{"id":1448,"date":"2019-03-20T19:37:33","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T19:37:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/?p=1448"},"modified":"2024-02-19T07:17:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T07:17:48","slug":"what-exactly-are-the-childs-best-interests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/what-exactly-are-the-childs-best-interests\/","title":{"rendered":"What Exactly Are the Child&#8217;s Best Interests?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start fusion-flex-content-wrap\" style=\"max-width:1216.8px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:0px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1451 size-medium\" title=\"What Exactly Are the Child's Best Interests? Houston TX Attorney\" src=\"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Parental-Kidnapping-in-Texas-Child-Custody-Lawyer-Houston-TX-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"What Exactly Are the Child's Best Interests? Houston TX Attorney\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Parental-Kidnapping-in-Texas-Child-Custody-Lawyer-Houston-TX-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Parental-Kidnapping-in-Texas-Child-Custody-Lawyer-Houston-TX-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Parental-Kidnapping-in-Texas-Child-Custody-Lawyer-Houston-TX-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Parental-Kidnapping-in-Texas-Child-Custody-Lawyer-Houston-TX-595xh.jpg 595w, https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Parental-Kidnapping-in-Texas-Child-Custody-Lawyer-Houston-TX-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Parental-Kidnapping-in-Texas-Child-Custody-Lawyer-Houston-TX-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Parental-Kidnapping-in-Texas-Child-Custody-Lawyer-Houston-TX-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Parental-Kidnapping-in-Texas-Child-Custody-Lawyer-Houston-TX.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>As a divorcing parent, you may have heard that the court will determine what\u2019s in \u201cthe child\u2019s best interests\u201d when deciding on custody arrangements. Although this sounds ideal, it\u2019s a very vague phrase. What does it even mean? Here\u2019s more about \u201cthe child\u2019s best interests\u201d and what that phrase means in a Texas court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What Does \u201cThe Child\u2019s Best Interests\u201d Mean?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When a Texas judge is trying to decide what is in the best interest of a child, he or she takes several factors into consideration. The judge will consider the:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emotional and physical needs of the child,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ability of each parent to care for the child,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stability of each parent and the home he or she provides, and <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Future plans each parent has for the child.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The judge may also consider any past incidents where the child has been harmed at the hands of or while in the care of one of the parents. In cases where the child is 12-years-old or older, the judge may also take into account the child\u2019s opinion or preference regarding residence. Although the judge investigates each case to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the child, the court\u2019s main goal is for the child to have relationships with both parents if appropriate. The state firmly believes that children benefit from having healthy relationships with both parents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What Specifically Does the Judge Decide?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The judge considers \u201cthe child\u2019s best interests\u201d to determine the responsibilities of each parent and the best living arrangements for the child. At this time, the judge must decide which parents have possession and conservatorship. Possession means the child will stay with you for a period of time, and conservatorship means that you are able to make decisions regarding the health and wellbeing of your child. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With both possession and conservatorship, the judge may decide for either one or both parents to be a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sole conservator, or joint<\/span><\/i> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">conservators<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If only one parent makes decisions regarding the health and wellbeing of your child, he or she is referred to as the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sole conservator<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. However, if both parents make decisions regarding the health and wellbeing of your child, they are called <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">joint conservators<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Ask Us Your Texas Custody Questions<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Alsandor Law Firm, we are happy to answer any questions you may have about the custody process in Texas and how it may impact you. Give us a call today at (713) 661-9783 to speak with one of our experienced attorneys or schedule an in-person meeting. You can also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/contact-us\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">contact us online<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1448"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2157,"href":"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448\/revisions\/2157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alsandorlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}