The Texas Family Code contains the laws and statutes about domestic relations. Specific laws about child custody are found in Chapter 153 of the code. Parents need to know these laws to get a Texas parenting plan accepted by the court.

The state of Texas includes a law that encourages parents to work together on their Texas custody agreement. Chapter 153.007 includes the information about an agreed plan. A mother and father should try to collaborate on an agreement and if they are able to make one they can submit it together to the court. Unless the court finds that the agreement isn’t in the best interest of the child (this is a rare occurrence) the court will accept it.

Texas custody laws are in place to: assure that children have frequent and continuing contact with both parents; provide a safe, stable, and nonviolent environment for the child; encourage parents to share in the rights and responsibilities of raising the child after they have divorced or separated; and to never connect the right of visitation with the requirement to pay child support. These are important things to think about for a Texas custody schedule. The schedule should give the child frequent and continuing contact with both parents. A Texas visitation schedule must give both the parents opportunities to help raise the child and fulfill important parental obligations.

Section 153.002 of the law states that every custody decision made in the state must be done in the best interest of the child. The factors that the court considers when determining what is in the child’s best interest are: whether the needs and development of the child will be fulfilled by joint custody, the ability of the parents to put the child’s welfare first and reach shared decisions that benefit the child, whether each parent can encourage the child to develop a relationship with the other parent, the geographic proximity of the parents’ residences, the child’s preference, and any other factor.