How to win full custody in a Dallas court

Dallas, TX – If you’re going through a divorce, you may have your reasons to want full custody of the children, but you’ll have to convince the family court judge this is best for your children’s well-being. And it won’t be easy.

The first thing you need is a crash course in legalese. There is no such thing as ‘full custody’ in the Texas family code. If by full custody, you mean you want the children to live with you, that’s called “possessory conservatorship”. Or, if you refer to legal custody or who decides on important matters concerning the child, that’s “managing conservatorship”. Or you can get seasoned Dallas child custody lawyers and let them put everything in legal form with the correct terms.

However, you need to understand that getting your ex out of the picture is very hard and you need solid reasons. Under Texas laws, both mother and father should play some role in the child’s life after the divorce, to ensure the kid’s mental and emotional well-being.

Reasons to file for full custody

If you want to limit the role your ex will play in the child’s life your Dallas divorce lawyers will have to convince the judge that the kid’s safety may be at risk if they’re left in the other parent’s care. Your lawyers will have to present

• The child’s specific needs

• Any history of abusive behavior towards you or the child

• Any history of neglect of the child

• Any history of violence against you or the child.

To prove such accusations, your attorneys can use medical records related to any injury the child suffered as a result of abuse or neglect, police reports concerning domestic violence incidents, as well as testimony from people who witnessed such incidents.

You need to be aware that even if you get “possessory conservatorship” or full custody, the other parent may still get supervised visitation rights. Under such an arrangement, the other parent may not get overnight stays, but they will get to see the kid regularly. The court will decide who should supervise the visits to make sure the child is safe. You may be named as supervisor, but, to avoid conflict, the judge may appoint a social worker or another adult for the job.

Reasons to terminate parental rights in Texas

The only way to cut your ex out of the child’s life is to file for termination of their parental rights. This will be much harder than getting full custody. There is only a handful of reasons a judge will take such drastic action, including:

• Abandonment of the child

• Endangerment of the child

• Causing serious injury or death to a child

• Committing certain criminal offenses

• Engaging in certain forms of substance abuse

• Having their parental rights to another child terminated because of endangerment.

If it’s the father seeking to terminate the mother’s parental rights there’s another reason you can use, exposing the child to alcohol or illegal drugs while in the womb. For that, your lawyers will have to document that the mother consumed large quantities of alcohol or did drugs while pregnant. At the same time, your lawyers will need medical records showing the baby was born with drugs or alcohol in its system, experienced withdrawal symptoms, or there are observable or harmful effects in the child’s physical appearance or functioning.

Before filing for either full custody or termination, seek counsel from a seasoned lawyer. If you cannot prove your ex is an unfit parent, it’s best not to try anything. You may appear unreasonable or vindictive and the family court judge will hold it against you.