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What Does Conservatorship in Texas Mean?
Conservatorship defines the rights and responsibilities a parent is granted by courts in connection with his or her child(ren). Courts can grant conservatorship to either one parent or both depending on the facts of the case. As mentioned above, however, courts prefer children to have the benefit of a relationship with both parents where possible.
A conservatorship gives a parent the right to make major decisions related to the child’s life, from health to schooling, religious upbringing, extra-curricular activities, and more. It also gives a parent the right to have physical access to the child, such as having the child live with the parent or the parent having visitation rights.
Types of conservatorship
Three types of conservatorship exist that may be used by courts as follows:
- Joint managing conservatorship. This is when parents share in the rights and responsibilities of parenting their child(ren). In these cases, the courts will indicate the specific rights and responsibilities each parent has jointly and separately. For example, one parent may be designated as the “custodial” parent with whom the child will mainly live while the other parent will be granted some type of visitation rights. All other decisions may be held jointly.
- Sole managing conservatorship. This gives one parent only the right to decide life issues for the child including regarding a child’s primary residence.
- Possessory conservatorship. This is generally associated with visitation rights. It allows the parent to spend time with a child as well as gives the parent access to important information about the child. It also allows the parent to attend extracurricular activities or other events involving the child.
In the majority of cases, a joint managing conservatorship (JMC) is awarded. This gives both parents physical and legal rights to a child. Only in cases where it is viewed unsafe for a child is sole managing conservatorship awarded. This generally occurs in cases where a parent has a history of domestic violence, child neglect or abuse, substance abuse, or where a parent is incarcerated or cannot care for a child due to some circumstance.
Request a confidential consultation with a Fort Bend County child custody attorney by contacting us online or at (281) 784-3222.