As I am sitting here listening to March Madness I thought of a few items that seem to be reoccurring themes in my family law practice. As a family law attorney you sometimes lose sight of the simple issues that people deal with daily. I will discuss a few of those ideas in the next few posts.
Today I wanted to offer a few tips on residency restrictions in Texas. A residency restriction is a court imposed limitation on where the CHILD can live. You notice that i said child. The Court cannot tell the adults where they can and cannot live, but they can limit the residence of the child. Obviously, if you are the parent with custody of the child and the court limits the residence of the child, then your residence has been effectively limited too. Your option is to stay put or let the child live with the non-custodial parent.
The state legislature has said that they want to promote the relationship between the parent who does not have custody of the child and that child. The way they accomplish this is by assuring that there is frequent contact, i.e. a residency restriction.
The Courts have determined that in Texas a residency restriction can be as large as the state or as small as a neighborhood or school district. The size of the geographical area is within the court's discretion subject to the facts that they hear at trial. In Collin County (Plano) and Dallas County the courts will typically impose the Dallas and contiguous counties (counties touching Dallas) or the Collin and contiguous counties language by default. That can be changed with the proper facts.
There is one simple way to have a residency restriction put in place if you are not the one with custody of the child, and that is to stay active in the child's life. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen cases where my client wants a residency restriction but has not been active in the child's life. I think sometimes it is simply a control issue. If you want a residency restriction in Texas, you need to show that you are active in the child's life. That can mean simply exercising the visitation that you have been awarded or attending extracurricular activities. Attend some parent-teacher conferences, take the child to the doctor occasionally. You get the point.
If you are active in the child's life then the court will protect your interests because that is the "policy" of the State of Texas.
The things listed above also apply to parents who want to remove the residency restriction in Texas. If the parent without custody is active in the child's life, then chances are good that the court will not lift the restriction. However, if there is not active involvement, and the parent wishing to move has a good reason, chances are good that the court will lift that residency restriction.
The moral to this story is simple, stay involved in your child's life or suffer the consequences when a parent wants to move out of state.
NOTE: I no longer post or maintain this blog. Please visit my new blog at www.thedallasdivorceblog.com
NOTE: I no longer post or maintain this blog. Please visit my new blog at www.thedallasdivorceblog.com
The information contained in this blog is provided for informational (and sometimes entertainment) purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. I can guarantee you that I am not covering every facet of the family code, and there may be hidden gems in the Family Code that could make or break your case based upon your specific fact situation. No recipients of content from this blog, retained client or otherwise, should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this blog without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice. ALL CASES ARE DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF THE FACTS PARTICULAR TO YOUR CASE; THEREFORE YOU NEED A LAWYER TO DISCUSS THOSE SPECIFIC FACTS. I expressly disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all of the content of this blog. Talk to a lawyer first, preferably me, it is that simple!
