A commonly used term by Judges and lawyers at the Court House when they are
discussing a divorcing parent's rights is the Standard Possession Order.

The following statutes are what makes up the Standard Possession Order.

§ 153.311. Mutual Agreement or Specified Terms for Possession.

The court shall specify in a standard possession order that the parties may have
possession of the child at times mutually agreed to in advance by the parties and, in the
absence of mutual agreement, shall have possession of the child under the specified terms
set out in the standard order.

§ 153.137. Guidelines for the Possession of Child by Parent Named as Joint Managing
Conservator.

The standard possession order provided by Subchapter F constitutes a presumptive
minimum amount of time for possession of a child by a parent named as a joint managing
conservator who is not awarded the primary physical residence of the child in a suit.

§ 153.254. Child Less Than Three Years of Age.

(a) The court shall render an order appropriate under the circumstances for possession of
a child less than three years of age.

(b) The court shall render a prospective order to take effect on the child's third birthday,
which presumptively will be the standard possession order.

§ 153.256. Factors for Court to Consider.

In ordering the terms of possession of a child under an order other than a standard
possession order, the court shall be guided by the guidelines established by the standard
possession order and may consider:

(1) the age, developmental status, circumstances, needs, and best interest of the child;

(2) the circumstances of the managing conservator and of the parent named as a
possessory conservator; and

(3) any other relevant factor.

§ 153.312. Parents Who Reside 100 Miles or Less Apart.

(a) If the possessory conservator resides 100 miles or less from the primary residence of
the child, the possessory conservator shall have the right to possession of the child as
follows:

(1) on weekends beginning at 6 p.m. on the first, third, and fifth Friday of each month and
ending at 6 p.m. on the following Sunday or, at the possessory conservator's election made
before or at the time of the rendition of the original or modification order, and as specified
in the original or modification order, beginning at the time the child's school is regularly
dismissed and ending at 6 p.m. on the following Sunday; and

(2) on Thursdays of each week during the regular school term beginning at 6 p.m. and
ending at 8 p.m., or, at the possessory conservator's election made before or at the time
of the rendition of the original or modification order, and as specified in the original or
modification order, beginning at the time the child's school is regularly dismissed and ending
at the time the child's school resumes, unless the court finds that visitation under this
subdivision is not in the best interest of the child.

(b) The following provisions govern possession of the child for vacations and certain
specific holidays and supersede conflicting weekend or Thursday periods of possession.
The possessory conservator and the managing conservator shall have rights of possession
of the child as follows:

(1) the possessory conservator shall have possession in even-numbered years, beginning
at 6 p.m. on the day the child is dismissed from school for the school's spring vacation and
ending at 6 p.m. on the day before school resumes after that vacation, and the managing
conservator shall have possession for the same period in odd-numbered years;

(2) if a possessory conservator:

(A) gives the managing conservator written notice by April 1 of each year specifying an
extended period or periods of summer possession, the possessory conservator shall have
possession of the child for 30 days beginning not earlier than the day after the child's school
is dismissed for the summer vacation and ending not later than seven days before school
resumes at the end of the summer vacation, to be exercised in not more than two separate
periods of at least seven consecutive days each; or

(B) does not give the managing conservator written notice by April 1 of each year specifying
an extended period or periods of summer possession, the possessory conservator shall
have possession of the child for 30 consecutive days beginning at 6 p.m. on July 1 and
ending at 6 p.m. on July 31;

(3) if the managing conservator gives the possessory conservator written notice by April 15
of each year, the managing conservator shall have possession of the child on any one
weekend beginning Friday at 6 p.m. and ending at 6 p.m. on the following Sunday during
one period of possession by the possessory conservator under Subdivision (2), provided
that the managing conservator picks up the child from the possessory conservator and
returns the child to that same place; and

(4) if the managing conservator gives the possessory conservator written notice by April 15
of each year or gives the possessory conservator 14 days' written notice on or after April
16 of each year, the managing conservator may designate one weekend beginning not
earlier than the day after the child's school is dismissed for the summer vacation and ending
not later than seven days before school resumes at the end of the summer vacation, during
which an otherwise scheduled weekend period of possession by the possessory
conservator will not take place, provided that the weekend designated does not interfere
with the possessory conservator's period or periods of extended summer possession or with
Father's Day if the possessory conservator is the father of the child.

