Child Custody Lawyer Dallas Texas

Child Custody & Visitation Rights! Selecting an child custody attorney for your legal case is a very important decision....

Child Custody

Dallas Child Custody Lawyer - Child Support and Visitation rights including child custody, child support payments, custody changes and limited custody visitation rights. Experienced Dallas attorney protecting your rights on child custody issues.

The most important issue in any divorce involving children is the care, custody, and control of those children after the divorce is over, and what type of contact the children will have with the parent with whom the children do not primarily reside. Children are society’s greatest future resource, and this is why the Texas Family Code uses the term “conservator” for the people who have custodial and/or possessory rights to a child. Child custody, if disputed between parents, is possibly the most difficult issues in many divorces. Child support is almost always owed by the person who does not have primary conservatorship to the person that does have primary conservatorship, but there are exceptions.
 

Original Child Custody (Paternity) Suits
Establish Child Support | Establish Visitation | Limit Visitation

Child Custody Modification Suits
Custody changes | Long-distance visitation provisions | Work-related custom visitation schedules

Child Custody and Family Law in Dallas

Original Suits (Paternity)

Many times when a child is born, the parents are not married to one another. In these cases, the parent not in possession of the child usually has a duty of support to the child. If the couple cannot or does not want to get married, a court order must be put in place to specify which parent has what rights concerning care, custody, and control of a child. There are only certain individuals who may bring a custody suit, and there are timelines that may affect one person’s ability to file such a suit. How the case is approached depends on the facts of each unique case, and therefore a consultation with a family law attorney on child custody issues is necessary.

Modification Suits

There are many reasons to change an original custody order or a final divorce decree that includes child custody provisions. Sometimes a change in residence of a parent, or new spouses of one parent makes this necessary, and sometimes the safety or development of the child makes filing a modification suit necessary. Some aspects of an order are easily modified, but many aspects are very difficult to modify, and it must be proved to a court that the modification is in the best interest of the child. As with original suits, all cases are very unique and specific to their facts, and therefore a consultation with a family law attorney is necessary to see if your child custody case is appropriate for filing a modification suit.

Some of the most common reasons people file custody modification suits are:

     Moving from one state to another
     New spouse or boy/girlfriend of one parent has problems with child
     Old order inaccurate to new life changes of parent or child
     Safety issue regarding child
     Change in residence of child from one parent to another
     Support issues
     Standard visitation in order incompatible with one or both parents’ work
         schedules
     Special medical/educational needs of child
     Limit/Remove visitation under certain circumstances

Visitation Rights (Obtain and Enforce)

An original suit (see above) must be filed for a father who is not married to the mother of his child to obtain enforceable visitation rights to a child. Also, if a prior custody order was issued by a court without visitation provisions, the father must file a modification in order to attempt to obtain visitation rights. In these cases, a consultation with a family law attorney is necessary to determine what you should do, based on your facts and Texas law. Visitation rights can be enforced against a parent who is not complying with a court order by having an attorney file an enforcement motion. There are very specific facts required to enforce, and a consultation with a family law attorney is necessary to determine if your child custody case is ready for an enforcement motion.

Grandparent Custody

Several factors, including one major U.S. Supreme Court case from 1999, affect the ability of grandparents to seek custody of their grandchildren. These issues are legally complex, and require a consultation with a family law attorney to see if your facts are right under Texas and federal law to file for child custody of your grandchildren.

Child Custody

Visitation Rights

Most fathers in Texas who have a court order to pay child support also have some visitation rights. However, most fathers do not understand what those rights mean, what duties are imposed on them under their custody order, or what rights they really have. The state legislature has mandated a standard possession order, which can be very confusing to read for the first time. Robert Casteel can explain your rights and advise you about this process, and help you enforce your visitation rights.

Child Custody Changes

Circumstances in life change. This is especially true when you remarry, or when you marry someone who already has children. Sometimes, a modification (change) of your custody order is necessary. These changes must be requested by filing a motion with the court. Anyone who needs a modification should consult a family law attorney in their area to see what changes might be possible to best suit the needs of the children, and the concerns of the parents. You, with the help of your attorney, must usually prove to a court that there is a need for a modification of your court order.