When parents in New Braunfels separate, the hardest questions are almost always about the children. Where will they sleep on school nights? Who decides about doctors and schools? How often will each parent see them? A family law attorney who handles custody cases in Comal County every week can help you answer those questions in a way the court will accept and your family can live with. This section of our site explains how Texas custody law actually works, in plain language.
Texas Uses Different Words for “Custody”
Most people say “custody” and “visitation.” The Texas Family Code mostly does not. It splits custody into two separate ideas:
- Conservatorship covers the rights and duties of a parent, such as making medical decisions, choosing schools, and deciding where the child primarily lives. Parents can be joint managing conservators, or one parent can be sole managing conservator. Read more about conservatorship in Texas.
- Possession and access is the calendar: which parent has the child on which days. Most Texas orders build that calendar from the Standard Possession Order, sometimes changed to fit the family.
Keeping these two ideas apart helps. A parent can share decision-making equally and still have a schedule that is not 50/50, and the reverse is also possible.
What Judges in Comal County Look At
Every custody decision in Texas turns on the best interest of the child. The law presumes that naming both parents joint managing conservators is in the child’s best interest, but that presumption can be overcome by evidence such as family violence, neglect or a parent’s long absence from the child’s life.
When parents disagree, a court generally looks at:
- the child’s physical and emotional needs, now and in the future
- each parent’s ability to meet those needs and to support the child’s relationship with the other parent
- stability of the home, school and community
- any history of family violence, abuse, neglect or substance misuse
- in some cases, what an older child wants, which the judge may hear but does not have to follow
Common Custody Situations for New Braunfels Families
Our area keeps growing, and so do the variations on family life. We regularly help parents with:
- Divorcing parents who need a parenting plan as part of their decree. Our page on divorce with children explains how custody fits into the larger case.
- Parents who never married, where the father may need to establish paternity before a court can give him any rights.
- Parents who commute up I-35 to Austin or San Antonio and need a schedule that matches real work hours.
- Military families connected to Joint Base San Antonio, where deployments and transfers affect the calendar.
- Parents planning a move, or facing a move by the other parent, under a geographic restriction.
- Grandparents and other relatives who are already raising a child or have been cut off from one.
When an Order Already Exists
A signed custody order is not a suggestion. If the other parent ignores it, you can ask the court to enforce it. If your family’s life has changed in a real and lasting way, you can ask the court to modify it. Those are two separate tools, and choosing the right one matters. Many parents need both. If your order came from a divorce, our page on post-divorce modifications covers the rest of the decree.
Getting Started
You do not need to have everything figured out before you call. It helps to gather:
- any existing orders, including temporary orders or protective orders
- a rough calendar of how the children have actually been splitting time
- school, daycare and medical information
- texts or emails that show how you and the other parent communicate
The pages in this section go deeper on each topic. Start with whatever matches your situation, then call us with your questions.
Talk With a New Braunfels Custody Lawyer
At New Braunfels Family Law, we have spent more than ten years helping parents in Comal County and the surrounding counties through custody cases, agreed and contested. Your first consultation is free, by phone, video or in person, and we speak Spanish. Call (830) 302-4071 to talk through your situation and your options.
Child Custody topics
Conservatorship
Joint vs. sole managing conservatorship in Texas, the rights each parent holds and how Comal County courts decide who gets which.
Read more →Standard Possession
A plain-English walk through the Texas Standard Possession Order: weekends, Thursdays, holidays, summer and what changes with distance.
Read more →Expanded Possession
What the expanded standard possession schedule adds, when it applies by default in Texas and how parents can elect in or out.
Read more →Children Under 3
Why the Standard Possession Order does not automatically apply to babies and toddlers, and how Texas courts build schedules for them.
Read more →Holiday Schedule
How Texas standard orders rotate Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break and other holidays, plus how to add holidays the statute leaves out.
Read more →Long-Distance Parenting
How Texas possession orders change when parents live more than 100 miles apart, and how to build travel terms that work.
Read more →Child's Preference
How Texas judges consider a child's wishes, the age-12 interview rule and why a child's choice is never automatically binding.
Read more →Custody Modification
When and how a Texas custody or visitation order can be changed, from agreed updates to contested modification suits.
Read more →Custody Enforcement
Options when a parent refuses visits, keeps a child too long or ignores other terms of a Texas custody order.
Read more →Relocation
How geographic restrictions work in Texas, what to do before moving with a child, and how courts decide contested relocation cases.
Read more →Unmarried Parents
How unmarried parents in Texas establish paternity and get enforceable custody, visitation and support orders.
Read more →Fathers' Rights
What Texas law says about fathers in custody cases, and the practical steps that strengthen a father's position.
Read more →Mothers' Rights
Texas custody law for mothers: what rights you have before and after an order, and how to protect your children's stability.
Read more →Grandparents' Rights
The limited situations where Texas grandparents can seek access or custody, and the high standard they must meet.
Read more →Supervised Visitation
When Texas courts order supervised visits, how supervision works in practice, and how a parent can move toward unsupervised time.
Read more →Substance Abuse
How Texas courts handle drug and alcohol concerns in custody cases, from testing and monitoring to restrictions and recovery.
Read more →Frequently Asked Questions
Does Texas law favor mothers in custody cases?
No. The Texas Family Code tells courts not to consider a parent’s sex or marital status when deciding conservatorship. The question is what serves the child’s best interest, based on the evidence about each parent and the child’s needs.
Where is a custody case filed if we live in New Braunfels?
Usually in the county where the child has lived for the past six months. Because part of New Braunfels lies in Guadalupe County, your case may belong in Comal County or Guadalupe County depending on the address. If a court already has a case involving your child, changes usually go back to that court.
Do we have to go to court if we already agree on a schedule?
An agreement is only enforceable once a judge signs it as an order. Agreed orders often need little court time, and many judges approve them when they protect the child. See our co-parenting guide for ideas on making an agreement work.
How much does a custody case cost?
It depends on whether the case is agreed or contested, how many issues are disputed and whether experts are involved. We explain likely costs at a free consultation, and our fees page describes how we bill.
Last reviewed November 13, 2026. General information only, not legal advice.