Texas Child Custody & Support, Made Simpler.
Navigating child custody or support doesn’t have to mean figuring everything out alone. DocDraft helps you understand your options, prepare personalized legal documents, and take the next step for your family—with attorney help available when you need it.
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What do you need for your children?
Pick the one closest to yours. Each lists the Texas documents and guide for it, and starts your intake with it.
Setting a parenting schedule
Changing a custody order
Guide: Modifying Child Custody
Changing child support
Guide: Modifying Child Support
The other parent ignores the order
Your family is unique. Your legal documents should be, too.
Whether you’re establishing custody, changing an existing arrangement, or addressing child support, DocDraft helps you move forward with greater clarity and confidence.
Understand your next steps
Tell us about your family and what you’re trying to accomplish. We’ll help you organize the information relevant to your situation.
Prepare personalized documents
Get help drafting documents that reflect your circumstances and applicable Texas requirements.
Get legal help when you need it
Some family matters require more than paperwork. Connect with attorney-support options when professional guidance could make a difference.
What can DocDraft help you with?
Child Custody Agreements
Work toward clear arrangements that address parental rights, responsibilities, and decisions affecting your child.
Visitation & Parenting Schedules
Prepare proposed arrangements covering parenting time, holidays, exchanges, and other important details.
Child Support
Understand the information involved in establishing or addressing child support obligations in Texas.
Custody & Support Modifications
Prepare to request changes to an existing court order when your circumstances have changed.
Responding to Custody Cases
Organize your information and get help preparing an appropriate response to a custody or support proceeding.
Co-Parenting Agreements
Document practical expectations and responsibilities to help both parents move forward.
How it works
Tell us about your family
Answer straightforward questions about your situation, existing arrangements, and what you’d like to change or establish.
Get help preparing your documents
DocDraft helps you organize the relevant details and prepare personalized paperwork.
Take your next step
Review your documents, understand the steps ahead, and explore attorney assistance if needed.
- Tell me what happened.
- We need a parenting time plan for our two kids in Texas.
- Which Texas county is this in?
- Harris County
- What would you like this document to do?
- A weekly schedule with holidays and school breaks.
- Parenting schedule outlineFirst draft ready to review
The children will follow a weekly schedule, with holidays and school breaks shared as set out below.
Understanding child custody and support in Texas
Texas courts use terms such as conservatorship, possession, and access when addressing parental rights and parenting time.
Many cases involving children are handled through a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (SAPCR), either separately or as part of a divorce.
Courts generally consider the child’s best interests when making custody decisions. Child support is addressed under Texas-specific guidelines and individual circumstances.
If you already have a court order, changing it generally requires a modification through the court. A private agreement alone does not change an existing order.
DocDraft helps you get organized and prepare for the process.
Texas child custody & support rules at a glance
Each rule links to the statute it comes from, checked October 2026. Your facts, court, and local rules can change what applies.
| Question | Texas rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The child's wishes | On request in a hearing or nonjury trial, the judge must interview a child 12 or older in chambers, and may interview a younger child.Fam. Code §153.009 | Fam. Code §153.009 |
| Guideline child support | For most incomes, 20% of the paying parent's net resources for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, and at least 40% for five or more.Fam. Code §154.125 | Fam. Code §154.125 |
| How long support lasts | Until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later, or longer for a disabled child.Fam. Code §154.001 | Fam. Code §154.001 |
| Moving the child's home within a year | A suit to change who decides the child's primary residence, filed within a year of the order, needs a supporting affidavit.Fam. Code §156.102 | Fam. Code §156.102 |
Texas child custody & support documents and guides
Each one opens the Texas version, written around the rules it has to follow.
Documents
- Parenting Plan
Sets possession and access: weekdays, weekends, holidays, and how exchanges work.
- Child Custody Agreement
Records what the parents agree on conservatorship and support, for the court to approve.
- Motion for Contempt
Asks the court to enforce an order the other parent is not following.
- Temporary Guardianship Agreement
Lets another adult care for a child for a set time while a parent is away.
- Guardianship of a Minor Petition
Asks the court to appoint a guardian for a child.
Guides
- Modifying Child Custody
When a Texas court will change an order, and what to file.
- Modifying Child Support
Changing support after a job loss, a raise, or a new custody arrangement.
- Establishing Paternity
How a father's legal rights and duties are set before custody or support.
Bring your draft. Ask your questions.
Some questions call for more than paperwork. Explore document review and consultation options with a licensed attorney.
3. Possession. Respondent will have possession of the child under the Standard Possession Order1, with weekends exchanged at school.
Can we change the weekends later if my work schedule changes?
7. Child support. Respondent will pay monthly child support until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school2, whichever is later.
Does the amount change if I lose my job?
Your questions, answered
Take the next step for your family.
You don’t have to have every answer before getting started. Tell DocDraft about your situation and begin working toward a clearer path forward.
- Personalized documents
- Clear next steps
- Attorney help when you need it
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