You’ve filed for divorce—or you’re about to. And if you have kids, you already know that’s the part that matters most. More than the house, more than the bank accounts. What happens to your children, where they live, how much time each parent gets, and who pays what—those are the questions that keep parents up at night.
First, Forget the Word “Custody”—Texas Does Things Differently
Most people come in talking about “custody” and “visitation.” Texas family law uses different terms, and knowing them matters because they mean specific things in court.
In Texas, what most people call custody is called conservatorship. It refers to your legal rights and responsibilities as a parent—things like the right to make decisions about your child’s education, healthcare, and religious upbringing. Visitation—the actual time each parent physically spends with the child—is called possession and access.
These are two separate things, and it’s important not to confuse them. You can share conservatorship equally with your ex-spouse while still having a schedule where your child lives primarily with one parent.
Conservatorship: Who Makes the Decisions?
There are two types of conservatorship in Texas:
Joint Managing Conservatorship is the default in Texas—courts order it in roughly 90% of cases. It means both parents share the rights to make major decisions for the child. That includes decisions about schooling, medical treatment, and religious upbringing. It does not automatically mean the child spends equal time with each parent. Those are two different things.
Sole Managing Conservatorship is ordered when one parent is not suited for joint conservatorship—typically in situations involving a history of family violence, abuse, neglect, or serious instability. This gives one parent the exclusive right to make the major decisions for the child. The other parent is named a Possessory Conservator, which means they still have the right to spend time with the child, but they don’t share in the major decision-making.
Courts in Collin County place the child’s best interest above everything else when making these determinations. Factors they consider include each parent’s stability, the child’s relationship with each parent, each parent’s ability to provide a safe and nurturing environment, and—if the child is old enough—the child’s own preferences.
Possession Orders: Who Has the Kids and When?
Once conservatorship is settled, the court establishes a Possession Order—essentially a detailed calendar spelling out when each parent has the child. Think of it as the official schedule both parents are legally required to follow.
For most families in Texas, the default starting point is the Standard Possession Order (SPO). It was designed to create consistency and keep both parents meaningfully involved in the child’s life. For parents living within 50 miles of each other, the noncustodial parent typically gets:
- The first, third, and fifth weekends of each month
- Thursday evenings during the school year
- Extended time in the summer
- Alternating holidays
Under Texas’s Expanded Standard Possession Order—which applies in most Collin County cases—the noncustodial parent ends up with roughly 46 to 48 percent of the year, or about 160 to 175 overnight visits annually. That’s significantly more time than many parents expect.
Parents who live more than 50 miles apart operate under a different schedule, with longer but less frequent visits to reduce the burden of travel on the child.
The SPO is a starting point, not a rule written in stone. Parents can agree to a customized schedule that works better for their specific family, school district, work schedules, and the child’s activities—and a judge will typically approve it as long as it serves the child’s best interest. This is one area where having an attorney genuinely helps. A well-drafted, customized possession order prevents a lot of future conflict. A vague one creates it.
Child Support: How Is It Calculated?
Child support in Texas is not a negotiation between the parents—it’s a formula set by state law. The court calculates it based on the paying parent’s net monthly resources, then applies a percentage based on how many children need support:
- 1 child: 20%
- 2 children: 25%
- 3 children: 30%
- 4 children: 35%
- 5 or more children: 40%
“Net resources” is not the same as take-home pay. The court starts with all income—wages, bonuses, commissions, rental income, self-employment income—and subtracts federal income taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes, the cost of health and dental insurance for the children, and union dues if applicable. Voluntary deductions like a 401(k) contribution or a car payment do not reduce the calculation.
As of September 2025, these percentages apply to the first $11,700 per month in net resources. That’s the cap—meaning if the paying parent earns more than that, the guideline amount maxes out at $2,340 per month for one child, $2,925 for two, and so on, unless the receiving parent can demonstrate the child has specific proven needs that justify more.
One thing that surprises a lot of parents: a 50/50 possession schedule does not automatically mean zero child support. Even if time is split equally, the parent with higher income may still owe support. The formula drives the number, not the calendar.
In addition to monthly support, the order will typically address which parent carries the child on their health and dental insurance, and how uninsured medical expenses get split between the parents.
Can You Agree on Your Own Terms?
Yes—and when it’s possible, it’s almost always better for everyone, especially the kids. If you and your spouse can reach a genuine agreement on conservatorship, possession, and child support before your case goes to a judge, the court will generally approve it as long as it’s in the child’s best interest and doesn’t violate state law.
That said, agreeing on paper is one thing. Making sure that agreement is worded correctly, covers every possible scenario, and holds up legally is another. Parents who draft their own possession orders or support agreements without legal guidance frequently discover gaps later—situations the order didn’t address, ambiguous language that leads to disputes, or calculations that weren’t done correctly. Fixing those mistakes requires going back to court, which costs more time and money than getting it right the first time.
What If You Can’t Agree?
That’s where a divorce and custody attorney becomes essential, not optional. If you and your spouse disagree on where your child will live, how much time each parent gets, or what the support amount should be, a judge will decide. And judges in Collin County follow the law—they don’t know your child, your family’s routines, or what actually makes sense for your specific situation. Your attorney does.
A good family law attorney doesn’t just show up at the hearing. They help you understand what the court is likely to order, work toward a negotiated resolution before it ever gets to a judge, and make sure your position is presented clearly and completely if it does go before the court. In cases where parents genuinely can’t agree, mediation is often ordered—and having an experienced attorney guiding you through that process makes a real difference in the outcome.
The Bottom Line for Parents
Your kids are going to be okay. And so are you. But the orders that come out of your divorce—the custody arrangement, the possession schedule, the support amount—are documents you and your children will live with for years. Getting them right matters enormously.
Go into this process informed. Understand what the court is looking at. Know your rights. And get proper legal guidance so that when this chapter closes, it closes on terms that actually work for your family.