As a Texas parent who recently filed for divorce, you no doubt have a thousand thoughts running through your mind concerning your children’s well-being. Like all good parents, you want what is best for them. Knowing that their lives are going to change because of your divorce, you want to cause the least amount of disruption possible, especially regarding child custody issues.
In a modern world, there are issues that are relevant to child custody proceedings that were likely unheard of long ago. For instance, because of advanced technology, you might be able to schedule virtual visitation with your children, especially if they will live a far distance away from you part of the time.
Virtual visitation may be part of your child custody agreement. It uses video conferencing systems to enable a parent and child to schedule a virtual visit online when they can’t get together in person. For instance, if your ex lives across the country, you can schedule virtual visits using FaceTime, Snapchat or other video technology to connect with your kids while they’re away.
Another type of custody that is relatively new is bird’s nest custody. If you and your ex agree to this type of arrangement, it means that your children would live in a central home, and you and your ex would take turns living there with them. You might choose to transfer custody every week, every six weeks or whatever type of agreement works best.
It’s a good idea to seek clarification ahead of time regarding the differences between physical and legal custody before you head to court for child custody litigation. The latter refers to a parent’s authority to make decisions on behalf of a child. The former is term applied to a child’s physical residence after divorce.
It’s possible to customize your co-parenting agreement to meet your specific needs and divorce-related goals concerning your children’s best interests. Perhaps you and your ex will share both physical and legal custody. Then again, you might have evidence to show that your ex’s presence places your kids at risk, in which case, you might be preparing to request sole custody, meaning they would live with you full-time and you would make all decisions regarding their education, health, and other important matters.