Custody

A parent generally has the right to:

• have physical possession of the child;
• direct the child’s moral and religious training;
• choose where the child lives;
• the “services and earnings” of the child;
• consent to the child marrying or enlisting in the military;
• consent to medical, dental, psychiatric, psychological, and surgical care for the child;
• represent the child in legal cases and make other legal decisions for the child;
• give and receive payments for the support of the child;
• hold and spend funds for the benefit of the child;
• inherit from the child;
• make decisions about the child’s education, including choosing the school they attend; and
• anything else created by the law.¹ 

A parent also has the following responsibilities for their child:

• to care for, control, protect, and reasonably discipline the child;
• to support the child, including by providing:
  
  • clothing;
  • food;
  • shelter;
  • medical and dental care; and
  • education;
• to act as an agent of the child’s estate, unless a guardian of the estate or guardian ad litem has been appointed; and
• any other duty for a parent created by the law.¹ 

These rights and responsibilities may be changed or removed by:

• a court order;
• an affidavit giving up parental rights; or
• an affidavit by the parent that names someone else to be the child’s managing conservator.² 

Note: While the parent or a judge may choose someone else to act as the child’s managing conservator, only the following people can use physical (corporal) punishment to reasonably discipline the child:

• a parent;
• a grandparent;
• a stepparent who has the responsibility of control and reasonable discipline of the child; or
• the child’s guardian who has been given the responsibility of control and reasonable discipline of the child.³ 

¹ Tex. Fam. Code § 151.001(a)
² Tex. Fam. Code § 151.001(d)
³ Tex. Fam. Code § 151.001(e)