Conservatorship
Conservatorship mainly refers to a party’s rights and duties relative to the child. When the parties are joint managing conservators, they will typically have pretty equal rights when it comes to making decisions affecting the child, including decisions related to invasive medical procedures, psychological/psychiatric treatment, and education. They will also have an equal right to attend school activities and speak with people in the child’s life, including teachers, doctors, etc. If, for some reason, one parent is a sole managing conservator, that parent will typically have the exclusive right to make the above-referenced decisions, and the other parent (called a “possessory conservator”) may be more limited in his or her ability to interact with the child and those involved with the child.
Possession/Access
Possession and access deals with physical possession of the child and access to the child, e.g., telephonic and/or Internet communication. Typically, one parent will be awarded the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence within a geographically-restricted area, and the other parent will have possession of the child pursuant to an agreed-upon or court-ordered schedule. This may be pursuant to a standard possession order (Thursday evenings, 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends, rotating holidays, and 30 days in the summer), or may be a different schedule altogether. Parties have tremendous flexibility in crafting a possession order that works best for them and their children.
Sometimes, in extreme circumstances, a party should only have supervised possession of the child. There are various supervised visitation options available if warranted.
Paternity
If you need to establish—or have questions about—your paternity, we can assist you. Depending on the facts, time is often of the essence when dealing with paternity issues, so call us today.