§ 153.313. Parents Who Reside Over 100 Miles Apart.

If the possessory conservator resides more than 100 miles from the residence of the child,
the possessory conservator shall have the right to possession of the child as follows:

(1) either regular weekend possession beginning on the first, third, and fifth Friday as
provided under the terms applicable to parents who reside 100 miles or less apart or not
more than one weekend per month of the possessory conservator's choice beginning at 6
p.m. on the day school recesses for the weekend and ending at 6 p.m. on the day before
school resumes after the weekend, provided that the possessory conservator gives the
managing conservator 14 days' written or telephonic notice preceding a designated
weekend, and provided that the possessory conservator elects an option for this alternative
period of possession by written notice given to the managing conservator within 90 days
after the parties begin to reside more than 100 miles apart, as applicable;

(2) each year beginning on the day the child is dismissed from school for the school's spring
vacation and ending at 6 p.m. on the day before school resumes after that vacation; (3) if
the possessory conservator:

(A) gives the managing conservator written notice by April 1 of each year specifying an
extended period or periods of summer possession, the possessory conservator shall have
possession of the child for 42 days beginning not earlier than the day after the child's school
is dismissed for the summer vacation and ending not later than seven days before school
resumes at the end of the summer vacation, to be exercised in not more than two separate
periods of at least seven consecutive days each; or

(B) does not give the managing conservator written notice by April 1 of each year specifying
an extended period or periods of summer possession, the possessory conservator shall
have possession of the child for 42 consecutive days beginning at 6 p.m. on June 15 and
ending at 6 p.m. on July 27;

(4) if the managing conservator gives the possessory conservator written notice by April 15
of each year the managing conservator shall have possession of the child on one weekend
beginning Friday at 6 p.m. and ending at 6 p.m. on the following Sunday during one period
of possession by the possessory conservator under Subdivision (3), provided that if a
period of possession by the possessory conservator exceeds 30 days, the managing
conservator may have possession of the child under the terms of this subdivision on two
nonconsecutive weekends during that time period, and further provided that the managing
conservator picks up the child from the possessory conservator and returns the child to that
same place; and

(5) if the managing conservator gives the possessory conservator written notice by April 15
of each year, the managing conservator may designate 21 days beginning not earlier than
the day after the child's school is dismissed for the summer vacation and ending not later
than seven days before school resumes at the end of the summer vacation, to be exercised
in not more than two separate periods of at least seven consecutive days each, during
which the possessory conservator may not have possession of the child, provided that the
period or periods so designated do not interfere with the possessory conservator's period
or periods of extended summer possession or with Father's Day if the possessory
conservator is the father of the child.

§ 153.314. Holiday Possession Unaffected by Distance Parents Reside Apart.
The following provisions govern possession of the child for certain specific holidays and
supersede conflicting weekend or Thursday periods of possession without regard to the
distance the parents reside apart. The possessory conservator and the managing
conservator shall have rights of possession of the child as follows:

(1) the possessory conservator shall have possession of the child in even-numbered years
beginning at 6 p.m. on the day the child is dismissed from school for the Christmas school
vacation and ending at noon on December 26, and the managing conservator shall have
possession for the same period in odd-numbered years;

(2) the possessory conservator shall have possession of the child in odd-numbered years
beginning at noon on December 26 and ending at 6 p.m. on the day before school resumes
after that vacation, and the managing conservator shall have possession for the same
period in even-numbered years;

(3) the possessory conservator shall have possession of the child in odd-numbered years,
beginning at 6 p.m. on the day the child is dismissed from school before Thanksgiving and
ending at 6 p.m. on the following Sunday, and the managing conservator shall have
possession for the same period in even-numbered years;

