Please note that the following is not intended to be legal advice and should not take the place of representation by an attorney. You should contact an attorney to discuss the specifics of your situation.

When most people are considering divorce, they often say they want “full custody” of their children. This is not really a term that is used in Texas when dealing with custody issues. Texas finds parent to be “conservators” of their children, and they can be either joint managing conservators, or one parent may be the sole managing conservator. Conservatorship does not define the amount of time that each parent will spend with the children, it defines the legal rights, responsibilities and duties of parents in raising their children. There is a presumption that it is in a child’s best interest for the parents to be named joint managing conservators, however, if there is a history of violence between the parents or involving the children, then the court may not appoint the parent perpetrating the violence a joint managing conservator. When parents are joint managing conservators, they generally share the rights and duties involved in rearing their children but only one parent may determine the primary legal residence of the children, and generally it is that parent who has the right to receive child support from the other parent.