Custody and Visitation Rights of Grandparents in Texas

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Law encounter, Custody and Visitation Rights of Grandparents in Texas to the immense procedure!

Houston Family Law Attorneys – The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan have represented grandparents in many cases and as we could tell you, the circumstances of each family were very different and represented just how diverse family situations are in today’s world.

While one set of grandparents may only seek visitation rights with their grandchildren, other grandparents may want to pursue custody of the grandchildren for any number of reasons. As such, our office has seen an increase in Grandparents who are interested in learning more about their rights within the context of attempting to:

1. gain conservatorship and/or
2. visitation of their grandchildren.

What follows is a blog post that details some of the more important aspects of Grandparents’ rights in the State of Texas and how they can impact you and your family.

STANDING OR THE RIGHT TO FILE A CASE

In order to even file a custody lawsuit in Texas, a potential filing party must have what is called
“standing” to do so. Standing for family law cases requires that a potential party show that they are a person who has suffered an “injury” of some sort sufficient to be able to file a lawsuit to address that injury.

Chapter 102.003 of the Texas Family Code lays out the standing requirements for filing a suit in Texas. Typically grandparents qualify as a relative of the child at issue within the third degree of consanguinity.

OVERCOMING THE PARENTAL PRESUMPTION

Divorce Houston – Once a Court determines that a Grandparent does have standing sufficient to proceed with a lawsuit there are further hurdles that must be overcome in order for a Court to rule in their favor. Texas applies a parental presumption on cases where Grandparents are attempting to assert a right to visitation or custody of a grandchild.

This presumption is that the best interest of the child is served by awarding custody to a parent or parent(s) and that it is presumed that parents act in their child’s best interest in any action that they take in relation to the child.

For those that are interested, Texas Family Code section 153.131(a) details this presumption. To be successful in an original suit, a Grandparent or other nonparent must rebut this presumption by showing that the appointment of a parent as conservator would significantly impair the child’s health or development, or that the natural parent has voluntarily relinquished the child (In re V.L.K., 24 S.W.3d 338, 341 (Texas. 2000)).

ACTUAL CARE OF THE CHILD

In order so a Grandparent may sue for primary conservatorship of their grandchildren (to allow the grandchildren to reside with them primarily and to have rights and duties to the children for educational, medical and psychiatric decisions, etc.) the grandparent needs to have had actual care, custody and control of the child for at least the previous six months before filing (Texas Family Code section 102.003(9).

Parents who relinquish their rights and physical custody of the child to the Grandparents. When the parents attempt to come back into the children’s lives and continue where they left off in terms of their parenting, some Grandparents do not willingly agree to this.

EXAMPLES #1

Family Lawyers Houston – Two clients situations come to mind that I think can go a long way towards illuminating the issues and variances between particular situations involving Grandparents rights in Texas. The first involves two grandparents whose adult son was in prison but whose daughter in law was raising the grandchildren without the involvement of our Grandparent-clients.

Initially their hope and intention was to file a lawsuit to be named a joint conservator of the grandchildren. However, after speaking with them it was determined that their best opportunity was to present a case to the Court to gain visitation with grandchildren.

Ultimately, the children’s mother and our clients negotiated a settlement in mediation which allowed for the grandparents to see the children on a monthly basis. This way the grandparents had peace of mind knowing that there would be a court order in place that allowed for them to have guaranteed time with their grandchildren.

Another positive aspect of this case (from the grandparents’ perspective) was that the children’s mother was facing criminal charges of her own and is set to stand trial later this year. The fact that these grandparents went through the effort to ensure that they have relationships with their grandchildren can show a court in the future that they have the continuing ties necessary to give them an opportunity to become conservators if neither parent can fulfill those duties.

EXAMPLE #2

Family Lawyer in Houston – The other grandparent case that sticks out in my mind is one involving a Grandmother and her two grandchildren that she had been raising on her own since the death of the children’s mother (and the Grandmother’s daughter). The grandchildren’s father was not involved in their lives and had no intent to disrupt the grandmother’s relationship or caretaking of the children.

However, the grandmother was not able to apply for benefits, health insurance, or get access to school records without being a conservator of the children under Texas law. This client hired us to negotiate directly with the children’s father and to draft an Order that named her primary conservator of the children.

Her intent was not to eliminate the father’s rights to the children- all she wanted to do was to have the legal distinction of being the primary caretaker for the two boys so that she could take steps to benefit their lives on a daily basis.

Ultimately, our office was able to work with the father on an Order that allowed our client to get her primary rights to boys while allowing him to retain his rights and duties as a dad. At the final hearing, the judge was impressed with our client’s attitude and generosity towards her grandchildren and made sure our client was aware of his admiration… Continue Reading