Child Custody & Grandparents’ Rights

Knowing that a Texas judge will decide the child custody, living arrangements and visitation schedule that is in the best interest of the child, the family lawyers at Reeve Augustine Alarakhia, PLLC frequently work with complex child custody cases and grandparent rights in Collin County, Dallas County, Denton County or Tarrant County. Led by attorney Jason Augustine, our team works with modifications to child custody orders, initial child custody cases, and visitation for grandparents and others by putting our experience to work in thoroughly learning about the situation toward a favorable outcome.

The best, most common Texas child custody situation is called Joint Managing Conservatorship, meaning frequent and continuous contact between the children and both parents, as well as the parents’ sharing or allocating parental rights and duties.  During the Texas divorce process the courts must approve an agreement between the parties and establish the child’s domicile. The amount of income made by each parent is not a determining factor in determining custody, as child support serves to help resolve the difference in the parents’ incomes so as to impact the children’s standard of living as little as possible. Texas family courts tend to favor consistency in a child’s life, which many times results in the children maintaining their residence with the mother, as this arrangement is oftentimes a continuation of the pre-divorce practices of the couple.  That is not to say that fathers or other caregivers are not given a larger allocation of parental responsibilities after the divorce, particularly when relevant factors such as the ability of a parent to give first priority to the welfare of the child, as well as the proximity of the parents’ residences to one another.

The adult seeking a modification of child custody should document post-decree disputes, or issues that arise after a Texas divorce has been finalized, in detail. This is particularly important if there is suspected neglect, abuse or other type of threat to the child.  Family lawyers at Reeve Augustine Alarakhia, PLLC can thoroughly evaluate and provide an opinion of the merits of a Texas child custody case regarding particular circumstances.

Texas grandparent rights come into play, again, when the grandparents’ visitation or access is in the best interest of the child. If both biological parents’ rights have been terminated or if both parents are deceased and the child has been adopted by someone other than a stepparent, it is difficult to obtain legal grandparent rights to child visitation without the help of a lawyer (read Statutes 153.432-434 for more information regarding grandparent rights in Texas).  That said, the Visitation Rights Enforcement Act that was signed into law in 1998 makes provisions for grandparent visitation consistent from state to state; where as long as they have visitation rights in one state, these grandparent rights extend to visiting grandchildren anywhere in the United States.

Above all, we understand the high emotions in restructuring a family. Our aim with clients of child custody cases is a win either in mediation or court, and a positive future for everyone involved.  We’re ready to help during the tough times, and look forward to your call.