What Does It Mean to Be Deemed an Unfit Parent

In the State of Texas, family courts apply the best interests standard to determine outcomes for minor children in custody and divorce cases. This standard evaluates factors such as the child’s mental, physical, and emotional development, their specific needs, and future care requirements. Rooted in the Supreme Court decision known as Holley, this approach also incorporates the judge’s accumulated experience and perspectives from their tenure on the bench. The court intervenes in custody, conservatorship, child support, or related matters only when parents cannot reach a mutual agreement or when the court deems one parent unfit to meet the child’s best interests, directly addressing what deems a parent unfit.

The presumption in Texas is that it is in the best interests of your child to have an ongoing and close relationship both with you and your co-parent. I think most of you reading this blog post would agree that your child has something to gain from having a strong relationship with both parents. You may see eye to eye with your co-parent very much these days but hopefully, you think that he or she is a good parent and that your child enjoys or at least benefits from spending time with him or her. Ideally, you and your co-parent can help to balance out responsibilities and take the burden off the other’s shoulders.

Joint custody and exceptions in Texas family law

An outgrowth of this presumption is that all other factors being equal, you and your co-parent should have joint custody and conservatorship rights/duties about your child. Shared custody is what you may have heard this called in other contexts. Joint custody refers to how you and your co-parent will share time in an even fashion with one another. Additionally, you and your co-parent will share parenting rights and duties.

Most decision-making that comes into place for your child will require that the two of you make decisions together and consult with one another in non-emergency scenarios. So, even if you think that this family law case is going to be the end of your relationship with your co-parent, it’s time to think again. The most important aspect of that relationship will continue, even though the nature of the relationship may change. You will still have the responsibility to raise your child together.

There are exceptions to this rule, however. Those exceptions apply when a Texas family court deems your co-parent unfit. The court will not make this decision lightly. The court will look at several factors, the circumstances of your life, the impact of your co-parent’s behavior on your child, and then make the best interest determination as we alluded to earlier in today’s blog post.

Unfit parenting in Texas family law

The court will then decide the extent of your co-parent’s conservatorship rights and duties, as well as the amount of parenting time they should receive. If the court concludes that it should grant your co-parent only limited rights, duties, and time, you will be named the sole managing conservator of your child in a divorce or child custody case. This situation is relatively rare and typically arises only under extreme circumstances.

What we are going to cover in today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan is what does it mean to be named as an unfit parent in Texas? The bottom line is that unfit parents can have their parental rights cut to a bare minimum. Parenting time may be minimal or even supervised. The court may significantly restrict that parent’s rights. If this is a situation that you may be facing, then today’s blog post is one that you should not skip past. You should refer any questions about your situation to one of our experienced family law attorneys. We can guide you through a free consultation and answer your questions.

What is a court looking for when determining the fitness of a parent?

As with many issues in a Texas family law case, the issue of being deemed an unfit parent is a question that is largely left up to the opinions of the family court judge who is overseeing your case. The Texas Family Code does provide specific guidelines for a judge to follow when it comes to deciding about the fitness of a parent. Most importantly, the court would look at the way that a parent interacts with a child and determine whether that interaction would significantly impact your child’s physical health or emotional well-being negatively. If the judge determines that you or your co-parent would have such a negative impact on your child’s well-being physically and emotionally then he or she is likely to restrict or even terminate the parental rights of the offending parent.

To make major decisions like this, a court would not only need to consider the following factors but would need to find actual proof that these factors exist to limit or terminate parental rights. A history of drug or alcohol abuse is a major factor for courts to consider when looking at possible restrictions on conservatorship and visitation rights.

Parental substance abuse in Texas family law

We know what kind of effect alcohol use can have on our ability to make good decisions and even perform relatively simple operations like operating a motor vehicle. Alcohol and drugs can have significant impacts on our physical health but can be disastrous if we are using these substances around our children. If you or your co-parent have a history of drug or alcohol abuse then that is a factor that a family court judge would surely consider when determining how to assess parental rights, duties, and parenting time in a family law case.

The most significant example that I can think of from the recent past involving a case that our office has worked on involves a young woman and her son that we were fortunate to represent. In this situation, a child custody case had been filed by the mother of the boy to establish parenting time, conservatorship rights/duties as well as child support. Just one week before the temporary order hearing, the boy’s father picked him up for their established informal visitation. They spent time together at his home where the father had started drinking alcohol. The situation persisted into the evening when it was time to bring the child home to his mother.

The father drove the child home while intoxicated, swerving down several streets in the wrong direction before police pulled him over. Officers arrested him for DUI. Our client received a call to pick up her son from the scene, leaving her shaken and worried. Fortunately, the child remained unharmed and slept through the entire incident.

Negotiating child custody amid parental substance abuse

After mediation was scheduled for the following week, we filed a request for an emergency temporary order hearing. We attended mediation and held all the cards in the case. The father and his attorney (through the mediator) were very sorrowful about what had happened involving the child. They understood his behavior was beyond dangerous and showed little regard for the life of the child. With that said, these folks wanted to be able to negotiate something so they could avoid the need to go to those temporary orders hearing.

The parties agreed to our client having sole managing conservator status but with the possibility of a second round of mediation to occur in six months if the father could maintain sobriety, attend each scheduled visitation opportunity with the child, and not run into any additional issues with the law. The father recognized his limited options and chose to accept their offer.

