Divorce and Child Custody in Houston

Immediately after the emotional roller coaster of divorce, it is time to decide who will have primary custody of the children. This includes tough decisions about visiting rights, child support, financial obligations, who to take the vacation with, and how to handle the battles that can arise when a problem occurs in any of the above. Again, these are highly emotional decisions that can be very tiring even for the most intelligent person. It is one thing to break the bond with your spouse, but it is quite another to release any rights to their flesh and blood. This could be the worst nightmare of your life. You go through periods of emotional ups and downs and moments of difficult decisions. While it is not necessary to hire a houston child support lawyer, it is recommended that you seek legal advice from an experienced lawyer. You may not be aware of parental rights associated with child custody. A good lawyer will guide you through the various options available in Houston while making sure the process runs smoothly and quickly.

Child custody laws:

Houston recognizes several child custody options. It is divided into two types of parental custody; legal custody and physical custody. Physical custody means which parent the child will live with. Legal guardianship is understood as a parent who will make important decisions for the minor. One parent can be given authority over both rights, or they can be given separate rights.

Legal and Physical: Either parent can have exclusive legal or physical rights. However, if one parent is granted both rights, then the other can receive parental visitation with children.

Joint legal and physical custody: When parents are comfortable with the decision to separate and share the common goal of providing the best possible care for the child, the court can grant joint physical and legal rights to the children. Parents will develop a schedule that is least disruptive to their children and allows them to spend time with both parents. Children will live with both parents and important decisions will be made together. According to the law, in this case, the child must spend at least 111 nights with each of the parents during the year.

Legal together, only physical – in this agreement one of the parents will have exclusive physical rights, but legal decisions are made jointly by both parents. As a general rule, children must live with one parent for at least 225 nights in a calendar year, while the other parent has the right to spend time with the child, for example, on weekends, summer holidays or other vacation conditions.

Divided custody – When multiple children are involved, each parent can obtain sole physical custody of one child. Judicial decisions can be made individually or jointly, depending on the case.