Child Custody

Child custody is a legal term regarding either physical and/or legal possession of a child. Custody means to have the child in your physical possession. Conservatorship, often confused with custody, means the right to make decisions for or about the child. Child custody is often determined based on the best interests of the child, as determined by either the parents or the Judge.

In Texas, when a child is born to a woman who is legally married the husband is automatically considered the legal father of the child.

Disputes about child custody and conservatorship typically arise in situations involving separation, divorce, annulment, adoption, incarceration, or parental death. If you situation involving child custody you can find the best child custody lawyers in Texas at America Family Law Center.

The child custody lawyers at America Family Law Center, also referred to as child custody attorneys, have many years of experience in family law and dealing with all sorts of issues and complexities of child custody. No case is too difficult. Contact America Family Law Center now for a free case evaluation.

America Family Law Center may have pro bono child custody lawyers to assist parents with low income or who meet financial qualifications. The best child custody lawyers at America Family Law Center may often function as legal aid lawyers, pro bono lawyers, affordable child custody lawyers or lawyers providing child custody assistance to low income families.

Low income and pro bono child custody lawyers are very busy, call now, don’t delay.

Child custody may involve what people often refer to as joint custody or sole custody. These are often misunderstood terms and don’t mean what people think. Talk with the child custody lawyers at America Family Law Center for clarification and to be sure you get what is best for your child.

Kinship Placement

Kinship placement is a term that often refers to child custody of a child who is related to the person who is accepting to care for the child.  This often occurs with proceedings involving Child Protective Services (CPS) but can also occur when a parent dies or is in the military and is being deployed.  The child custody lawyers at America Family Law Center can help you with all types of matters involving kinship placement.

Child Custody Establishment

Child Custody is typically established at the birth of the child.  When a child is born, the mother and father are assumed to have custody of the child. This is fine when the mother and father are living in the same household and share their lives. However, when this is not the case, there is often need to make sure that the custodial rights of both parents and any other adults involved are spelled out.

Understanding Child Custody and Parental Rights

The legal rights of a parent are referred to as the parental rights. Child custody can also be called a conservatorship.  In Texas, conservatorship is used while other states may also use the work guardianship. When child custody not clearly defined and agreed upon, the parents, the conservators and the children will suffer.

Child Custody Agreements

Child custody is determined in child custody agreements that are part of a divorce settlement between two individuals that are dissolving their marriage. The divorce agreement will discuss the division of the marital assets and will also involve any decisions about the care of the children involved in the divorce. These decisions can include child support and determine who make choices about education, medical care, religious upbringing, and any other activities that a child may be involved.  Besides, without putting these decisions in writing, it is difficult for one parent to have a say in what the other parent does when they have physical custody of the child.

The other part of the child custody agreement will be devoted to who the child lives with, visitation rights for either parent, the types of visitation that are allowed and what will happen in the future as the child grows older.

Family law governs child custody cases. There are many times when the parents can work out the care of their child in a fair and equitable way. They can communicate about how they should handle the parenting duties of the child even though they have gotten divorced. There are many other times when the care of the children is not so friendly. In these cases, the agreement is vital to make sure that the child’s welfare is protected. Violating the contract can be dealt with by the courts when the agreement is in place.

Other Considerations

There are other cases where a child is not in a safe environment, and another relative will work to gain custody of the child. In these cases, a parent may want to give up their parental rights to this relation but will also want an agreement in place, so they are still involved in the child’s upbringing.

Family law experts can help a person understand terms that are used including conservatorship, custodial parent, non-custodial parent, and visitation. Parenting plans can be created to keep everyone on the same page for the benefit of the child.

Additional Questions

People often have the following types of question:

• Do I have the right to make medical decisions for my child?
• How do I get custody of my child?
• What if the mother won’t follow the custody agreement?
• Do I have the right to decide where my child lives?
• Can my child be taken out-of-state?
• What do possession and access mean?
• Who has the right to custody?
• Do I have the right to make educational decisions for my child?
• What is a custodial parent?
• Can the mother decide where my child lives?
• Do I have the right to see my child?
• What can I do with my child when they are with me?
• When can my child stay overnight with me?
• What does conservatorship mean?
• Who determines where I pick-up my child?
• What if the mother says I can see my child?
• Who gets my child on holidays?
• Do grandparents have rights?
• What is joint custody in Texas?
• Why does a custodial parent get custody?
• Do grandparents have rights
• What is sole custody in Texas?
• What does sole custody mean?
• What does possessory custody mean?

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