Interference with Possession and Access Schedules, Generally
In Texas, the time and date of a parent’s possession of their children is guided by an Order of the Court. This could be a Final Decree of Divorce or Final Order in Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship in final cases, or Temporary Orders in ongoing custody suits. The type of possession shared by the parents can be anything from a standard schedule of 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends with Thursdays and rotating holidays; week-on and week-off shared schedules; and more. Unfortunately, there are times that one parent refuses to follow the possession schedule that has been entered by their Judge–even when the schedule was agreed to in the first place. Then, the other parent must seek attorney and Court assistance to enforce the possession schedule, hoping he or she can recoup the missed visit with makeup time. But, inevitably, a parent incurs attorney fees and costs to get the time he or she already had to begin with.
Que: Motion for Enforcement
A motion for enforcement is a pleading that tells the Court: (1) an Order outlines specifically the possession schedule to be followed by the parents; (2) parent “A” is entitled to time with the children on a specific date and time; (3) parent “B” has failed or refused to turnover the children to parent “A” at that date and time; and (4) parent “A” has been harmed by missing time with the child(ren) and will continue to be harmed by this. Most people think of this type of action in conjunction with a failure to pay child support because Texas law provides for Writs and Turnover orders for immediate action to gain access to their children during their time (think TRO type action to get children back with you). Fairly, more often than not, a parent will seek attorney help and the children will be turned over before the Judge ever hears the arguments on the Enforcement, Writ, TRO, etc. With this, the Court misses the vital information: that one parent is not abiding by their orders, thinks they can play games when they feel like it, and this becoming a recurring problem. It is certainly understandable that a parent won’t want to continue incurring attorney fees when the child is properly returned, but the legislature worked tirelessly in 2025 to change the law so these patterns do not continue.
Three Violations, Go to Jail
Starting September 1, 2025, the Texas Family Code will grant jail time as a punishment for a parent who has violated the possession and access provisions on at least three occasions. An award of attorney’s fees to the parent who has been forced to file these motions over and over will be granted overall–making this a requirement, not a subjective thing up to the Judge. And even more important, make up time is to be ordered–and in instances of three or more violations, the parent gets 2-for-1 time. So, if you missed 7 days getting this issue to the Court, you are getting 14 days back. Moreover, the Court is then directed to consider modifying the possession and access schedule in the Order because the other parent cannot be relied upon to follow it, granting the other parent more time or changing other issues in the Order.
Stated plainly, this is huge. But how do you make sure to prove this type of issue before a Judge to get this type of relief? First, document everything and let your attorney know of issues immediately. As soon as a visit is missed or delayed, email your attorney. Communicate with your spouse in writing about the fact that your visit started on this day and time and they failed to show. Ask them politely to abide by the Order in place. And when they do not, your attorney needs to file the motion for enforcement. Even if your spouse decides to return the children to avoid the hearing, make sure you go forward each time you can (we know this is an expense that is not easy to shoulder), so you are building the record your Judge needs to see this has hit the three-failure threshold. Depending on how courts handle the new language, it is possible that three violations can be raised in a single motion. However, this will be a brand new law and some jurists may not interpret the provisions of the statute that way, so it’s always best to go ahead and file each time instead of waiting for violations to stack.
What To Do From Here?
Review the order in place in your case and know the schedule you should be following. If visitation has been problematic for you and your spouse in the past, put together a notebook where you keep your written discussions, school letters, and other matters that you can easily deliver to your attorney when the time comes. Brittany Weaver and Kaitlyn Phillips have attended sessions on these legislative updates to know the ins and outs of the new rules to add to their experience in family law cases in Denton County, Texas and the surrounding areas. Contact us today at 940-891-4800 for more information.
