In Texas, courts divide child custody issues into two different categories: conservatorship and possession and access.
Conservatorship is basically the rights and duties of the parents (i.e. to make decisions for the child regarding schooling, medical decisions, and psychiatric decisions, among many other things). Conservatorship can be done in different ways, including allowing one parent to make all the decisions (Sole Managing Conservatorship) or allowing both parents to jointly make the decisions (Joint Managing Conservatorship).
When determining the rights and duties of the parent(s), the court will decide what is in the “best interest” of the child, which takes into account a large number of factors.
Possession and access refers to when the parents have physical custody of the children or when they can visit with the children. Texas has two statutory possession and access schedules: standard and extended standard. These schedules dictate the time each parent spends with the child.
However, the parties can agree on different possession and access schedules based on their needs or the court can order a different possession and access schedule based on the best interest of the child. Learn more about Texas child custody & conservatorship here.