When parents live apart, a possession schedule determines when the child is with each parent. Texas law provides default schedules — and room for customization when families need it.
"Possession" is the term Texas law uses for a parent's physical time with their child — what other states might call "parenting time" or "visitation." A possession order is a court-issued document that specifies exactly when the non-primary parent has the child: which days, what times, and in many cases where the exchange takes place. It transforms an often emotionally charged, contested question into a set of clear, enforceable terms.
A possession order is legally binding. Both parents are required to follow it, regardless of whether they disagree with the arrangement or are currently in a dispute with each other. It is not a suggestion or a framework for negotiation — it is a court order with the same legal weight as any other judicial mandate. The relevant authority is Texas Family Code Chapter 153, Subchapter F, which sets out the statutory possession schedules and the legal standards courts apply when ordering or approving them. Understanding how these schedules work — and how they can be tailored to your child's actual life — is the first step toward making a plan that genuinely serves your family.
The Standard Possession Order is Texas's default possession schedule under Texas Family Code §153.252. When parents of a child aged three or older live within 100 miles of each other and cannot agree on a different arrangement, the SPO is what courts typically put in place. It is not designed to be perfect for every family — it is designed to be workable and predictable as a starting point.
Under the SPO during the regular school year, the non-primary parent has the child on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends of each month, from Friday at 6:00 p.m. to Sunday at 6:00 p.m. (or until the start of school on Monday morning if the order includes that language). In addition, the non-primary parent has the child every Thursday during the school year from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. — a dinner visit designed to maintain regular contact between weekend periods.
Holidays and extended periods are handled separately from the regular schedule:
If the parents live more than 100 miles apart, the schedule changes. The non-primary parent typically receives fewer weekends but a longer summer period — up to 42 days — to offset the reduced school-year contact. The Thursday evening visit is usually not part of orders where parents are far apart. Your order should specify which distance provision applies to your situation.
Many parents — and many Collin County courts — now use the Expanded Standard Possession Order (ESPO), codified under Texas Family Code §153.317. The ESPO builds on the SPO framework but significantly increases the non-primary parent's time, particularly during the school year.
The core differences are in the bookends of each possession period. Under the ESPO, the Thursday visit becomes an overnight — the child stays with the non-primary parent Thursday night and is returned to school Friday morning, rather than being dropped off at home by 8:00 p.m. Weekend possession begins at school dismissal on Friday rather than 6:00 p.m. And it extends through school drop-off Monday morning rather than ending Sunday at 6:00 p.m. Taken together, these changes add meaningful hours to every regular possession period across the school year — not just a few extra minutes at the margins, but time that includes mornings, bedtime routines, and school day preparation.
A court can order the ESPO, or both parents can agree to it as part of a negotiated arrangement. Because it gives the non-primary parent substantially more time during the academic year, the ESPO is often a better fit for parents who want to stay closely involved in their child's daily life and school routine. If you are negotiating a first possession order or considering a modification, the ESPO is worth a careful look at how it would actually function in your family's schedule.
The Standard Possession Order is a floor, not a ceiling. Texas law permits parents to agree to — and courts to order — any possession schedule that serves the child's best interest, even if it looks nothing like the SPO. Common alternatives include week-on/week-off arrangements (which can produce near-50/50 time), schedules designed around a parent's shift work or irregular employment hours, and schedules built around a child's specific school, activity, or medical needs. When both parents can communicate and cooperate, a customized schedule often produces less friction than forcing a family's unique circumstances into a one-size-fits-all template.
One important clarification: a 50/50 possession schedule does not automatically eliminate child support. Texas child support is calculated based on the obligor parent's net income and the number of children, with a credit for extended possession time — but the calculation still applies even when time is split evenly. Parents sometimes assume that equal time means zero support; that is not how Texas law works. The financial implications of any possession arrangement should be understood before an agreement is finalized. An experienced family law attorney can walk you through exactly what a proposed schedule would mean for support obligations in your specific situation.
The Standard Possession Order was designed with school-age children in mind. For infants and toddlers, the SPO's long weekend separations and 30-day summer blocks may not reflect what child development research tells us about young children's needs. Texas courts recognize this, and for very young children, judges often look to schedules that feature more frequent contact with shorter individual separations. The goal is to allow both parents to build genuine bonds with the child while avoiding extended periods away from the primary caregiver that might be developmentally disruptive. There is no automatic formula — courts weigh each child's age, temperament, feeding patterns, attachment history, and both parents' circumstances when crafting an appropriate arrangement.
Importantly, possession schedules are not permanent. As children grow and their developmental needs change, possession orders can be modified to reflect those changes. A schedule that makes sense for a two-year-old may be entirely inadequate by the time that child starts kindergarten or middle school. If your current order was entered when your child was very young, it may be worth evaluating whether a modification would better serve where your child is today. Our page on Custody Modification explains the legal standard for bringing a modification and what you would need to show.
Under the Standard Possession Order, most holidays alternate between parents on an odd/even year basis. The holiday schedule overrides the regular weekend schedule when the two conflict — which happens more often than parents expect. Reading your order's holiday language carefully before each season is one of the most practical steps you can take to avoid unnecessary conflict.
The non-primary parent typically has Thanksgiving in odd-numbered years; the primary parent has it in even-numbered years (or vice versa — your order will specify the rotation). The Thanksgiving holiday period runs from the day school dismisses through the Sunday night before school resumes.
The winter break is divided into two roughly equal halves. Parents alternate which half they receive each year. In odd years, one parent has the first half (school dismissal through December 28) while the other has the second half (December 28 through the day before school resumes). The halves switch in even years.
