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| | Extent of Court's Discretion to Establish Terms and Conditions of Possession and Access |
Courts have particularly wide latitude in establishing the specific terms and conditions of visitation and conservatorship. For example:
- The court may order additional periods of possession of or access to a child to compensate for the denial of possession or access, to take place at times decided by the person denied possession or access. The additional periods of possession or access
- Must be of the same type and duration of the possession or access that was denied
- May include weekend, holiday, and summer possession or access.
- Must occur on or before the second anniversary of the denial of possession or access.
- The court may make a managing or possessory conservator's possession and access rights contingent on doing or refraining from doing certain acts, such as consuming alcohol beverages, around the child.
Limits of court's discretion.
Despite the court's broad discretion in these matters, however, limitations on a possessory conservator's right to possession of or access to the child may not exceed that required to protect the child's best interest. The following limitations have been placed on the court's exercise of its broad discretion:
- Leaving visitation determination to possessory conservator and child.
It is an abuse of discretion for the court to leave visitation rights up to the choice of the possessory conservator and the child
- Leaving visitation determination to managing conservator.
A trial court abuses its discretion by failing to render specific orders regarding possession and access and instead allowing the managing conservator to determine if and when visitation will take place
- Denying visitation to punish parent.
Courts have indicated that the relationship between a parent and a child should not be manipulated as a method of punishing the parent, but instead should at all times be handled in a manner reflecting the child's best interests
- Conditioning visitation on payment of child support.
A court may not render an order that conditions the right of a conservator to possession of or access to a child on the payment of child support. When a parent's noncompliance with a court order does not directly affect the child's best interest, termination of the right to access is inappropriate, especially if other methods for obtaining compliance are available.
- De facto change of conservatorship.
A court order that purports only to modify the terms of visitation but in reality effectuates a de facto change of managing conservatorship will be invalid unless the standards for modification of managing conservatorship are satisfied. For example, when the original joint managing conservatorship decree gave each parent custody of child in alternating months and ordered the father to pay child support when not in possession of the child, the court's subsequent order requiring the mother to pay child support and limiting the mother's right to possession to two weekends a month and five weeks in summer constituted impermissible de facto modification of managing conservatorship
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