Divorce and Child Custody Glossary of Terms for Texas Families

The response the respondent is required to file within a certain amount of time after the respondent is served with the petition

The amount a court requires an obligor conservator to pay to an obligee conservator for the support of a child. Child support is ordered based on a percentage of the first $9,200 of the obligor conservator’s monthly net resources. The percentage is determined based on the number of children the obligor conservator has and typically does not exceed 40% of the obligor conservator’s monthly net resources. Child support must usually be paid until the child is 18 years old or, if enrolled in high school, has graduated high school, whichever is later.

Community property consists of all property acquired during the marriage other than separate property. Community property makes up the marital estate which must be divided between the spouses in a divorce. There is a legal presumption that all property owned or possessed during the marriage is community property unless proven to be separate property by clear and convincing evidence.

In the family law context, conservatorship is the result of one or more parties being appointed to assume legal guardianship over a child. A conservator is a person to whom conservatorship is granted and who assumes legal guardianship over a child. Conservatorship may be joint, sole, or possessory, and the rights and duties granted to each conservator are often influenced by the type of conservatorship awarded.

A divorce is a lawsuit initiated to divide assets of a marital estate between spouses when one or both spouses decide to terminate the marital relationship. If there is a child born during the marriage, then the determinations that would be made in a SAPCR will also be made within the divorce.

Joint Managing Conservatorship is the result of two or more parties being appointed as Joint Managing Conservators to jointly assume legal guardianship over a child. It’s a rebuttable presumption that appointing the parents as Joint Managing Conservators is in the best interest of the child. Generally, Joint Managing Conservators share in most of the rights and duties with regard to the child and how the child is raised and cared for. The main differences between JMCs are usually (1) only one JMC is awarded the exclusive right to designate the primary residence of the child; and (2) only one JMC is awarded child support.

The obligor is the conservator ordered to pay child support and/or cash medical support to another conservator.

The obligee is the conservator receiving child support.

A partition and exchange agreement is an agreement entered into between spouses during their marriage that dictates the characterization of community property and separate property. A partition and exchange agreement can override the statutory rules that normally apply when characterizing property as community or separate.

The petition is the first pleading filed with the court to initiate a case.

The petitioner is the party who initiates the case by filing a petition with the court.

A possession order is usually included in a divorce decree or other final order and lays out terms and conditions for the parties’ possession of and access to a child. The terms of a possession order vary from case to case, but the most common type of possession order is the standard possession order.

Possessory Conservatorship is the result of one party being appointed as Possessory Conservator to assume limited legal guardianship over a child. When one party is appointed Possessory Conservator, the other is appointed as Sole Managing Conservator. A Possessory Conservator’s rights and duties may be more limited than in other types of conservatorships.

A premarital agreement is a type of marital property agreement entered into between two soon-to-be spouses prior to marriage that dictates the characterization of community property and separate property during marriage. A premarital agreement can override the statutory rules that normally apply when characterizing property as community or separate. Premarital agreements are Texas’s version of what are commonly known as prenuptial agreements.

The respondent is the party against whom the petitioner files for a divorce or SAPCR.

When you hear the phrase “rights and duties” within the family law context, it usually refers to the various rights and duties awarded to each conservator. Examples include the right to access a child’s school and medical records, the right to make medical decisions for a child, the duty to inform the other conservator of significant information concerning the child, the right to direct the moral and religious training of the child, etc. The court will require some of the various rights and duties awarded to each conservator to be exercised independently, exclusively, or subject to the other conservator’s agreement.

Separate property consists of the property owned by a spouse prior to marriage, the property acquired by a spouse during marriage by gift or inheritance, and the recovery for personal injuries sustained by the spouse during marriage.

In the family law context, Sole Managing Conservatorship is the result of one party being appointed as Sole Managing Conservator to assume legal guardianship over a child. Often, but not always, many of the rights and duties in a Sole Managing Conservatorship are given exclusively to the person appointed as Sole Managing Conservator.

Spousal maintenance is payment by one spouse to temporarily support the other spouse during and/or after their divorce. Spousal maintenance is meant to help rehabilitate a spouse whose ability to support himself or herself has declined over the years while he or she tended to homemaking and whose assets are insufficient to provide for his or her minimum reasonable needs. There are several situations for which spousal maintenance may be awarded if the spouse seeking maintenance meets certain requirements. If a spouse is determined to be eligible for postdivorce spousal maintenance, several factors are considered in determining the amount, duration, and manner of the spousal maintenance payments. Depending on how long the spouses were married, spousal maintenance may be awarded for up to ten years. Spousal maintenance is Texas’s version of what is commonly known as alimony.

A standard possession order grants one party possession of a child on the first, third, and fifth weekends of the month, Thursday evenings during the school year, 30 days in the summer, and alternating spring breaks and holidays. In a Joint Managing Conservatorship, a standard possession order is usually granted to the conservator who does not have the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence.

A court’s standing order governs the use of assets and prohibits certain activities by spouses or parents in a divorce or SAPCR while the case is pending. Standing orders vary from county to county, but all are meant to preserve the status quo to the extent possible until completion of the case. The standing order automatically applies the moment a divorce or SAPCR case is started.

A SAPCR is a type of lawsuit initiated to determine conservatorship, possession, access, and child support for a child. This typically involves parents who have a child but are not married but can also involve grandparents or others who have a relationship with the child and meet certain minimum requirements.

A suit to modify the parent-child relationship is a lawsuit brought by one conservator of a child, or someone requesting conservatorship, against the other conservator of a child to modify conservatorship, possession, access, or child support ordered in a previous divorce or SAPCR.

Temporary orders are orders put in place for the duration of a pending divorce or SAPCR. They dictate the use of marital property, including who may live in the marital home while a divorce is pending. If children are involved, temporary orders also dictate the parents’ possession schedules.