A Texas parenting plan is the court order or written agreement that spells out each parent’s rights, duties, possession schedule, and support obligations for their children after a divorce or separation. It sits inside a proceeding called a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, or SAPCR.1Texas Law Help. SAPCR (Custody) Cases Once a judge signs it, the plan is an enforceable order, and breaking its terms can bring contempt proceedings, make-up possession time, and in serious cases jail.
Conservatorship: Who Holds Authority Over the Child
Texas calls custody “conservatorship.” The Family Code starts from a rebuttable presumption that appointing both parents as Joint Managing Conservators serves the child’s best interest.2Texas Public Law. Texas Family Code Chapter 153 – Conservatorship, Possession, and Access Joint conservatorship does not mean equal time. It means both parents share rights and duties, and the court designates one of them with the exclusive right to determine where the child primarily lives.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.134 – Court-Ordered Joint Conservatorship
If a joint arrangement would significantly harm the child’s physical health or emotional development, the court can appoint one parent as Sole Managing Conservator. That parent makes major decisions alone. The other becomes a Possessory Conservator with visitation rights but reduced authority. A history of abuse or neglect weighs heavily against joint conservatorship.2Texas Public Law. Texas Family Code Chapter 153 – Conservatorship, Possession, and Access
In deciding conservatorship, the court looks at whether each parent puts the child’s welfare first, whether the parents can make shared decisions, how close they live to each other, and whether each parent supports the child’s relationship with the other. For children 12 and older, the judge also considers the child’s own preference about which parent should determine the primary home.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.134 – Court-Ordered Joint Conservatorship
How Rights and Decisions Get Divided
A parenting plan splits parental rights into categories. Some apply at all times, regardless of which parent has the child that day, like access to medical and school records. Others apply only during your own periods of possession and cover day-to-day care.
The big decisions get allocated by name: consenting to medical, dental, and psychiatric treatment, choosing the school, and handling the child’s legal matters. The court can assign each of these rights independently, jointly, or exclusively to one parent.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.134 – Court-Ordered Joint Conservatorship Detail matters here. When the plan says Parent A has the exclusive right to make educational decisions, there is no room to argue about who picks the school later.
Possession Schedules: Standard and Expanded
Texas law presumes the Standard Possession Order gives the minimum reasonable amount of time a parent should have with a child.4Office of the Attorney General. Parenting Time Overview The schedule itself depends on how far apart the parents live.
For parents living within 100 miles of each other, the non-custodial parent typically gets:
- The first, third, and fifth weekends of each month
- Thursday evenings during the school year
- Alternating holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring break
- A 30-day block during summer vacation
Parents more than 100 miles apart follow a modified version with fewer but longer visits. Weekend possession shifts to one weekend per month, while summer and holiday time stays similar.5Texas Law Help. Child Visitation and Possession Orders
The Standard Possession Order is a floor, not a ceiling. Parents who get along often agree to more time. The schedule exists so that when communication breaks down, both sides have a clear baseline.
Many families choose the Expanded Standard Possession Order instead. The biggest change is when weekends start and end: possession begins when school lets out on Friday and runs until school resumes Monday morning, replacing the Friday-evening-to-Sunday-evening window.6Williamson County. Expanded Standard Possession Schedule If a student holiday or teacher in-service day falls on Friday, possession starts Thursday at school dismissal. The expanded schedule cuts down on mid-evening exchanges and gives children longer stretches in each household. Courts approve it readily, and many Texas family attorneys treat it as the default.
Child Support and Medical Support
Financial obligations sit at the core of every plan. Texas uses percentage-based guidelines tied to the paying parent’s monthly net resources:7State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 154.125 – Application of Guidelines to Net Resources
- 1 child: 20% of net resources
- 2 children: 25%
- 3 children: 30%
- 4 children: 35%
- 5 children: 40%
- 6 or more children: not less than the amount for five
These percentages apply presumptively when the paying parent’s net resources fall within the statutory range. Above the cap, the court has discretion to set support higher or lower based on the child’s needs and the family’s standard of living.
The plan also has to address medical and dental insurance. It names which parent provides coverage and how the parents split uninsured healthcare costs. Support obligations generally last until the child turns 18 or graduates high school, whichever comes later.8Texas Law Help. Pro Se Divorce Handbook – Representing Yourself
Geographic Restriction
When the court appoints joint managing conservators, it must either establish a geographic area where the custodial parent keeps the child’s residence or specifically state that the parent can live anywhere.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.134 – Court-Ordered Joint Conservatorship Most plans restrict the primary residence to a specific county and its contiguous counties. That keeps both parents close enough for the possession schedule to work and preserves the child’s schools and friendships.
