Through a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, usually called a SAPCR. It is the proceeding that establishes conservatorship, possession and access, child support and medical support where there is no marriage to dissolve. The standards the court applies are the same ones that apply in a divorce — being unmarried does not give you a lesser case or a lesser outcome.
Not on its own. What matters is whether a valid Acknowledgment of Paternity was executed and filed, and whether another man was the presumed father at the time of birth. And even a valid acknowledgment establishes only that you are the legal father — it does not give you a single hour of court-ordered possession. That requires an order.
Yes, and it is common. Support and possession are decided separately in Texas. It is one of the strongest practical reasons for an unmarried father to file rather than wait to be filed against.
It concerns decision-making rights over the child — education, medical care, and where the child primarily lives. It is not a statement about how time is divided. A joint managing conservatorship combined with a standard possession order is an entirely ordinary outcome, and parents who assume joint means equal time are frequently surprised.
Under Texas Family Code §156.101 you generally must show a material and substantial change in the circumstances of the child or a party since the order was rendered, and that the change you want is in the child’s best interest. A child starting school, a parent relocating, a significant change in work hours or in the child’s needs will often qualify. Disliking the order will not.
Yes, where you are seeking to change which parent has the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence. Within one year of the prior order that request ordinarily requires a supporting affidavit setting out facts showing the child’s present environment may endanger their physical health or significantly impair emotional development, or comparable grounds. It is a deliberately high bar.
File a motion for enforcement under Chapter 157. The court can order make-up possession time, hold the other parent in contempt, and award attorney’s fees. Success depends almost entirely on specificity, so keep a contemporaneous log of each missed or denied period and keep communication in one written channel. Do not respond by withholding the child or support — that turns your case into a defensive one.
If your order contains a geographic restriction, yes — moving the child beyond it without a court order or written agreement is a violation, and there are real remedies. Act quickly; every week the child is settled somewhere new strengthens the other side. If you have no order at all, your position is much weaker, which is the best argument for getting one.
In defined circumstances, yes, but the standing rules in Texas are specific and demanding, and a general answer will mislead you. Bring the facts — who the child has lived with, for how long, and what has changed — and it can be assessed properly in a single meeting.
No. A child aged 12 or older may tell the judge their preference in chambers under Texas Family Code §153.009, and judges give it real weight, but the decision remains the court’s. A child is never asked to make the choice.
Yes. Guideline support is calculated on net resources under Texas Family Code §154.125, and §156.401 sets out the grounds for modifying it — generally a material and substantial change, or the passage of three years combined with a sufficient difference between the current order and the guideline amount. Support does not adjust itself when income changes; it takes an order.
Collin County courts routinely order mediation before a contested final hearing, and most cases settle there. It is worth approaching seriously rather than as a formality — an agreement you help write is almost always better suited to your family than an order imposed after a hearing.
A Short Conversation Usually Answers It
Most people leave a first consultation knowing whether they have a case, what it would involve, and what it would cost. Lisa G. Garza has practised Texas family law for more than 30 years.