Texas possession schedules | Rivera Family Law

Conservatorship is about rights. Possession and access is about the calendar. This page is only about the calendar, which is the part families actually live with.

The five schedules

Standard Possession Order

Roughly 30 to 35 percent of overnights

Tex. Fam. Code § 153.312

The statutory default for parents living within 100 miles of each other. The non-primary parent has the first, third and fifth weekends of every month, plus a Thursday evening during the school year.

Period	Who	Detail
1st, 3rd and 5th weekends	Non-primary parent	Friday at 6:00 pm to Sunday at 6:00 pm, unless the election below applies
Thursday during the school term	Non-primary parent	6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Spring break	Alternates	Non-primary parent in even-numbered years under the default order
Thanksgiving	Alternates	Non-primary parent in odd-numbered years
Christmas	Split	First half to one parent, second half to the other, alternating annually at noon on 28 December
Summer	Non-primary parent	30 days, designated by 1 April, otherwise 1 July to 31 July by default

Expanded Standard Possession

Roughly 40 to 45 percent of overnights

Tex. Fam. Code § 153.317

The same calendar, but weekends begin when school lets out on Friday and end when school resumes on Monday, and the Thursday period becomes an overnight. A parent living within 50 miles may elect this by simply asking.

Period	Who	Detail
1st, 3rd and 5th weekends	Non-primary parent	School dismissal Friday to school start Monday
Thursday during the school term	Non-primary parent	School dismissal Thursday to school start Friday
Holiday periods	As in the standard order	Begin at dismissal and end at resumption of school
Summer	Non-primary parent	42 days when elected, in up to two separate periods

Week on, week off

50 percent of overnights

By agreement or court order

Equal time, exchanged weekly. It works where both homes are close to the same school, the parents communicate adequately, and the child is old enough to manage a week away from each parent.

Period	Who	Detail
Weekly exchange	Alternating	Typically Friday after school or Sunday evening
Midweek dinner	Off-duty parent	Often added so neither parent goes seven days without contact
Holidays	Alternating	Usually the standard holiday rotation layered over the weekly schedule
Summer	Continues	Often continues unchanged, with each parent taking a designated vacation block

Over 100 miles

Fewer, longer periods

Tex. Fam. Code § 153.313

When the parents live more than 100 miles apart, the schedule shifts from frequent short periods to fewer, longer ones: every spring break, 42 days of summer, and either the 1st, 3rd and 5th weekends or one weekend per month.

Period	Who	Detail
Weekends	Non-primary parent	Either 1st, 3rd and 5th, or one weekend per month on 14 days notice
Spring break	Non-primary parent	Every year, not alternating
Summer	Non-primary parent	42 days, designated by 1 April
Travel cost	Allocated by the court	The order should say who books and who pays, and what happens to a missed flight

Children under three

Graduated, then standard

Tex. Fam. Code § 153.254

The standard order is presumed appropriate for a child three or older. For an infant or toddler the court fashions a schedule based on caregiving history, feeding needs and the child's ability to tolerate separation, with a step-up provision to the standard order at age three.

Period	Who	Detail
Under 12 months	Frequent short periods	Often several daytime visits per week, sometimes without overnights
12 to 24 months	Adding overnights	Typically one or two overnights per week as the child adjusts
24 to 36 months	Approaching standard	Weekend periods lengthen toward the standard schedule
At age three	Step-up	The order should already specify the schedule that takes effect, so nobody returns to court

Holidays override the weekend schedule

Holiday periods sit on top of the regular calendar and take priority over it. That is why a parent can have a first weekend and still not have the children: Thanksgiving swallowed it.

Holiday	Standard	Expanded	Over 100 miles
Spring break	Non-primary parent in even-numbered years	Same, beginning at school dismissal	Non-primary parent every year
Thanksgiving	Non-primary parent in odd-numbered years	Same, dismissal to school resumption	Alternating by agreement
Christmas, first half	Alternates annually, ends noon 28 December	Same, beginning at dismissal	Alternates annually
Christmas, second half	Alternates annually, noon 28 December to school	Same	Alternates annually
Child's birthday	Non-possessory parent, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm	Same	By agreement
Mother's Day and Father's Day	Respective parent, Friday 6:00 pm to Sunday 6:00 pm	Dismissal Friday to Monday school start	Respective parent where travel allows
Summer	30 days, designated by 1 April	42 days, designated by 1 April	42 days, designated by 1 April

Summary of the statutory defaults. Your order controls, and many orders vary these terms by agreement. Read your own decree before relying on any row above.

How to count first, third and fifth weekends

The weekend number is set by the Friday. If the first Friday of the month is the 2nd, that is the first weekend, even if the 1st was a Saturday. Months with five Fridays give the non-primary parent two weekends in a row, and occasionally two consecutive weekends across a month boundary.

That back-to-back stretch surprises somebody every single year. It is not a drafting error, it is the arithmetic working as designed. Print a calendar each January, mark the weekends in two colours and send it to the other parent. Most first-year possession disputes we see are calendar misunderstandings rather than defiance.

Choosing between them

Live within 50 miles and want more time? Elect the expanded order. A parent within 50 miles can elect it, and it is the single most under-used provision in Texas family law.
Considering 50/50? It works where the homes serve the same school, the parents can communicate without an intermediary, and the child is old enough to be away from each parent for a week.
Shift worker? Neither standard schedule fits a rotating roster. Map the schedule to the published rotation and produce a fixed calendar ninety days ahead.
Infant or toddler? Ask for a graduated schedule with an automatic step-up at age three, written into the order, so nobody has to return to court.
One parent moving away? The over-100-miles schedule trades frequency for length. Settle who books and who pays for travel in the order itself.