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Texas Child Visitation Guidelines


A Short Introduction to Texas Child Visitation Guidelines

The Texas court respects the right that a child holds to be in regular contact with both of their parents, as well as a parent’s rights to be contact with their parent, knowing full well the great amount of good this regular contact can do both parties. It is for this reason that the court has created a Standard Possession Order to offer as Texas child visitation guidelines. These are the court’s recommendations for visitation, arrived at by extensive consultation and research.

Remember that Texas child visitation guidelines are never more than that—guidelines—and that, especially as a child grows older and becomes more active, it will be harder to keep to anything like a strict schedule. However the Texas child visitation guidelines can be helpful in indicating to parents what the visitation agreements resemble for thousands of families across the state.

Texas Child Visitation Guidelines in Normal Circumstances

Only some families meet normal circumstances because of the factors in the two parents separation or the current location of one of the parents. However, if you live within 100 miles of the other parent of your child and both of you retain visitational rights, without any depletion due to abuse charges or the like, then these Texas child visitation guidelines likely apply to you.

Texas child visitation guidelines advise the following visits take place

• One visit beginning at 6 P.M. on the first, third, and fifth Friday of every month and ending at 6 P.M. on the subsequent Sunday. 

• One visit each Thursday beginning at 6:00 P.M. and going for two hours until 8:00 P.M. The particular weekday of this meeting can be easily changed.

• The non-custody parent will have custody of the child during spring break from school in even years, the custody parent in odd year, with spring break defined as beginning at 6:00 P.M. on the last day of school and going until 6:00 P.M. on the day prior to the start of school.

• The non-custody parent will have custody of the child for up to 30 days during summer vacation, provided that they alert the custody parent of which days they’d like the child no later than April 1. The 30 days may be experienced in one or two blocks, but no more than two blocks. If the non-custody parent fails to specify a time, then it will be deemed from 6:00 P.M. on July 1 until 6:00 P.M. on July 31. In addition, during the 30 day period the custody parent may have visitational rights with the child for one weekend beginning at 6:00 P.M. Friday and ending at the same time on Sunday.

• As for holidays, the non-custody parent may have visitational rights during Christmas school vacation from the time school is let out (or 6:00 P.M. of that day) until noon on December 26 in even numbered years, and then in odd years the non-custody parent may have rights beginning at noon on December 26th and going until January 1st. Other holidays are split up and divided among the two parents.

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