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| | Replacing Sole Managing Conservator With Joint Managing Conservators |
When a suit to modify an order that appoints a sole managing conservator is filed within one year of rendition of the order sought to be modified, the petition must be accompanied by an affidavit containing certain allegations and supporting facts.
Three-Part Test
An existing sole managing conservatorship may be replaced by a joint managing conservatorship if a parent requests appointment as joint managing conservator and all of the following conditions exist:
- The circumstances of the child or the sole managing conservator have materially and substantially changed since the rendition of the order.
- Retention of a sole managing conservatorship would be detrimental to the welfare of the child.
- The appointment of the parent as a joint managing conservator would be a positive improvement for and in the best interest of the child.
Court's Power to Order Is Material and Substantial Change
The enactment of the statutes permitting a court to order a joint managing conservatorship is a material and substantial change of circumstances that justifies modification of an existing sole managing conservatorship to a joint managing conservatorship if the sole managing conservatorship was ordered in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship in which a final decree was rendered on or after September 1, 1987. However, this rule does not apply to final decrees rendered before September 1, 1987. One court of appeals has held that this rule applies only to conservatorships that were already in existence on September 1, 1989, the statute's effective date.
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