Prepared to Deliver Strategic Results Child Custody Lawyers

Houston Child Custody Attorney

Helping You & Your Child Thrive Post-Divorce or Separation

Texas family law cases often result in emotional issues regarding child custody. Disagreements between parents often cause turbulence and turmoil in the lives of their children, causing them to suffer the most. Even when the parents are doing their best to shield their children from the conflict, this can still occur. It is in the children's best interest to attempt to resolve disputes quickly and successfully with experienced Houston custody lawyers.

Custody issues are often one of the most contentious parts of divorces in Houston that involve children. The sophistication of divorce increases dramatically when a couple has a child together. Whether you want to work with your spouse to develop an equitable possession schedule or rely on the court to handle your case, having a Houston family lawyer you can trust is crucial.

Our experienced child custody lawyers from the Houston family law firm of Diggs & Sadler can help you protect your child's rights and best interests during your custody disputes or visitation concerns.

When looking for a family lawyer in Houston, Diggs & Sadler can provide you with the legal assistance you need. With over 125 years combined experience, our legal team is dedicated to make sure you get the help you need through this tough circumstance.

Click below to learn more about child custody in TX:

Types of Custody
How Is Custody Decided?
Interstate Property & Custody

Contact us online or via phone at (713) 766-5355 to schedule a consultation with a Houston child custody lawyer.

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Types of Custody in Houston, Texas

The result of a child custody contest will typically end with one of these general outcomes:

Joint Custody: Generally, the court in Houston, will try to appoint joint custody to both parents, meaning each will have some degree of access to the child. This doesn't necessarily mean that you and your spouse will share physical custody equally or at all, but it does mean you both have a say in certain decisions on behalf of the child.
Sole Custody: If the court grants sole custody to a parent in Houston, they then house the child and have the exclusive right to make parenting decisions for the child that parent believes in their child’s best interest. Courts have the discretion to give a parent sole custody if the other caretaker is "unfit" due to an issue such as substance abuse, accidents, child neglect, etc.

In situations where one parent houses the children, the other parent may gain visitation rights to see them. The schedule of a visitation arrangement depends on the details in a custody case.

How to Handle a Child Custody Modification in Texas

If you disagree with the outcome of your custody disputes, you can appeal the court's decision in Texas. In some custody cases, you may be able to regain custody or visitation rights to your child after exemplifying to the court that you have made optimistic adjustments to your life.

In addition, our Houston custody lawyers can help you work to modify custody, visitation, and child support agreements in certain circumstances.

How Do You File for Child Custody in Texas?

You must prove that your child lives in Texas before you can file for child custody. A child must have lived in TX for at least six consecutive months with a parent or a guardian.

You must be able to demonstrate that your child resides in Texas before filing for custody. The procedure for filing may vary depending on your situation.

Before settling child custody, you may need to resolve questions of paternity if you weren't married to the other parent. When meeting with a Houston family lawyer, they can help you prepare and execute a custody filing.

How Do Courts in Texas Determine Custody?

In any custody case, the Houston court's priority is the child's best interests. To that end, any Texas courthouse considers the following factors (among others) during custody cases:

The health of each parent (physical, mental);
The parents' previous behavior surrounding the child;
The stability of each parent's home;
The parents' conduct during the custody dispute;
Witness testimony (if any exists);
The child's preference (if they're old enough to have input on the case).

A Texas judge will consider many different factors when determining child custody and visitation.

If either parent has a history of domestic violence, convictions, or abuse, that parent may not receive legal custody. Instead, that parent may only have limited visitation with their children until the Texas court believes they no longer pose any danger to the children.

A custody attorney from Diggs & Sadler can help parents in Houston, TX, prepare for their custody case and fight for their rights as a parent in or out of the courtroom.

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A Team-Based Approach

When you hire one attorney at Diggs & Sadler, you receive the experience, knowledge and insight of our team.
Always Prepared for Trial

Our attorneys prepare for war so we can negotiate peace. We are not afraid to go to trial if it is in the client's best interest.
Strategic Representation

Each case is reviewed by our team to ensure we are crafting a case strategy that will help you achieve a satisfactory result.
We Put Clients First

At our firm, the client drives our goals. We put you and your needs first while focusing on providing a personalized approach for your unique case.

What You Should Know About Interstate Possession and Child Custody Issues in TX

When multiple states are involved in property possession and child custody, a family may need to work through a multi-step process involving courts of varying jurisdictions. For example, TX courts operate under the community property rules, but not all states divide property this way, which can make the process of dividing property across different jurisdictions much trickier.

In interstate custody cases, there is a uniform law that helps streamline the custody process. Known as the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), it establishes the following rules on jurisdiction, which can clarify some confusing points of contention during an interstate child custody case:

The jurisdiction in the child custody case goes to the child's "home state."
A child's "home state" is where he or she resided six months before the custody case being filed, as long as the parent filing, not necessarily the child, resided there for that time.
If no state fulfills this requirement, jurisdiction will go to a state where the child and at least one parent have a meaningful, evidentiary connection.
If no state fulfills either of these requirements, jurisdiction may open up to any state with a meaningful connection to the child.

These home-state connections may be challenged if the parents and child no longer live in the state or have a meaningful connection that can be determined through evidence. If this occurs, the court must evaluate a new home state to handle future conservatorship enforcement or modification cases.

When Is A Custody Trial Is Necessary?

Sometimes, it's just not possible for separating parents to agree on where their children should live. It may be necessary for a family court judge or jury to decide primary custody or managing conservatorship if parents cannot reach a consensus.

It is critical that a skilled child custody attorney in Houston, TX, represents you. If you and your spouse can't agree, the court will decide what's in your children's best interests. It is possible that your ex and you may not be happy with the result if left to a family court judge. Negotiators with years of experience, we work with your ex's attorney to come to an amicable agreement that meets your needs.

During a court-ordered mediation, you may need to go through continued negotiations and make a good-faith effort to resolve the issue. In the event that you still cannot reach an agreement during mediation, your case may need to be tried.

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Find Legal Counsel Today and Call Our Texas Family Attorney

If you are ready to meet with an experienced Houston family law attorney, Diggs & Sadler are available to assist you.

Our Texas law firm understands how strict negotiating custody of your child can be and wants to deliver the dependable, compassionate legal representation you need to handle the case confidently.

Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with a professional Houston family lawyer.

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