Texas custody help

Texas Custody Agreement Help for Parents

Most Texas orders are built on the Standard Possession Order in Chapter 153 of the Texas Family Code, then changed by whatever the parents agreed or the judge ordered. Knowing the default makes it much easier to spot what your own order changed.

Texas guides on this site

Start with the guide that matches the paragraph you're trying to read.

Texas parenting plan guideA plain-English guide to Texas parenting-plan sections. Texas relocation clause custodyWhat to check before a move becomes a bigger dispute. Child custody order not being followedSteps for documenting noncompliance. Child support income change agreementWhat to review when income changes affect support language.

How the Texas default schedule works

If your order says the parents follow the Standard Possession Order, these are the default terms. Your order can change any of them, so check the actual paragraph before relying on this list.

  1. Weekends and Thursdays. When parents live 100 miles apart or less, the parent with possession time gets the 1st, 3rd and 5th weekends of each month (6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Sunday) and Thursday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. during the school year. (Tex. Fam. Code § 153.312)
  2. Summer notice by April 1. That parent can pick 30 days of summer time by giving written notice by April 1. Without notice, the default is July 1 to July 31. For parents more than 100 miles apart it becomes 42 days, defaulting to June 15 to July 27. (§§ 153.312, 153.313)
  3. Holidays alternate by year. Thanksgiving and the two halves of the Christmas break (split at noon on December 28) switch between parents in even and odd years, whatever the distance. (§ 153.314)
  4. Where the child can live. Joint managing conservator orders usually either set a geographic area for the child's primary residence or say there is no geographic restriction. That one sentence controls most Texas move questions. (§ 153.133)
  5. A child's wishes. On a party's request in a nonjury hearing, the judge must interview a child 12 or older in chambers about primary residence, and may interview a younger child. (§ 153.009)

Source: Texas Family Code, Chapter 153. Checked September 2026. Laws change; confirm the current text or ask a family-law attorney licensed in Texas. Educational only, not legal advice.