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What Are Your Parental Rights in a Child Custody Dispute?
Even if you’re already separated or getting divorced from your child’s other parent, you still have important parental rights. These include the legal power to make decisions for your child and the relational right to stay involved in their life. The courts make decisions about custody first to protect your child’s best interests and secondarily respecting your rights as a parent. A child custody attorney in San Antonio, TX can help you understand and defend all your rights during this difficult time.
Your Parental Rights in a Child Custody Dispute
Right to Seek Custody or Visitation
You have the right to ask a court for custody or visitation with your child, and, unless there is some very good, clearly provable reason that you are unfit to be allowed contact with your child (which is very rare), the courts must arrange for this.
Custody (known as conservatorship here in Texas) can be physical, meaning your child lives with you part or all of the time, or legal, meaning you help make big decisions, like those about school or healthcare. If you aren’t named the custodial parent, you can still request visitation, which lets you spend regular time with your child. Courts encourage both parents to stay involved unless there’s a compelling reason not to, so you can fight for time with your child. If a child’s other parent is trying to deny you time with the child, you can petition the courts to intervene.
Right to Make Decisions for Your Child
Even if your child lives mostly with the other parent, you still have the right to seek joint managing conservatorship (something like “legal custody” in some states). This would mean that you share the decision-making power over important things in your child’s life. This doesn’t mean the other parent has to call you to help decide what the child eats or wears, but any decisions about education, medical care, or religious upbringing, for example, would qualify. If you have joint legal custody, the other parent must consult you before making major choices in these important areas.
For example, the other parent can’t just switch your child’s school without your input. If you feel that your child’s other parent hasn’t and doesn’t make good decisions for the child, you can talk to your lawyer about requesting that you be allowed to make these decisions alone. The courts will consider this if there’s evidence, though the default position is usually to assume that it’s best for the child for both parents to be involved in these decisions.
Right to Access Information About Your Child
You don’t lose the right to know what’s happening in your child’s life just because you and the other parent don’t live together anymore. Unless there’s a court order forbidding you to interact with your child, you should have access to school records, medical information, and other important details whenever you need.
Even if the child lives with the other parent most of the time, you can request report cards, attend parent-teacher conferences, or talk to your child’s doctor about their health. This right assures both that you stay informed and also that you can advocate for your child’s needs whenever necessary. Just bear in mind that if you’re not the primary caregiver, you may need to prove to school officials or healthcare givers that you are your child’s parent. Talk to your lawyer about the best way to do this, as these protections are in place for your child’s safety.
Right to a Fair Legal Process, Represented by a Child Custody Attorney in San Antonio. TX
You have the right to a fair hearing in any custody dispute and the right to have your own lawyer by your side. Custody can’t just be taken from you without any input on your part, unless you absolutely refuse to take part in the process. You have a right to be present at custody hearings, where you can present evidence, call witnesses, and explain why you should have custody or visitation. The courts must consider your side of the issue, and they also must focus on what’s best for your child, not just what the other parent wants. This means if you and your lawyer are able to show how what you want is in the best interests of the child, your plan is likely to be accepted.
Right to Maintain a Relationship with Your Child
You have the right to build and keep a strong bond with your child, even if you don’t live with them and even if you have to live in a different state. This means that, in addition to custody or visitation time, you can also ask for regular contact through phone calls or video chats. If you live far away, a court might set up a schedule for you to see your child during certain summers and holidays and to then also have regular virtual time with your child so you stay a meaningful part of their life.
Right to Protect Your Child’s Safety and Well-Being
As a parent, you have the right (and the duty) to step in if you believe your child isn’t safe or being well-cared for with the other parent. If you have evidence of neglect or abuse, either by the other parent or by other adults the parent is allowing into your child’s home, you can ask the court to change custody or visitation arrangements. This is more common than you might think. Sometimes, custody that’s awarded at the beginning of a divorce becomes obviously unsafe over time as the custodial parent responds to the divorce and the life changes it brings with increasing depression and possibly even addiction.
If something like this is affecting your child, talk to your lawyer about the best way to petition the court and prove there’s an issue with the current custody arrangements. Just remember that you don’t have the right to change the arrangement on your own initiative. If you suspect your child is unsafe, talk to your lawyer. If it’s an immediate concern, call 911 and let the police deal with it. Then, call your lawyer.
Right to Request Modifications to Custody Agreements
Your parental rights include the right to ask a court to update your custody or visitation plans if things change. Life isn’t static. Maybe you’ve moved closer to your child or to your child’s schools, gotten a better job, or noticed that the current setup just isn’t working for your child. Maybe the other parent has come down with a serious health issue and is really struggling to care for your child while dealing with his or her own health needs. Perhaps the other parent has remarried and brought someone new into the home and you believe this new relationship is harmful to your child. Your lawyer can file a request to modify the agreement under the right circumstances. The courts will review your request based on what’s best for your child, so talk with your lawyer about how best to prove this with solid evidence.
For help fighting for your parental rights, contact the Aida Rojas Law Firm in San Antonio now to talk with an experienced attorney.
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