Houston Child Custody and Visitation Attorney
At our law offices of Barbara Lynch Schnack, we recognize three major aspects of child custody: the fact that loving, nurturing parents can be either male or female; the long-held view among many courts in favor of mothers having primary custody of children; and the need for a balanced approach respecting the importance of the roles played by both mothers and fathers in the lives of their children. We strive to offer experienced, professional and compassionate legal representation to parents of both sexes in child custody cases.
As a successful family law practice, we've witnessed firsthand how "red flag" issues like child custody and child neglect can alienate a divorcing couple even more dramatically, to say nothing of how adversely the child or children are affected. Children caught in the middle of grown-ups' heated disagreements often don't receive the happy childhoods they deserve.
Everyone involved deserves a better fate. If we can help with your child custody or visitation dispute, or pursue a grandparent's rights to access to a grandchild, contact us in Houston today. We look forward to meeting you.
Experienced, Professional and Compassionate Custody Representation
Our knowledgeable family law attorney wants you to be aware of the child custody options available to you. The possibilities include joint managing conservatorship, which deals with decision-making and the parents ability to share parental rights and responsibilities after divorce, although one parent will have primary physical custody. There is also the option of sole managing conservatorship, which is usually reserved for situations where one of the parents has been a bad actor (abusive or neglectful) or where it would be unreasonable to ask the divorcing parents to cooperate post divorce.
Our lawyers will do our best, in or out of court, to persuasively negotiate your right to full or partial access to your children. We go about this in a diplomatic, cost-efficient way, consistently seeking consensus yet aggressively protecting your rights and interests every step of the way. We do this with your legal standing, emotional state and scheduling obligations uppermost in our minds.
We want to convince parties on both sides to emphasize a hopeful outlook for the entire family's future with the best interests of the children in the relationship in mind.
Visitation
Our firm-wide attitude toward visitation plans, the kind that work for both adult parties, is that just as it "takes two" to make a marriage, it also takes two to fashion the kind of future that will lessen a divorce's potentially harmful impact on a child.
Since each divorcing party should have his or her fair amount of access to the child or children, we always initially pursue mutually agreed-upon visitation settlements that are fair for all concerned. Since 1994, we've fostered these kinds of attitudes and tried to reflect them in the agreements we negotiated in the Houston and South Texas areas.
We weigh vital factors, attempt scheduling compromises for alternating evening and weekend visits and arrange for time with the child on birthdays or family occasions. We want to do whatever we can to make all of you continue to feel a part of each other's lives. Children should be the uniting force of all parties involved, not living excuses for further polarization.
Grandparent's Rights
In Texas, grandparents may assert their rights to access to their grandchildren if his or her child, the co-parent of the minor child, has been jailed or imprisoned for a three-month period. Grandparents' rights could also be granted if their grown child has been determined to be legally incapacitated or is dead. While these rights are limited, the law provides an avenue for grandparents to maintain a role in the lives of their grandchildren.
These rights also become viable when parents are divorced or have been living apart for a three-month period prior to the filing of a visitation application or if a suit for dissolution of the marriage is pending. Proof of child neglect or abuse could cause a decision in favor of a grandparent, as well as if the child has been legally ruled a delinquent or is in need of supervision.
An unfortunate reality in our society today is when grandparents find themselves raising their grandchildren because of absence or the physical or mental impairment of the parents. If you find yourself in this situation, there are options available to you in the law.
Our culture isn't sufficiently appreciative of the hands-on involvement of some of the most wonderful people among us: active, loving grandparents. If that describes you we want you to know that you have a friend in this family law firm. If we can help with your quest to gain access to your grandchild, please be in touch with our Houston offices immediately.
By Phone, Fax or E-Mail
Contact our skilled family lawyer's Houston offices today to speak with Barbara Lynch Schnack about your family's pressing child custody, visitation or grandparents' rights issues. We've helped Texans just like you since 1994.
Your initial consultation could be the first step toward the healing and closure that your family has sought for a long time. We look forward to meeting you.
