Sherea Vitelli’s Legal Blog

What does joint custody mean in Texas.  It can mean different things depending on who you are speaking to.  Some people use it to indicate that the parent’s split the kids - 1 kid lives with mom and 1 kid lives with dad.  Others use it to indicate that they have week on, week off visitation - kid with mom one week, then dad the next. Whatever your interpertation, ask your attorney what the law is in your state.

The term that family law attorneys in Texas use to designate that both parents share some rights and duties to the kids is “Joint Managing Conservators - JMC.”  The person that the kid lives with is called the joint managing conservator with the right to designate the primary residence of the kid.  When you sit down with your family law attorney, we will ask you who you want to be “primary.”  The designation is important so that we as attorneys know what parent is going to have the right to visitation and what parent is going to get to enroll the child in school along with all the other job duties.

Other states may use joint custody to mean something entirely different.  It is important to talk to your attorney about the different rights and duties that joint managing conservators can share and what kind of custody arrangement a court may be likely to approve in your case.  Most courts frown upon having the kids on a week on, week off schedule because it is so hard on the kids.  It also means that if your kids are of school age, you will need to agree to reside close to the other parent and to agree to the school district that your kids are going to attend.

In any event, telling a Texas family law attorney that you want joint custody is not going to give them enough information about what you really want. Contact me here at Smith & Garg, LLC to assist you in your divorce or custody suit.