This is an extreme example and one that I hope would not be relevant in your situation. However, just to give you some perspective on the story this sort of thing does happen and can be the result if you have a problem with drugs or alcohol. Even if you abuse drugs or alcohol, not in the presence of your kids it is still something that a court can look to when determining fitness, conservatorship rights, and other aspects of your child custody case.

Sexual offenses and child custody: impact and considerations

Sexual offenses and crimes are other major areas that can determine fitness in a child custody situation. If you or your co-parent have a history of sexual abuse or neglect, the court can use this information against you in a child custody case, especially when determining parental fitness. In truth, even if someone in your home is the one with a history of crimes against children then that will become a relevant factor very quickly.

Several years ago, a client of ours owned a home where he allowed relatives, including his uncle and mother, to stay. He assured us of his good relationships with them, and that his children also had positive interactions with both. However, during his case, we discovered that his uncle had a history of sexual crimes against children. Given that the ages of our client’s children aligned closely with those involved in the uncle’s past offenses, this posed significant risk and potential harm to our client’s case.

We asked our client about his uncle. He seemed caught off guard by us asking about the uncle but eventually came around to tell us the truth. His uncle was out of jail and was on probation. He met regularly with his probation officer. He had a good relationship with the family, including our client’s children. While all of this may have been true, it was not going to be a situation that a judge would willingly introduce two young children to. We recognized the need to act swiftly to address the potential impact of the uncle on the child custody case.

Managing family dynamics in child custody cases

Encouraged by our advice, our client respectfully yet firmly asked his uncle to find another place to live. We emphasized that no family court judge would permit two children to reside in a home with a person convicted of sexual crimes involving children. It was just a bridge too far and was dangerous to boot. Our client understood and assured us that he would ask his uncle to move out immediately so that his presence in the home would not hurt our client’s case.

Our client did as he told us he would. He asked his uncle to move out of the house. Uncle did move out. Our client did not suffer any harm because of the uncle’s situation and fortunately enough neither did the children. This was a close call. Had we not found out about the uncle until too late it could have turned out much worse for our client. However, this was a lesson for me to always be thorough about asking about the client’s living situation. What you may consider normal living arrangements may be something that holds your case back.

What happens if a Texas family court judge determines that you are an unfit parent?

If a family court judge in the state of Texas decides that you are an unfit parent, then you need to know what can happen next. First, no guarantee exists that the court will terminate your parental rights. In Texas family law, the court assesses each situation on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the severity of the issues involved, the court may decide to terminate your parental rights. However, it might also choose to maintain those rights, allowing you to retain a legal relationship with your children. It all depends on the facts of your case. For this reason, you cannot rely on the perspective of friends or family who likely are not aware of all the circumstances of your case and are instead basing their opinion on what they have experienced personally.

Tips for parents in Texas family law

Remember that there is a strong presumption in Texas that it is in the best interests of your child to be able to have an ongoing relationship both with you and with your co-parent. The court will consider this presumption regardless of the issues in your case. It will definitely assess the severity of the transgression, but it will also uphold the presumption that you and your co-parent should be named joint managing conservators. If you are a parent who might be deemed unfit based on various circumstances, we can provide tips to help you navigate the situation.

First, having a stable place to live and employment is a good start. Responsibility and good decision making is a huge part of this process. When you show that you can pay rent and have a job then this shows that any problems you may have used to have regarding decision-making could be in the past. Next, when you do have visitation time with your children you need to take advantage of every moment. This means not missing an appointment for something other than a very good reason. If you have people in your life who can vouch for your credibility and your demeanor as a parent, then you can ask these people for written statements to provide to the court.

Building a support system in Texas family law

Your support system is also important at a time like this. We tend to become like the people that we surround ourselves with. If you are hanging around with people who encourage or allow bad behavior, then you are much more likely to engage in bad behavior. If you can find yourself a support system that puts you in good positions and helps you focus your time and energy on your kids, then you can reduce the likelihood of a judge finding you to be an unfit parent.

In conclusion, navigating child custody and divorce proceedings in Texas involves adhering to the best interests standard, which prioritizes the holistic well-being of minor children. This framework, shaped by the landmark Holley decision and informed by judicial wisdom, underscores the significance of parental cooperation and child-centered decision-making. Family courts intervene judiciously when parents are unable to agree on crucial matters or when one parent is deemed unfit to safeguard the child’s welfare, addressing the question of what deems a parent unfit. Understanding these legal principles empowers parents to advocate effectively for their children’s futures, ensuring that custody arrangements align with their developmental needs and long-term care.

Ebook

If you want to know more about what you can do, CLICK the button below to get your FREE E-book: “16 Steps to Help You Plan & Prepare for Your Texas Divorce”

If you want to know more about how to prepare, CLICK the button below to get your FREE E-book: “13 Dirty Tricks to Watch Out For in Your Texas Divorce, and How to Counter Them” Today!”

Other Articles you may be interested in:

1. The Role of a Child’s Voice in Texas Visitation Cases
2. How a Judge Will View Your High School Aged Child During a Texas Child Custody Case
3. What is Conflicted Co-Parenting?
4. What considers a parent unfit?
5. What is an unfit parent in Texas?
6. Substance abuse and child custody
7. What is The Most Widely Used Standard For Determining Custody?
8. What is The Least Common Form of Custody Arrangement?
9. What Custody Split is Best For Children?
10. What is The Best Custody Arrangement For A Baby?
11. What Are The Disadvantages of Split Custody?
12. International child custody issues in Texas