Joint Custody means different things to different people - some people mean "joint managing conservatorship", and some people mean joint physical custody. In Texas, there is a presumption that it is in the best interest of children that parents be appointed as "joint managing conservators", although in cases where there has been domestic violence or where one parent has demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to act in the best interest of the children, the court may impose a sole managing conservatorship. In a joint managing conservatorship arrangement, the parents share the rights to make decisions for the children, although the children still generally reside with one parent and visit with the other. In a court-ordered joint managing conservatorship, one parent has the exclusive right to determine the primary residence of the children, often with a restriction on that right to a particular geographic area, and the other parent visits with the children in accordance with a very specific and detailed visitation schedule (often the "Standard Possession Order"). In an agreed joint managing conservatorship, the parties can agree that neither parent is the "primary" parent, but simply determine that the children's residence will remain within a particular geographic area and the parties can create a shared possession schedule with the children. The parties can agree to joint physical custody (for example, one week with one parent and one week with the other), when circumstances and the distance between residences allows, however, it is rare that a court will order such an arrangement without agreement of the parents. In most cases, a judge will now issue orders at the time that an original order is made, that prevent the primary parent from changing the residence of the children from a specified geographical area. Usually, the court will restrict the children's residence to the current county of residence plus any contiguous counties. However, the court can be more or less restrictive than that if circumstances require. If you have an older order that does not restrict the children's domicile to a particular area, you are still required to give the other party 60 days notice of your intent to move the children, and if the other party wants to try to stop you from moving, they will likely file for a temporary restraining order preventing you from moving until a hearing can be held. At the time of the hearing, it will be your burden to show the court some compelling reasons why you need to move. Some compelling reasons the court may consider would be that your job is moving you and you can't find comparable work locally, or that your family resides elsewhere and you need their help and support with the children. If the court suspects that you are moving away to interfere with the children's relationship with the other parent, you will lose for sure. - - Daryl G. Weinman, Attorney at Law |