Texas uses confusing terminology to describe child custody. Some states use the much easier terms of "legal custody" (who has which parental rights) and "physical custody" (what is the possession and visitation schedule). Texas instead uses a distinct vocabulary that takes some explaining.
Conservator
Texas uses the word conservator to describe a person — usually a parent — who has legal rights concerning a child. The court appoints conservators and assigns specific rights and duties to each one. In some cases, non-parents such as grandparents, or Child Protective Services, may be appointed conservators.
Joint Managing Conservators
In most cases, parents are appointed Joint Managing Conservators of their child. The word "joint" is somewhat misleading — when parents are Joint Managing Conservators, one parent will still often have some important exclusive rights that the other does not, such as determining the child's primary residence, receiving child support, selecting schools, and making medical and psychological decisions.
The term "Joint Managing Conservator" is really just a label intended to make parents feel better. The real issue is which parent will have the exclusive right to determine the child's residence. The parent who decides where the child lives usually has the child more of the time and also receives child support.
Sole Managing Conservator and Possessory Conservator
In some cases, one parent is appointed Sole Managing Conservator and the other is appointed Possessory Conservator. Before the 1980s in Texas, almost every custody order appointed one parent as Sole Managing Conservator. Now, the presumption is Joint Managing Conservatorship. However, one parent may be named Sole Managing Conservator if the other parent has a history of family violence, abuse, or other disqualifying circumstances.
Possession and Access
Possession refers to the time when a parent physically has the child — what many people call "physical custody" or "visitation." Access is the broader right to visit or communicate with the child. Texas court orders set out specific possession schedules defining exactly when each parent has the child, including holidays and summers.
Primary Residence
The phrase primary residence is used in Texas as shorthand for "the home where the child lives most of the time." It is not a formal legal term in the Family Code, but courts and lawyers use it constantly. The parent with the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child is usually — but not always — the parent the child lives with most. In most cases, the court imposes a geographic limitation on where the child can reside so that the child remains close to both parents. For example, the court may order that the primary residence of the child must be in Galveston County or a county contiguous to Galveston County.
Practical tip: Parents should not usually fight over whether they are called "Joint" or "Sole" Managing Conservators. Focus on the specifics of how parental rights are assigned and what the possession schedule looks like — those details have real daily impact on your family.