If you’re a possessory conservator in Texas and your job requires you to work out of town, or on a non-traditional schedule, the standard or extended standard possession orders (SPO/ESPO) likely don’t match your real availability.
The good news? Texas law allows you to modify your current court order to better reflect your circumstances, protect your parent-child relationship, and maintain consistency for your child.
The Problem: Standard Schedules Don’t Fit Every Family
Possessory conservators who work in rotating shifts, offshore, in oilfields, as truck drivers, or in contract work often return home during scheduled breaks. But these breaks may not fall on the 1st, 3rd, or 5th weekends, or line up with the Thursday and summer designations of the ESPO. And the notice requirements to designate alternate periods of possession can be difficult to meet with unpredictable or last-minute job schedules.
The Solution: File to Modify the Order
A court order can be tailored to fit your unique schedule—including:
- Flexibility around return-home dates
- Advance notice clauses that account for job unpredictability
- Summer possession language that allows for custom blocks of time
- Communication protocols for co-parenting with fairness and predictability
Under Texas Family Code Chapter 156, a modification can be granted if the proposed changes are in the best interest of the child and:
- Circumstances have materially and substantially changed, or
- The current order has become unworkable due to practical realities
Let the Order Match Your Real Life
A rigid schedule doesn’t serve your child, or you, if it doesn’t reflect reality. Courts increasingly recognize the need for custom parenting plans that encourage involvement from both parents, even when one has a demanding work life.
For a free consultation call The Barrera Law Firm at 956-428-2822
