Custody disputes can be traumatic for all parties involved. Not only has a marriage or relationship ended, but now everyone has to deal with the issue of child custody, which may cause even more damage for the parents and the child than the divorce.
For mothers, the issues they are faced with when it comes to child custody are ones faced by women all over the United States. As a mother, you have certain rights, but so do fathers, and depending on who wants custody of the child, the parents may end up in a dispute where the courts will ultimately decide who gets custody.
In the state of Texas, single mothers automatically have sole and physical custody when the child is born. If a mother is married at the time the child was born, then the two parents automatically have joint custody of the child, but this is only if the spouse is the biological and legal father.
Even though mothers and fathers will have joint custody when the child is born, if they are married and that marriage comes to an end, certain factors are examined to determine if custody is awarded to the mother. For example, courts may look at the mother’s employment status, finances, mental health, physical health, and relationship with the children. After these factors are examined, custody may change or stay the same depending on what is found.
Mothers have the option of receiving sole-managing conservatorship or joint-managing conservatorship. When a parent receives sole-managing conservatorship, they are the parent who gets to make all of the decisions pertaining to the child. Joint-managing conservatorship essentially means that only some of the decisions pertaining to the child are made by both parents, but one parent will still have possession of the child most of the time.
With this particular type of dispute involving children, parents are can seek the assistance of a Texas divorce attorney who may be able to guide them through their custody dispute and get them to come to an agreement about custody of their child.