child amount, up to a statutory cap that adjusts for inflation every six years.12State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 154.125 – Application of Guidelines to Net Resources A reduced schedule starting at 15% for one child applies when net resources fall below $1,000 per month. Most orders also require one parent to carry health insurance for the child when it is available at a reasonable cost through an employer, and the court can split uninsured medical expenses between the parents.
If You Are a Service Member
Deployment does not have to cost you your rights. Under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a service member who receives notice of a custody proceeding while deployed can request a stay of civil proceedings with a letter explaining why they cannot appear and a confirming communication from their commanding officer; a qualifying request requires at least a 90-day delay. Subchapter L of Chapter 153 of the Texas Family Code adds state-level protections, including temporary possession arrangements during deployment, restoration of the original schedule on return, and the ability to designate a family member to exercise your possession periods while you are away, subject to court approval. The Family Code also protects a deployed managing conservator: a temporary absence for military duty does not count as voluntarily giving up primary care and cannot be used as grounds for modification.11State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 156.101 – Grounds for Modification of Order Establishing Conservatorship or Possession and Access The same reasoning shields a deployed possessory conservator from losing scheduled time over a military absence.