(4) the parent not otherwise entitled under this standard order to present possession of a
child on the child's birthday shall have possession of the child beginning at 6 p.m. and
ending at 8 p.m. on that day, provided that the parent picks up the child from the residence
of the conservator entitled to possession and returns the child to that same place;

(5) if a conservator, the father shall have possession of the child beginning at 6 p.m. on the
Friday preceding Father's Day and ending on Father's Day at 6 p.m., provided that, if he is
not otherwise entitled under this standard order to present possession of the child, he picks
up the child from the residence of the conservator entitled to possession and returns the
child to that same place; and

(6) if a conservator, the mother shall have possession of the child beginning at 6 p.m. on
the Friday preceding Mother's Day and ending on Mother's Day at 6 p.m., provided that, if
she is not otherwise entitled under this standard order to present possession of the child,
she picks up the child from the residence of the conservator entitled to possession and
returns the child to that same place.

§ 153.315. Weekend Possession Extended by Holiday.

(a) If a weekend period of possession of the possessory conservator coincides with a
school holiday during the regular school term or with a federal, state, or local holiday during
the summer months in which school is not in session, the weekend possession shall end
at 6 p.m. on a Monday holiday or school holiday or shall begin at 6 p.m. Thursday for a
Friday holiday or school holiday, as applicable.

(b) At the possessory conservator's election, made before or at the time of the rendition of
the original or modification order, and as specified in the original or modification order,
periods of possession extended by a holiday may begin at the time the child's school is
regularly dismissed.

§ 153.316. General Terms and Conditions.

The court shall order the following general terms and conditions of possession of a child to
apply without regard to the distance between the residence of a parent and the child: (1)
the managing conservator shall surrender the child to the possessory conservator at the
beginning of each period of the possessory conservator's possession at the residence of
the managing conservator;

(2) if the possessory conservator elects to begin a period of possession at the time the
child's school is regularly dismissed, the managing conservator shall surrender the child to
the possessory conservator at the beginning of each period of possession at the school in
which the child is enrolled;

(3) the possessory conservator shall be ordered to do one of the following:

(A) the possessory conservator shall surrender the child to the managing conservator at the
end of each period of possession at the residence of the possessory conservator; or

(B) the possessory conservator shall return the child to the residence of the managing
conservator at the end of each period of possession, except that the order shall provide that
the possessory conservator shall surrender the child to the managing conservator at the
end of each period of possession at the residence of the possessory conservator if:

(i) at the time the original order or a modification of an order establishing terms and
conditions of possession or access the possessory conservator and the managing
conservator lived in the same county, the possessory conservator's county of residence
remains the same after the rendition of the order, and the managing conservator's county
of residence changes, effective on the date of the change of residence by the managing
conservator; or

(ii) the possessory conservator and managing conservator lived in the same residence at
any time during a six-month period preceding the date on which a suit for dissolution of the
marriage was filed and the possessory conservator's county of residence remains the same
and the managing conservator's county of residence changes after they no longer live in
the same residence, effective on the date the order is rendered;

(4) if the possessory conservator elects to end a period of possession at the time the child's
school resumes, the possessory conservator shall surrender the child to the managing
conservator at the end of each period of possession at the school in which the child is
enrolled;

(5) each conservator shall return with the child the personal effects that the child brought
at the beginning of the period of possession;

(6) either parent may designate a competent adult to pick up and return the child, as
applicable; a parent or a designated competent adult shall be present when the child is
picked up or returned;

(7) a parent shall give notice to the person in possession of the child on each occasion that
the parent will be unable to exercise that parent's right of possession for a specified period;

(8) written notice shall be deemed to have been timely made if received or postmarked
before or at the time that notice is due; and

(9) if a conservator's time of possession of a child ends at the time school resumes and for
any reason the child is not or will not be returned to school, the conservator in possession
of the child shall immediately notify the school and the other conservator that the child will
not be or has not been returned to school.

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