Joint Custody of Children

When parents get divorced, it can have a number of detrimental effects on the children, depending on their age. Until a child is 6, he will probably feel abandoned and at fault. If parents get divorced when a child is 7-12, she will likely be sad and angry, as well as feel like she has to “pick sides.” During the teen years, divorce can spell retreat from the family and withdrawal.

Therefore, to keep the child's life as normal as possible, most parents decide to share joint custody of the offspring. Of course, there are extenuating circumstances that come into play, such as who typically takes the most care of the child, and who is most capable of continuing to care for the child, but Texas courts often want to give joint conservatorship to both of the parents.

Options for Joint Custody

Although getting a divorce may make you want to get as far as possible from your ex-spouse, you may want to reconsider this desire for the sake of continuing joint custody. Sometimes, a child cannot go live with a parent in one state if the other parent is located in a different state. It can be important to check the legally binding agreements you made upon your divorce.

To keep both parents as involved in the child's life as possible, you might want to live fairly close to each other. If parents are in the same city, they can trade off having the child on weekends. However, one idea is to actually live in the same school district. Thus, your child is near his or her friends and other parent if something comes up in your schedule. Also, one parent can have custody during the first part of the week, and other for the second part of the week, without having to move the child very far away from the school.

Of course, sometimes this is not possible. When parents live in different parts of the state, the child may spend the majority of his or her time with one parent while they go to school and take some long trips to the other parent during the summer. Additionally, it is important to divide up the holiday schedule if both parents have custody.

Contact Us

Going through a divorce can be hard on both the parents and the children. To help things run more smoothly, you may want to get experienced legal counsel. For more information on joint custody and other divorce-related topics, contact the knowledgeable Frisco divorce lawyers at the law firm of Alexander & Associates by calling 972-420-6570 today.