Navigating a Texas Divorce with Children: The Role of SAPCRs
In Texas, a divorce dissolves the marriage between spouses, divides their community estate, and confirms each spouse’s separate estate. When a married couple with a child seeks a divorce, the Family Code requires them to include a suit affecting the parent-child relationship (a “SAPCR”), which determines the parties’ rights and responsibilities to the child, in their dissolution suit. Therefore, Texas parents considering divorce should understand how SAPCRs impact custody, visitation, and support since the court’s decisions will shape their parental rights, financial obligations, and their child’s well-being for years after the divorce.
What Is a SAPCR?
A SAPCR is a legal case that establishes parental rights and duties concerning a child. It can be initiated as part of a divorce or as a standalone case—e.g., if the parents were never married. Typically, a SAPCR helps create legally enforceable orders regarding the following issues:
Conservatorship (Custody) – Who has the legal right to make decisions regarding the child’s upbringing?
Possession and Access (Visitation) – How will time with the child be divided between the parents?
Child Support – Who will provide financial support for the child, and how much?
Medical and Dental Support – Who will provide health insurance and cover medical expenses for the child?
Conservatorship (Custody)
Texas law does not use the term “custody” in SAPCR proceedings. Instead, it refers to conservatorship, which defines the rights and responsibilities of each parent to their child. In a SAPCR, the court may appoint two types of conservators—managing and possessory conservators. Further, Texas law distinguishes between two types of managing conservators: sole and joint.
Sole Managing Conservatorship – One parent has certain exclusive rights over major decisions affecting the child’s life, such as education and medical care.
Joint Managing Conservatorship – Texas law presumes that both parents should share parental rights and duties, even if the court awards the exclusive right to make certain decisions to one party.
Possessory Conservator – A parent with the right to possession of the child at specified times but does not share in the decision-making authority granted to a managing conservator.
The Family Code provides conservators with several default rights and duties for a child. A court may limit or expand these default rights and duties if doing so would be in the child’s best interest.
Possession and Access (Visitation)
After deciding on conservatorship, the court must set a possession schedule outlining each parent’s time with the child. In most SAPCR cases, the court will issue a standard possession order (a “SPO”) that divides the child’s time between the parents. For children who are three or older, Texas law presumes the SPO is in the child’s best interest and provides a parent named as a joint managing conservator or possessory conservator with reasonable minimum possession. While the SPO sets the default periods of possession, the parties may have possession of the child at times mutually agreed to in advance, even if the parties’ agreement deviates from the SPO.
A parent can ask the court to restrict or deny a conservator’s possession or access if necessary to protect the child’s best interest—such as in cases involving family violence or substance abuse. The court must limit its restrictions or denials of possession or access to what is necessary to protect the child’s best interest.
Child, Medical, and Dental Support Obligations
In a SAPCR, a court may grant an order requiring one or both parents to support a child financially. In Texas, the Family Code establishes child support guidelines to help courts determine an equitable amount of child support. An order of child support that conforms to those guidelines is presumed to be in the child’s best interests. However, the court may adjust child support if applying the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate based on the child’s needs and the parents’ circumstances.
Child support is typically calculated as a percentage of the paying parent’s net resources. Under the Family Code, “net resources” refers to a parent’s income from all sources—such as wages, bonuses, and self-employment earnings—minus certain allowable deductions like taxes and union dues. The percentage used to calculate child support depends on the number of children the paying parent is obligated to support and whether those children live in one or more households.
The types of child support a court may order as part of a SAPCR include:
Current Child Support – Financial support for the child’s needs following the entry of a final judgment.
Medical and Dental Support – Additional financial support to cover the child’s medical and dental coverage.
Retroactive Child Support – Financial support for a period before the entry of an initial child support order.
Temporary Child Support – Financial support ordered while a divorce or SAPCR is pending.
Consult a Knowledgeable Texas Divorce Lawyer
A SAPCR is an essential legal process for establishing parental rights and responsibilities in Texas. For parents considering or involved in a SAPCR—either alongside a divorce or as a separate proceeding, consulting an experienced divorce lawyer can help protect your rights and make the process as smooth as possible. Do not let dealing with the legal system add more stress to your situation. We handle the details so you can focus on moving forward. You have one chance to do this—make the right choice by choosing the right attorney. Call us at (956) 291-7870 or email us at contact@rdjlawyer.com for a free consultation and case evaluation.