2, eff. (2) "Military deployment" means the temporary transfer of a service member of the armed forces of this state or the United States serving in an active-duty status to another location in support of combat or some other military operation. (b) The following provisions govern possession of the child for vacations and certain specific holidays and supersede conflicting weekend or Thursday periods of possession. 153.6031. 270), Sec. A failure to comply with the guidelines is grounds for removal of the parenting coordinator. On request by the court, the parties, or the parties' attorneys, the parenting coordinator shall sign a statement of agreement to comply with those guidelines and submit the statement to the court on acceptance of the appointment. (g) The provisions for confidentiality of alternative dispute resolution procedures under Chapter 154, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, apply equally to the work of a parenting coordinator, as defined by Section 153.601, and to the parties and any other person who participates in the parenting coordination. 153.074. (d) If due to hardship the parties are unable to pay the fees of a parenting coordinator, and a domestic relations office or a comparable county agency is not available under Subsection (c), the court, if feasible, may appoint a person who meets the minimum qualifications prescribed by Section 153.610, including an employee of the court, to act as a parenting coordinator on a volunteer basis and without compensation. The term does not include National Guard or Reserve annual training. In this subchapter: (A) a process of alternative dispute resolution conducted in accordance with Section 153.0071 of this chapter and Chapter 154, Civil Practice and Remedies Code; or. (b) A managing conservator must be a parent, a competent adult, the Department of Family and Protective Services, or a licensed child-placing agency. September 1, 2009. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. FALSE REPORT OF CHILD ABUSE. 219), Sec. 153.314 Texas Family Code - FAM 153.314. 153.134. 153.603. (10) settling disputes regarding parenting issues and reaching a proposed joint resolution or statement of intent regarding those disputes. Designation of Conservators 820), Sec. June 18, 2005. April 20, 1995. June 17, 2011. 2, eff. In Texas, a Standard Possession Order (SPO) is a court-ordered schedule for a non-custodial parent to have possession of their child. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1, eff. Sec. Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. (a) If the conservator without the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child is ordered to military deployment, military mobilization, or temporary military duty, the court may award visitation with the child to a designated person chosen by the conservator, if the visitation is in the best interest of the child. (b) The agreed parenting plan may contain an alternative dispute resolution procedure that the parties agree to use before requesting enforcement or modification of the terms and conditions of the joint conservatorship through litigation, except in an emergency. 4, eff. 10, eff. (c) If the parties have not reached agreement on a final parenting plan on or before the 30th day before the date set for trial on the merits, a party may file with the court and serve a proposed parenting plan. 153.0071. September 1, 2007. (f) A party may at any time prior to the final mediation order file a written objection to the referral of a suit affecting the parent-child relationship to mediation on the basis of family violence having been committed by another party against the objecting party or a child who is the subject of the suit. (2) award the conservator additional periods of possession of or access to the child to compensate for the periods described by Subdivision (1). September 1, 2009. A record of the interview shall be part of the record in the case. Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. QUALIFICATIONS OF PARENTING COORDINATOR. (c) The court shall remove the parenting facilitator: (2) on the request of the parenting facilitator; (4) if the parenting facilitator ceases to satisfy the minimum qualifications required by Section 153.6101. 153.314. These standard possession order options are provided to the noncustodial parent to choose from at the time the order is being completed unless the court finds a selection is not in the best interest of the child. Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1, eff. Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. RIGHTS OF PARENT AT ALL TIMES. FACTORS FOR COURT TO CONSIDER. 1936), Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2015. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. (a) It is a rebuttable presumption that a parenting facilitator is acting in good faith if the parenting facilitator's services have been conducted as provided by this subchapter and the standard of care applicable to the professional license held by the parenting facilitator. 260), Sec. 14, eff. 1. TITLE 5. April 20, 1995. Sec. 153.317. this Standard Possession Order starts immediately and applies to all periods of possession occurring on and after the date the Court signs the Order to which the Standard Possession Order is attached. 20, Sec. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION WITH CHILD BY CONSERVATOR. Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. SUBCHAPTER D. PARENT APPOINTED AS POSSESSORY CONSERVATOR. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. September 1, 2017. September 1, 2009. The court shall specify the duties of the conservators to provide transportation to and from the transportation facilities. 1, eff. (a) Not later than the 90th day after the date a conservator without the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child who is a member of the armed services concludes the conservator's military deployment, military mobilization, or temporary military duty, the conservator may petition the court to: (1) compute the periods of possession of or access to the child to which the conservator would have otherwise been entitled during the conservator's deployment; and. EQUAL POSSESSION NOT REQUIRED. 153.315. 555), Sec. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. (a) If a written agreed parenting plan is not filed with the court, the court may render an order appointing the parents joint managing conservators only if the appointment is in the best interest of the child, considering the following factors: (1) whether the physical, psychological, or emotional needs and development of the child will benefit from the appointment of joint managing conservators; (2) the ability of the parents to give first priority to the welfare of the child and reach shared decisions in the child's best interest; (3) whether each parent can encourage and accept a positive relationship between the child and the other parent; (4) whether both parents participated in child rearing before the filing of the suit; (5) the geographical proximity of the parents' residences; (6) if the child is 12 years of age or older, the child's preference, if any, regarding the person to have the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child; and. 153.252. