Austin Sole Custody Lawyer
Texas law expects parents to share the major decisions about their children, and for many families that works. When the other parent’s conduct makes shared decision-making unsafe or unworkable, you can ask a court for something different. What most people call sole custody, Texas calls sole managing conservatorship, which gives one parent the exclusive right to make the major decisions in a child’s life. An Austin sole custody lawyer can help you understand what a court will need to see before it names one parent to that role. WSM Law represents women exclusively in divorce, custody, and family law matters. Call (512) 598-6745 or contact us to schedule a free consultation.
What Is Sole Managing Conservatorship in Texas?
A conservator is a person the court gives legal rights and duties for a child. Under Section 153.005 of the Texas Family Code, a court may appoint one parent as sole managing conservator or both parents as joint managing conservators, and it must appoint at least one managing conservator when the parents are separated or will be.
The difference is decision-making power, not a count of nights. Joint managing conservatorship does not require equal time with the child. When one parent is named sole managing conservator, the court may appoint the other parent as a possessory conservator, a parent who has scheduled time with the child without the managing rights.
Unless the court order limits them, Section 153.132 gives a parent appointed sole managing conservator exclusive rights that include:
- Designating the child’s primary residence
- Consenting to medical, dental, and surgical treatment involving invasive procedures
- Making decisions about the child’s education
- Representing the child in legal actions and making other decisions of substantial legal significance
- Receiving child support payments for the child
- Applying for, renewing, and keeping the child’s passport
Any limit on those rights will appear in the written order itself, so reading the final order line by line matters as much as knowing the statute.
How Do Austin Courts Decide Whether to Name a Sole Managing Conservator?
The child’s best interest is always the court’s primary consideration, a rule set by Section 153.002 of the Texas Family Code. Texas then adds a starting point. Section 153.131 creates a rebuttable presumption that naming both parents joint managing conservators is in the child’s best interest. A rebuttable presumption is a legal starting point that stands unless the evidence overcomes it.
Evidence of violence, abuse, or neglect changes that analysis:
| What the evidence shows | How it affects the case |
|---|---|
| A finding of a history of family violence involving the parents | Removes the presumption that joint managing conservatorship is in the child’s best interest |
| Credible evidence of a history or pattern of child neglect, or physical or sexual abuse, by one parent against the other parent, a spouse, or a child | Under Section 153.004, bars joint managing conservatorship and creates a rebuttable presumption that naming that parent sole managing conservator is not in the child’s best interest |
| A history or pattern of family violence, child abuse, or child neglect, or a final protective order against a party, before or during the case | Must be considered when the court chooses a managing conservator |
Texas law also requires the court to weigh each parent’s qualifications without regard to the parent’s sex or marital status, so the outcome turns on evidence rather than assumptions about which parent belongs with a child.
Local families also have a resource in the Travis County Domestic Relations Office, which offers family court services, a cooperative parenting program, and child support enforcement.
At WSM Law, we help mothers keep records in a way that will be useful to the court. In a request for sole managing conservatorship, credible evidence is what moves a judge off the joint conservatorship presumption.
Can a Sole Managing Conservatorship Order Be Changed Later?
Yes. Under Section 156.101 of the Texas Family Code, a court may modify a conservatorship order if the change would be in the child’s best interest and one of these grounds applies:
- The circumstances of the child, a conservator, or another party affected by the order have materially and substantially changed since the order
- The child is at least 12 years old and has told the judge in chambers, the judge’s private office, which person the child prefers to have the right to designate the child’s primary residence
- The parent with the right to designate the primary residence has voluntarily given the child’s primary care to someone else for at least six months, a ground that does not apply during military deployment, mobilization, or temporary military duty
A parent asking to change a sole managing conservatorship order still has to show why the change serves the child now, not only that life has moved on. Our Austin child custody lawyers handle these requests from both directions, whether a mother is protecting an order she won or seeking one that reflects new facts. If a parent’s move out of Texas is driving the change, our Austin interstate custody lawyers can address the jurisdiction questions as well.
Talk With an Austin Sole Custody Lawyer at WSM Law
If you are weighing a request for sole managing conservatorship, you are likely worrying about your child’s safety along with the weight of the case itself. You should not have to face both without a plan.
At WSM Law, our attorneys teach clients the law, act as their guide, and advocate for them in every hearing and settlement negotiation. That approach puts you in control of the decisions that shape your child’s future.
Call (512) 598-6745 or contact us to schedule a free consultation with an Austin sole custody lawyer who will look at your facts the way a court will.
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- What the process looks like in your state and a general timeline
- What your case is likely to cost at each stage
- What you can do right now to protect your finances and your children
- What your strongest path forward looks like
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