The most common misconception in Family Law is that parents have a right to see their children. They don’t.

Seeing your children is not your legal right

Family Law does not recognize any right of a parent to see a child.

It does, however, recognize that a child has a right to have both parents and other significant adults in their lives. The law believes that children benefit from having important people in their lives as role models. This works in your favor when arguing for spending time with your own children.

It’s the everyday parenting that counts

It’s tempting to want all the ‘fun’ moments with your children, but parenting is a 24/7 job and meaningful, joyful relationships with your children are built as much around the breakfast table and the before-bed routine as they are on entertaining day activities or trips away.
The Law considers that a parent’s involvement should be in all aspects of their children’s lives, both the exciting and the humdrum. The Court therefore favors orders that provide for both weekday and weekend time with each parent.

The Court considers practicality

Again, all things being equal, a child should be able to spend equal time with both parents and have them equally involved in all the different aspects of their lives.

The time the Court will order has to be reasonably practicable. For example, travelling long distances to school may be neither practical nor in the best interests of a child.

The Court considers the child’s best interests

In the same way that you as a parent only want the best for your child, the Court’s decision needs to be something which is in the child’s best interests. For example, unacceptable risks of abuse or harm to the child would outweigh the benefit the child would have from the contact with a parent.

Relatives other than parents

If, for no very good reason, grandparents or other relatives are being excluded from the child’s life, the Court recognizes that it is of benefit for a child to have that person in their life and allows Applications to be made for orders to see children by grandparents and others.

Withdrawal of the right to see your child: a last resort

As the Law does not recognize a parent’s right to spend time with the children, Courts have the power to remove a parent from the child’s life if the child’s welfare requires it. However, the underlying belief that it is good for children to have contact with both parents, means this is a measure of last resort.

Child Custody Lawyers

Child custody lawyers Gibson & Gibson can help you resolve these issues. Specializing in family law for over 25+ years, they can assist you to manage the care of your child.

When a couple has children, they add a whole new layer of complication to the already messy and confusing divorce process.  It is imperative that even if you cannot work together on any other aspect of your relationship, you remain united when dealing with all matters concerning your children.

As stressful as divorce is for the two people in a marriage, the kids feel all of it and will constantly be searching for answers about why something that causes such a disturbance in their lives is necessary.  It is you and your spouse’s jobs as parents; to work together to lessen the negative impact your choices will have on your children.  These tips will help you talk to your children about divorce and ensure that they know the decision has nothing to do with them.

One of the hardest parts of having a child involved in a divorce is telling them about it.  You and your spouse cared about your children enough to bring them into the world and the best thing you can do for them is put aside your differences long enough to tell them you are getting divorced together.  Hearing the news from both parents will help them feel less like their family is being ripped apart and will also give them an impression that no one is abandoning them, that both of you made the decision to divorce together.  They will be able to more easily understand that you are both still their parents even though you will not be living together any more.  It is also a good idea to sit down as a couple and talk about how you are going to present the news and what information you want to give the children about living situations and other details that will directly affect them.

Remember, you are the grownups and avoid the blame game around your children.  Be careful when you are talking to your children about the divorce not to blame each other for what has happened.  In some cases there is a catalyst such as cheating that is the final straw, but a single incident or person is rarely solely responsible for the dissolving of a marriage.  Try to keep you speech civil around your children and save your anger for another place and time.  No child should ever be made to feel like they need to choose one parent over another.

Once you have told your children about the divorce it is hard to predict how they will react.  There is no right or wrong way to deal with this type of information.  After you tell your children about the divorce and have assured them that their parents still love them you need to make sure you validate your words with actions.  Try to keep their routines as close to normal as possible and make sure you do not get so wrapped up in the divorce that you sacrifice quality time with them.  You should also inform other adults your children interact with like teachers, babysitters and family friends about the divorce so they can be sensitive and ready for questions your child may ask them.

Uncontested divorce resources are found here at www.EphraimLaw.com

There can be absolutely no mistaking it – divorce rates across the country are climbing at an almost unimaginable state. Some stats peg the rate of divorce at almost 50% – meaning that one in two couples will eventually be headed to divorce court. While there are any number of variables that contribute to this sharp increase – declining family values, marriages at younger ages, increase in infidelity, less social taboo of divorce, etc – we have to deal with the reality of the fact that a lot of people who say “till death do we part” will often not see the relationship last quite that far. While it’s perfectly normal for people to grow apart and decide to separate, the entire situation is further compounded by the fact that so many of these marriages end with their children trapped in the middle.

This is the uglier side of divorce, and not so surprisingly one of the biggest reasons that people stay together, even when they are unhappy. There is a mountain of responsibility that comes with becoming a parent, and most adults want nothing more than for their children to grow up in a happy and healthy home. Sometimes the reality doesn’t mesh with the dream, and parents who end up splitting are stuck in the unenviable position of having to co-parent with someone they’ve chosen to leave.

This is why parenting classes in Houston are so vitally important – all across our great state of Texas and in our city of Houston are newly divorced couples struggling with finding ways to peacefully and effectively parent their children from two different households. All sorts of things come into play here – the children will be moving back and forth from home to home, uprooted and shuffled, new relationships will form and more people will be added to the mix, and as you grow and mature separately your parenting ethos and philosophy may or may not be the same. Parenting classes in Houston can help you bridge the gap, so to speak, and make sure that even though you’ve both agreed and understand that being together isn’t the right thing, making sure your children grow up to be happy and successful is a common goal. Parenting classes in Houston can give you the kind of support and education you need to make this a certainty, and you owe it to your children to at least give it a chance.

The Texas Cooperative Parenting Course™, a parenting course online made for Texans, equips separating, divorced, or never-married parents with skills to successfully co-parent children between 2 homes. It is the only online course written by a Texas Domestic Relations Office and meets the requirements of Texas Family Code sec. 105.009. Visit us at http://www.txparent.com