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. (c) The notice required to be made under Subsection (b) must be made as soon as practicable but not later than the 40th day after the date the conservator of the child begins to reside with the person or the 10th day after the date the marriage occurs, as appropriate. the child is under 3 and the noncustodial parent did not have frequent, ongoing . Sec. (c) If a court awards a conservator periods of electronic communication with a child under this section, each conservator subject to the court's order shall: (1) provide the other conservator with the e-mail address and other electronic communication access information of the child; (2) notify the other conservator of any change in the e-mail address or other electronic communication access information not later than 24 hours after the date the change takes effect; and. 4, eff. RIGHTS AND DUTIES DURING PERIOD OF POSSESSION. In ordering the terms of possession of a child under an order other than a standard possession order, the court shall be guided by the guidelines established by the standard possession order and may consider: (1) the age, developmental status, circumstances, needs, and best interest of the child; (2) the circumstances of the managing conservator and of the parent named as a possessory conservator; and. 896 (H.B. (a) The court shall order that each conservator of a child has a duty to inform the other conservator of the child in a timely manner of significant information concerning the health, education, and welfare of the child. (a) In all cases in which possession of a child by a parent is contested and the possession of the child varies from the standard possession order, including a possession order for a child under three years of age, on request by a party, the court shall state in writing the specific reasons for the variance from the standard order. September 1, 2005. September 1, 2021. This subsection does not affect the duty of a person to report abuse or neglect under Section 261.101. Sept. 1, 1997. (A) eight hours of family violence dynamics training provided by a family violence service provider; (B) 40 classroom hours of training in dispute resolution techniques in a course conducted by an alternative dispute resolution system or other dispute resolution organization approved by the court; (C) 24 classroom hours of training in the fields of family dynamics, child development, and family law; and. PUBLIC POLICY. 153.551. (8) include in the court's order provisions: (A) identifying the United States as the country of habitual residence of the child; (B) defining the basis for the court's exercise of jurisdiction; and. 3, eff. The Court ORDERS each conservator to obey this Standard Possession Order. 1113 (H.B. (b) In determining whether to take any of the measures described by Section 153.503, the court shall consider: (1) the public policies of this state described by Section 153.001(a) and the consideration of the best interest of the child under Section 153.002; (2) the risk of international abduction of the child by a parent of the child based on the court's evaluation of the risk factors described by Section 153.502; (3) any obstacles to locating, recovering, and returning the child if the child is abducted to a foreign country; and. 3, eff. (a) If the conservator with the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child is ordered to military deployment, military mobilization, or temporary military duty, the court may render a temporary order to appoint a designated person to exercise the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child during the military deployment, military mobilization, or temporary military duty in the following order of preference: (1) the conservator who does not have the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child; (2) if appointing the conservator described by Subdivision (1) is not in the child's best interest, a designated person chosen by the conservator with the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child; or. 1, eff. 20, Sec. 967 (S.B. 1228), Sec. 20, Sec. The court shall order the following general terms and conditions of possession of a child to apply without regard to the distance between the residence of a parent and the child: (1) the managing conservator shall surrender the child to the possessory conservator at the beginning of each period of the possessory conservator's possession at the residence of the managing conservator; (2) if the possessory conservator elects to begin a period of possession at the time the child's school is regularly dismissed, the managing conservator shall surrender the child to the possessory conservator at the beginning of each period of possession at the school in which the child is enrolled; (3) the possessory conservator shall be ordered to do one of the following: (A) the possessory conservator shall surrender the child to the managing conservator at the end of each period of possession at the residence of the possessory conservator; or. 787, Sec. 896 (H.B. Sept. 1, 2003. (e-1) Notwithstanding Subsections (d) and (e), a court may decline to enter a judgment on a mediated settlement agreement if the court finds: (A) a party to the agreement was a victim of family violence, and that circumstance impaired the party's ability to make decisions; or. (iii) restrict the child's ability to legally leave the country after the child reaches the age of majority because of the child's gender, nationality, or religion; (D) is included by the United States Department of State on a list of state sponsors of terrorism; (E) is a country for which the United States Department of State has issued a travel warning to United States citizens regarding travel to the country; (F) has an embassy of the United States in the country; (G) is engaged in any active military action or war, including a civil war; (H) is a party to and compliant with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction according to the most recent report on compliance issued by the United States Department of State; (I) provides for the extradition of a parental abductor and the return of the child to the United States; or. (d) This section does not preclude the parties from requesting the appointment of a parenting coordinator to resolve parental conflicts. 153.076. TCLL - FM-Chil-306 Standard Possession Order (Rev. Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. September 1, 2009. The court may order a parent not appointed as a managing or a possessory conservator to perform other parental duties, including paying child support. 9, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. If you're affected by a possession order and you'd like to learn more, please call our office at 800-929-1725 for an appointment. Sec. Summer, holidays, and special days. Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. September 1, 2009. (d) A conservator commits an offense if the conservator fails to provide notice in the manner required by Subsections (b) and (c), or Subsections (b-1) and (c-1), as applicable. Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1390, Sec. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 1113 (H.B. (D) the parent attend and complete a battering intervention and prevention program as provided by Article 42.141, Code of Criminal Procedure, or, if such a program is not available, complete a course of treatment under Section 153.010.