Spring break alternates between parents on an annual basis. The parent whose year it is has the child for the entire break period, from school dismissal to the night before school resumes.
Father's Day weekend is always with the father, and Mother's Day weekend is always with the mother — regardless of which parent's regular weekend it would otherwise be. These provisions do not alternate; they are permanent.
Each parent is entitled to a portion of the child's birthday. The specific arrangement — how many hours and at what times — is spelled out in the order. If the birthday falls during the other parent's regular possession, the order's birthday language controls, not the regular schedule.
Non-Thanksgiving, non-spring-break school holidays (such as teacher in-service days or short breaks) are handled according to the specific language in each order. Some orders give these days to one parent automatically; others follow the regular weekday possession pattern. Check your order's text carefully.
Important: The holiday schedule takes precedence over the regular possession schedule when they conflict. If a holiday period begins on what would otherwise be the other parent's weekend, the holiday language in your order governs. This catches many parents off guard — read your order before every holiday season, not after a conflict arises.
Under the Standard Possession Order, the non-primary parent receives 30 days of extended summer possession. These days are not automatically assigned — the non-primary parent must give the primary parent written notice by April 1 specifying the chosen dates. Failure to give timely notice can result in the parent forfeiting the right to designate dates that year. The primary parent also has a right to designate one weekend during the non-primary parent's summer period to maintain regular contact with the child, provided they give proper written notice of their chosen weekend. Under the ESPO, summer possession may be structured somewhat differently depending on the specific order language, so it is important to read your actual order rather than relying on general descriptions.
Parents who can cooperate have a real opportunity to build a summer plan that works better than the default. Family vacations, summer camps, visits to extended family, and summer school schedules can all be factored into an agreed-upon arrangement. As long as the plan meets the minimum requirements of the court order and both parents agree, there is significant flexibility. If you want to modify the summer schedule permanently — not just by agreement this year — that requires either an informal agreement both parents stick to year after year, or a formal modification of the order through the court. An informal arrangement is not enforceable if the other parent later changes their mind.
A possession order is a court order. Interfering with the other parent's court-ordered possession time — whether by failing to appear for an exchange, withholding the child, relocating without notice, or otherwise disrupting court-ordered access — is not just a conflict between parents. It is a violation of a judicial order, and Texas courts treat it seriously. The affected parent can file a motion for enforcement in the court that issued the original order. If the court finds that a violation occurred, it can award makeup possession time, impose fines, order the violating parent to pay the other parent's attorney's fees, or impose other sanctions. In cases of serious or repeated violations, contempt of court is a real possibility — with potential consequences including jail time.
If you are being denied possession, documentation is your most important tool. Record every missed exchange: date, time, what happened, whether the child was produced, any text messages or emails related to the exchange, and whether any witnesses were present. A clear, contemporaneous record is far more persuasive in an enforcement proceeding than a general description of a pattern of behavior you can only partially recall months later. If interference is ongoing, speak with an attorney promptly — courts generally look more favorably on timely enforcement actions than on situations where a parent waited months or years before seeking relief. If circumstances have changed enough that the existing order no longer makes practical sense, our page on Custody Modification explains the path forward.
Parents can follow any arrangement they both agree on day-to-day — and many do, especially when the co-parenting relationship is functional. The practical problem is what happens if the relationship breaks down. Without a formal court-approved order, there is nothing legally enforceable. Either parent can unilaterally change the arrangement, and the other parent has no immediate legal remedy. A court-approved agreed order — even one that differs significantly from the SPO — gives both parents legal protection and a clear path to enforcement if problems arise. Formalizing an agreement you are both comfortable with is almost always worth the relatively modest time and expense involved.
A significant move by either parent often qualifies as a material and substantial change in circumstances — the legal threshold required to seek a modification of the custody order in Texas. If the parents live more than 100 miles apart, a different possession schedule may already apply under the distance provisions of the SPO; but if the existing order does not address the new situation, modification is likely necessary. Many orders also contain geographic restriction clauses that limit where the child's primary residence can be located — sometimes to a specific county or set of counties. A parent who moves in violation of a geographic restriction faces serious legal consequences. Our Relocation page covers this in detail.
Under Texas Family Code §153.009, a child who is 12 years of age or older may speak with the judge in chambers about their preferences regarding possession and the primary residence — and either parent can request that the court interview the child. However, the judge makes the final decision. A child's stated preference is one factor in the best-interest analysis, not a binding directive. Courts are experienced at recognizing when a child's expressed preference reflects genuine, independently formed wishes versus a preference shaped by one parent's influence. Younger children's views may be considered through a variety of means (including a Guardian ad Litem or custody evaluator) but are not presented through direct judicial interview. Children are not required to testify in open court.
Court orders bind the parents — not the extended or blended family's schedules. If the existing possession order says a parent has the child on a particular holiday, that parent has the child on that holiday, regardless of what the stepchildren's custody orders say or what the new spouse's family has planned. When blended family realities make the current schedule genuinely unworkable, parents have options: they can reach an informal agreement to swap or adjust specific periods as needed (which works when both parents are cooperative), or they can pursue a formal court-approved modification with language drafted to accommodate the new family structure. An attorney can help draft modification language that addresses the specific logistical challenges your blended family faces — including provisions for coordinating around stepchildren's schedules when that is feasible.
Whether you are negotiating a first-time possession order or need to modify an existing one, Lynda Landers can help you build an arrangement that works for your child.