Under Texas law, the Court must not discriminate according to gender in a Family Court determination. That means that Courts are blindfolded as to whether mom or dad is a better parent and instead, the Court looks to the best interest of the child. Some of the factors the Court will look at, which are very basic:
- Are one or both parents using illegal drugs?
- Is there evidence of alcohol addiction, recent DWI’s, driving with the children while under the influence?
- Is there negligence as to the general welfare of the child, proper food, protection against danger, structure as to adequate sleep, and common sense supervision?
- Are either of the parents participating in the education of the child, helping with homework, communicating with teachers, delivering the child and picking up the child on time, unexcused absences, and school performance.
- Is one parent better at making the hard decisions such as ending a friendship that seems to have a negative impact, putting penalties in place for poor performance, postponing fun time activities in favor of getting work done, and pushing proper hygiene and medical care when ill?
There are many other factors the Court considers, but the factors here are basic. If you do illegal drugs frequently, you may not succeed at a custody case. If you have trouble getting up in the morning to take the child to school and cause the child to fail, the Court will come down heavily. Judges want to see self sacrifice in favor of what’s best for the child and if it is detected that one’s own pleasure and space is favored over what’s best for the children, they will likely slam the gavel in favor of the other parent.
For more information about child custody cases, please call The Barrera Law Firm at 956-428-2822 or contact us online for a free consultation.
