Raising children in Texas is not always an easy job. Parents must teach them to do many different tasks, teach them right and wrong, discipline them and make many decisions for them along the way. When parents are together, most of the time they discuss major decisions and try to come to an agreement on various choices, but disagreements still will arise.
Not all couples remain together though and some get divorced. However, raising children does not end if the couple gets divorced, but parents will be doing it from separate homes and may be less likely to work through their disagreements. That is why during the divorce, child custody determinations must be made to determine which parent or whether both parents will make the decisions for the children.
Factors used to determine custody
The custody determination will be made based on what is in the best interests of the child and a number of factors that are analyzed to determine what is in the child’s best interest. These factors include, but are not limited to: each parents contribution to the children’s upbringing during the marriage; each parents’ willingness to encourage the relationship with the other parent; the wishes of the child depending on their age; how far the parents live from each other; the parents’ ability to communicate with each other; and other factors that are relevant for determining the children’s best interest.
Custody determinations in Texas during a divorce are not easy and can be very emotional. However, they are very important decisions as they directly affect how the children will be raised after a divorce. They are also very fact-specific and unique to the circumstances of each individual family. Due to this, there are no strict rules on which parent will be awarded custody and the unique circumstances will need to be analyzed to determine custody. Experienced attorneys understand the factors used to make custody determinations and may be able to guide one through the process.