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Child Custody Attorneys in San Antonio, TX

Child Custody Attorney

San Antonio Child Custody Attorney

For many parents, child custody dispute is the most heart-wrenching aspect of divorce. As a San Antonio child custody attorney, Jennifer Espronceda can help protect your parental rights so you can raise your children in a fit, caring home.

In the area of Texas family law, child custody is legally referred to as conservatorship. Typically, the default visitation schedule is recognized as a standard possession order. Courts and family law authorities take their responsibilities for children’s welfare very seriously. In divorces and family law matters relating to conservatorship and parenting rights, the child’s best interests are always the top priority.

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Types of Child Custody Arrangements

The custody arrangement depends on the family’s unique circumstances. Parents may need to share the responsibilities of raising the child, or one parent may take sole custody. Generally, Texas courts prioritize joint custody arrangements, allowing both parents to be involved in raising the child.

Joint Managing Conservatorship

In this arrangement, both parents mutually decide about the child’s medical care, education, religious upbringing, and other major life issues. Generally, one parent has primary custodial rights, while the other gets possession rights.

Sole Managing Conservatorship

In sole managing conservatorship (SMC), only one parent gets the legal right to make certain decisions concerning the child. If you are granted SMC, you have the general rights given to a conservator. You get the exclusive right to make decisions regarding raising the child.

Jennifer Espronceda, one of the best child custody attorneys in San Antonio (TX), will ensure that you get all the necessary legal assistance and help you get the best possible results.

Espronceda Law will get you the legal help and results you need.

If you are a noncustodial parent, divorce should not force you to miss the important milestones in your children’s lives. As a leading San Antonio child custody attorney, Jennifer can ensure that you are given the opportunity to spend quality time with your children, which is necessary to encourage their strong growth and development.

Jennifer Espronceda has extensive experience helping divorcing or unmarried parents obtain solutions in their child conservatorship and possession orders that work for them. Espronceda Law is also experienced in representing fathers in custody disputes. Visit our child custody page for fathers for more information.

Factors Considered by Texas Courts in Child Custody Cases

Texas courts aim to do what is in the best interests of the child when deciding a child’s custody arrangements. Here are some of the major factors the court considers in child custody cases:

  • Investigate the living conditions in the different homes of both parents
  • Investigate actions that suggest that one of the parents is not fit for joint custody
  • Investigate any possible chances of physical danger to the child due to domestic violence or other reasons
  • Determine if the parents are willing to accept assistance with parenting classes
  • Investigate any possibilities of emotional danger to the child
  • Determine if one or both parents have the ability to meet the special needs for medical care or education that the child may require
  • Determine how the job situations and schedules of the parents may help or hinder the child’s care
  • Consider what the child wants, if he or she is at least 12 years of age

A Texas court will weigh all these factors and find the best possible outcome for the child. Based on these factors, the court may award joint or sole custody.

San Antonio Child Custody Modification

Once a child custody order has been issued by the courts, you may feel like you’re stuck with that decision forever. However, a child custody modification can be filed under many circumstances. When it does, an experienced child custody attorney in San Antonio can make all the difference by contesting on your behalf. Some situations in which custody may be revisited are:

Change of residence:

Texas law frowns on moving a child out of state or any distance that would create a serious hardship to the non-custodial parent. This is especially true in cases where parents share joint custody.

Change in circumstances:

In the case of an injury or illness that leaves one custodial parent unable to care for the child, child custody modification may be in order.

Wishes of the child:

Once a child reaches 12 years of age, their preference for custody may be taken into consideration by the courts. If the child desires to make a change in residence or custody, your attorney can help petition the court to facilitate this.

Child Custody Rights

Keep in mind that attempting child custody modification may increase the vitriol between the parties involved. Texas courts seek to minimize the stress this can put on a child. Your San Antonio child custody lawyer should help modify child custody so that your child is not forced to choose one parent over the other or to be directly involved with acrimonious aspects of a hearing or deposition. As an experienced attorney who specializes in family law cases, Jennifer Espronceda knows how to navigate the child custody modification process to get the best result for you and your child.

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Contact Jennifer to Schedule

Contact Jennifer to arrange a consultation about your custody or parenting rights issue. When you decide to hire her as your child custody lawyer in San Antonio, she will try to answer all your questions and help you understand your options which may include:

  • Mediated agreements for conservatorship and possession orders
  • Enforcement of possession orders
  • Child support agreements and child custody rights
  • Modifications of any child support and/or possession orders
San Antonio Texas Child Custody Laws

What To Know About Texas Child Custody Laws

In Texas, child custody laws begin with the presumption that both parents should have some conservatorship over any children produced in the marriage. “Joint managing conservators” is a term used to indicate a situation in which both parents make decisions regarding things like religious and secular schooling, participation in extra-curricular activities (that require parental permission), medical, dental, and psychiatric care, and financial well-being. A judge will consider several factors when assigning conservatorship. These include the child’s best interest, whether there is a history of family violence, and who the child’s primary caregiver has been. Judges will also speak with children who are over the age of twelve.

A San Antonio child custody attorney will likely ask many questions about your marriage, your spouse, and your home life with your children. As upsetting as these personal questions may be to answer, they’ll allow your lawyer to collect relevant information for use during a custody hearing. Collecting this information is one of the most vital aspects of child custody cases. The judge will weigh various factors and devise what is called a “parenting plan.”

Frequently Asked Questions About Child Custody Cases in Texas

What rights do I have as a parent regarding custody?

If you are the custodial parent, you get the legal right to decide the primary residence of the child. If you are the possessory conservator or non-custodial parent, you get the legal right to spend time with the child and know the whereabouts of the child.

Though fathers do not automatically get the sole custody of a child, they can prove their paternity to gain their child custody rights. Once they prove their paternity, they can contest child custody in a family court. If the mother is married, the rights for child custody are shared between the parents until action is carried out in family court for a divorce.

What if my ex-partner and I can't agree on custody?

If you and your ex-partner cannot come to an agreement regarding your child’s custody in Texas, you need to contact child custody attorneys. An attorney can help you with mediation and fight on your behalf in family court if necessary. The lawyer also prioritizes what is best for your child’s interest.

Even if there is no formal custody order in place, both parents usually have equal responsibilities and rights to their child. However, without a custody order, there could be disagreements, confusion, and potential legal complications in the future.

What should I do if the other parent violates the custody order?

If the other parent keeps violating the custody order, you can bring an enforcement action in court to request the judge to look at the action as a contempt of court. Violating parents face fines or serve jail time depending of the gravity and recurrence of the violation. The objective is not to punish the parent but to enforce compliance in the best interests of the child.

It is up to the judge to enforce the custody orders, as the orders are civil rather than criminal. In such child custody cases, police do not have the authority to find someone in contempt of court for not following court orders.

How long does the custody process take?

If the custody case is uncontested, it could take only a couple of months or less to process. Many cases fall between these two extremes. Most parents generally settle with the help of a mediator with legal specialization. At times, it makes more sense to go to a trial on a custody matter.

Child support can be a difficult and divisive issue, particularly in cases of joint conservatorship. Judges will consider a myriad factors in determining who pays and how much. These will include the financial status of both parents and the stability of the home. They may also include considering how well the parents cooperate with each other, and how to best meet the continuing needs of the child.