Texas law presumes that a standard visitation schedule will be followed in most cases for children aged 3 and over. A judge can deviate from the standard schedule with good cause, and special allowances can be made for religious holidays.
Of course, parents can agree on custody arrangements that differ from the standard visitation schedule, and judges will almost always go along with their agreement.
Parents Can Always Agree on Their Own Visitation Schedule
Regardless of the visitation schedule written into the divorce decree or custody order, parents can always agree to follow any workable schedule of visitation they feel is best for their child. Possession orders are made by judges to provide a definitive visitation schedule in case parents cannot agree.
Hopefully, all parents will reach an agreement on a visitation schedule that takes into account work hours, the child’s preferences, and activities. However, if parents cannot agree, then the court issued schedule controls.
Texas Standard Possession Order
The Texas Family Code provides a visitation schedule that years of experience have shown works for most families. The standard visitation schedule is basically the same if parents live within 100 miles or 50 miles of each other. The difference is that for parents who live within 50 miles of each other, the parent who has visitation automatically gets to start Thursday and weekend visitations earlier and end them later if he or she wants to.
The standard possession order for parents who live within 100 miles of each other divides holidays evenly between both parents and gives the parent with visitation at least two weekends a month, every Thursday during the school year, and 30 days during the summer (plus some weekends in the summer).
Weekend visitation periods are described as starting on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Friday of each month. This often means the parents alternate weekends but on a few months in each year, there are five Fridays. If there is a 5th Friday, then the parent with visitation has two weekends in a row because he or she has the last Friday of the month starting with the 5th Friday and then the next weekend which begins with the first Friday of the following month.
Note that in the above example (April and May 2027), that the parent with possession according to a SPO has every Thursday and three Fridays in April because there are five Fridays in that month. The parent with visitation under a SPO gets weekends that begin on the first, third, and fifth Fridays. The first Friday in May is May 7, so this parent gets possession on two weekends in a row (starting on the 5th Friday of April and the 1st Friday of May).
Standard Possession if Parents Reside Within 100 Miles of Each Other
If parents live within 50 miles of each other, then the parent with visitation can start weekends when school is dismissed on Fridays and return the children to school on the following Monday morning. Likewise, the parent with visitation who lives within 50 miles of the child can exercise possession on Thursdays during the regular school term starting when school is dismissed on Thursday and ending when school resumes on the next Friday. Not every parent can get off work in time to pick up the child when school is dismissed, and some parents go into work early so dropping the child off at school on a Monday or Friday is not always possible. The standard possession order allows a parent to designate another adult to pick up and return the child. So, if a mother with visitation does not get off work until 5:00 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, she can designate her mother or her friend to pick up her child for her.
School holidays can extend a parent’s visitation. Under the standard possession order, if a parent has visitation on a weekend and the following Monday is a school holiday, then the period of visitation ends at 6:00 p.m. on Monday instead of Sunday (or when school resumes on Tuesday). Likewise, if school is out on Friday, the weekend visitation starts at 6:00 p.m. Thursday instead of Friday for weekend possession.
The following describes a standard possession order for a parent who lives within 100 miles of the child. Weekends under a standard possession order begin on the first, third, and fifth Friday of each month – so it is not necessarily every other weekend that a parent has possession.
- Thursday periods of possession are only during the regular school term.
- The parent who is not entitled to possession on the child’s birthday gets from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on the child’s birthday. Fathers have possession for Father’s Day from the Friday before Father’s Day until 6:00 p.m. on Father’s Day. Mothers have the same period for Mother’s Day.
- Parents alternate Spring Break, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. So, one year the mother has possession of the child for Spring Break and the next year the other parent has Spring Break. The parents also alternate having the Thanksgiving holiday each year. Each year, one parent has the child for Christmas from the time school lets out until noon on December 28, and the other parent has possession from December 28 until 6 p.m. on the day before school resumes (or the morning of the first day of school after the Christmas break).
- The parent with visitation has the child for 30 days during the summer. If that parent gives notice by April 1, he or she can designate the 30 days during the summer when he or she has possession in up to two separate periods of at least seven days. If no notice is given, the parent with visitation has possession from July 1 until July 31. The parent who has the child most of the time under a standard possession order can take away one weekend during the other parent’s 30 days of extended summer possession if notice is given by April 15. The parent with primary custody can also take away one other weekend during the summer that is not during the extended 30 days of summer possession by giving 14 days’ notice.
Visitation for Parents Who Live More Than 100 Miles From the Child
For parents who live more than 100 miles from the child, the standard possession order is the same for parents who live under 100 miles away (as described above), except:
- Summer is for 42 days instead of 30 days and the parent with primary custody can give notice by April 15 and “take away” two weekends during the 42 days.
- Weekends can be one weekend per month of the parent’s choosing (most select weekends when there is a 3-day school holiday for the child).
- The parent with visitation has every Spring Break.
The standard possession order usually does not apply until a child turns 3. Most courts will establish a limited visitation schedule for very young children, but in some cases, the amount of visitation is significant, and overnight visitation is allowed. It all depends on the age and needs of the child and the circumstances of the parents.
Alternatives to the Standard Possession Order
Parents can agree to a visitation order that has different weekends or different holidays (for example Muslim holidays or Jewish holidays). Parents can agree on a 50-50 possession order that gives parents equal time with the child. But few judges will order an exactly equal split of possession unless the parents agree to it. Usually, the child lives more with one parent during the school week. That is what usually happens if the parents go to trial and the judge decides. These days, many fathers meet with lawyers and demand half of the time with their children. Some ask for a 50-50 possession schedule because they think it is only fair and some seek equal time because they falsely believe it will allow them to avoid paying child support. However, a child is not a 401k retirement account that can be divided exactly evenly and if one parent earns a lot more than the other parent, child support will probably still be ordered.
If the parents do agree on a 50-50 division of time, there are several different ways of splitting possession equally, including:
- Alternating weeks of possession;
- Alternating weeks but each parent has the child during a Wednesday or Thursday during the other parent’s weeks;
- The parents alternate weekends and one parent always has possession on Mondays and Tuesdays and the other parent has possession on Wednesdays and Thursdays. This results in parents having possession according to a 2-2-5-5 schedule.
Some parents follow a standard possession order during the school year and during the summer break they alternate weeks or two week periods of possession. Some parents split the summer so that on parent always has June 1 -15 and July 1 -15 and the other has June 15 – July 1 and July 15 – August 1. Set periods of possession during the summer make it much easier to plan vacations and summer camps for the summer since the schedule is known far in advance.