To move outside the restricted area, you need either the other parent’s written agreement or a court order modifying the restriction. Relocating without permission is one of the fastest ways to trigger enforcement and lose credibility with the judge, even when the move would help your career or family.
Additional Provisions Worth Negotiating
Several add-ons are not automatic under Texas law but can be built into the plan when they fit the family.
Electronic Communication
Texas has recognized virtual visitation by statute since 2007. A well-drafted plan says when and how the non-possessing parent can reach the child by video, phone, or messaging, along with time windows and ground rules like not recording the calls or coaching the child during them. Electronic access supplements in-person time and never replaces it: courts will not cut physical possession because a parent has video-call access. For parents separated by distance, travel, or deployment, spelling out the details up front avoids arguments over whether a 9 p.m. video call on a school night is “reasonable.”
Right of First Refusal
A right of first refusal clause requires you to offer your parenting time to the other parent before leaving the child with a sitter or relative. It is not automatic in Texas. You have to negotiate it in or ask the judge to add it, and the court weighs it against the child’s best interest. These clauses work best with specifics: a minimum absence that triggers the offer, a deadline for the other parent to respond, and how the exchange happens. Vague language in a high-conflict case creates more disputes than it solves.
International Travel and Passports
If your child needs a passport, both parents must appear in person at the application appointment and provide consent.9U.S. Department of State. Apply for a Childs Passport Under 16 This federal rule applies whatever your custody order says. A sole managing conservator may be able to apply alone, but only with court documentation of exclusive authority. Address international travel directly in the plan: whether written consent is required, how much notice must be given, and who holds the passport between trips.
Tax Dependency
By default, the IRS lets the custodial parent, meaning the one the child lives with more than half the year, claim the child. The qualifying child must be under 17 at year-end and cannot provide more than half of their own support.10Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit To let the non-custodial parent claim the child, the custodial parent signs IRS Form 8332 releasing the claim for a specific year or multiple years, and the non-custodial parent attaches it to their return. A Texas court can order a parent to sign Form 8332, but the IRS follows its own residency rules, so the plan needs to match federal requirements to actually work.
Protections for Military Parents
Active-duty service members facing custody proceedings during deployment can invoke the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to delay hearings. The SCRA allows a deployed parent to request an automatic 90-day stay, with any longer extension at the judge’s discretion. All 50 states have also enacted protections so that military-related absences do not count against a parent in custody determinations.11Military OneSource. Child Custody Considerations for Military Families If deployment is coming, address temporary arrangements in your plan before you leave. Preserving your rights up front is far easier than trying to undo a change after the fact.
Drafting and Filing the Plan
Gather the identifying information first: full legal names, addresses, and Social Security numbers for both parents and each child, plus school or daycare details.
Then finalize the key decisions before you fill out paperwork: which parent has the exclusive right to determine the child’s primary residence, what geographic restriction applies, which possession schedule to use, and how to allocate decision-making rights. If both parents agree on all terms, they submit a written agreed parenting plan. If they cannot agree, each side proposes terms and the court decides.
Filing happens at the District Clerk’s office in the county where the child has lived for at least six months. Filing fees vary by county, so call the clerk’s office for current amounts.12Texas Law Help. Filing for Divorce with Children The other parent must be formally served unless they have already signed an agreed plan or filed a waiver of service.
Finalizing the Plan in Court
Most Texas family courts encourage or require mediation before a contested custody case goes to trial. A trained neutral mediator helps both parents negotiate terms, and any agreement gets written up and submitted to the judge. Mediated agreements are generally binding once signed and hard to set aside, so treat the session seriously and do not agree to anything you cannot live with.
For uncontested cases, the court holds a brief prove-up hearing. One or both parents testify under oath that they understand and voluntarily agree to the terms, and the judge confirms the arrangement serves the child’s best interest.13Texas State Law Library. Divorce – Finalizing the Divorce Once the judge signs the Final Decree of Divorce or the Order in Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, the parenting plan becomes a binding court order.
Changing the Plan Later
Under Texas Family Code Section 156.101, you can ask the court to modify a custody order if circumstances have materially and substantially changed since the last order. Job loss, remarriage, relocation, or a shift in the child’s medical or educational needs can qualify.
The bar is deliberately high. Courts do not want parents relitigating custody every time they are unhappy. The change has to be significant, ongoing, and tied to the child’s well-being, and any modification also has to independently satisfy the best-interest-of-the-child standard. Parental inconvenience is not enough.
You file the petition in the same court that issued the original order. Fees vary by county, and many courts require mediation before scheduling a modification hearing. If both parents agree on the changes, you can submit a modified agreed order and skip a contested hearing.