“I haven’t seen my kids in three weeks and she won’t answer my calls.” “He keeps bringing them back late and there’s nothing in writing.” “We never went to court — can I just move with them?” These are the calls that come into The Piri Law Firm’s Oak Cliff office at 602 S Hampton Rd every week. This article answers the visitation and custody questions Oak Cliff parents actually ask — what the schedules look like, what happens when the other parent breaks them, and what rights you have with or without a court order. For the fundamentals of conservatorship and the best-interest standard, our child custody lawyer page covers the framework; here we focus on parenting time and making it stick.
The Standard Possession Order: What “Visitation” Looks Like in Texas
When Texas courts set parenting time, the default template is the Standard Possession Order (SPO) in the Texas Family Code, Chapter 153. For parents living within 100 miles of each other, the non-primary parent typically receives:
- The first, third, and fifth weekends of every month, Friday evening to Sunday evening
- Thursday evenings during the school year
- Alternating holidays — Thanksgiving one year, Christmas the other, split spring breaks
- Thirty days in the summer
Parents living within 50 miles can usually elect the Expanded Standard Possession Order, which stretches weekends from school pickup Friday to school drop-off Monday and turns Thursday dinner into a Thursday overnight — pushing the schedule toward roughly 45% of the year. Under 100 miles but over 50, the election is still often available; over 100 miles, the schedule shifts to fewer, longer visits with more summer time.
Two points parents miss. First, the SPO is a floor for agreement: parents can always agree to more time, and the order controls only when they don’t. Second, nothing requires the SPO — courts can and do order true 50/50 schedules (week-on/week-off, 2-2-5-5) when the parents’ work schedules, proximity, and co-parenting history support it. If an equal schedule is your goal, the evidence to support it starts being built now, not at trial.
No Court Order Yet? Read This First
If you and your co-parent were never married and never went to court, there is no schedule to enforce — and both of you are exposed. A father with an Acknowledgment of Paternity but no court order has no enforceable right to see his children; a mother with no order has no enforceable child support and no protection against the father simply keeping the kids. Police in Dallas generally will not intervene in child disputes between legal parents without a court order to enforce.
The fix is a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (SAPCR), filed with the Dallas County District Clerk, which establishes conservatorship, a possession schedule, and support in one enforceable order. It is the single most protective step an unmarried Oak Cliff parent can take, and we handle them on both sides — parents seeking time and parents seeking structure and support (see our child support lawyer page for how the numbers work).
When the Other Parent Violates the Order: Enforcement
A signed order is enforceable — but only if you enforce it correctly.
Document everything. Every denied exchange gets recorded: show up at the designated time and place, note the date, keep the texts. Courts require specific violations — dates, times, places — not “she never lets me see them.”
File a motion for enforcement. Texas courts can hold a violating parent in contempt, punishable by fines and up to six months in jail per violation, and can order make-up time, attorney’s fees, and court costs. A pattern of denied possession can also support modifying custody itself.
Do not self-help. Withholding child support because visitation was denied — or withholding visitation because support wasn’t paid — is the most common mistake we see, and it backfires. Texas treats support and possession as independent obligations: violating one order because the other parent violated a different one just makes both of you enforceable. The parent who documents and files wins; the parent who retaliates loses.
Refusal by the child is its own hard problem, especially with teenagers. Courts expect the primary parent to make genuine efforts to comply, not to shrug. If a child’s resistance reflects something serious, the answer is a modification with evidence — not quiet noncompliance.
Relocation and the Geographic Restriction
Most Dallas County orders restrict the child’s primary residence to Dallas County and contiguous counties. That means the primary parent cannot simply move the children to Houston, another state, or another country without either the other parent’s agreement or a court’s permission — and moving in violation of the restriction can flip custody. If you’re the parent who wants to move, build the case before the boxes: job evidence, family support, schools, and a proposed long-distance schedule that genuinely preserves the other parent’s relationship. If you’re the parent left behind, act immediately — delay reads as acquiescence.
Modifying the Schedule When Life Changes
A possession schedule set when your child was two rarely fits at twelve. Texas allows modification on a material and substantial change in circumstances — new work schedules, remarriage, relocation within the permitted area, a child 12 or older asking the judge (in chambers) to change where they primarily live, or safety concerns. Modifications and enforcement actions are often filed together: the documented pattern of violations that supports contempt frequently supports a better schedule too. And where the underlying relationship between the parents has broken down entirely, mediation — which Dallas County family courts order in most contested cases anyway — often produces a more livable schedule than a judge imposing one; our divorce mediation lawyer page explains how we prepare clients for it. Free legal forms and self-help information are also available through TexasLawHelp.org, though contested modifications are not a do-it-yourself project.
Immigration Status and Parenting Time in Oak Cliff
We answer this weekly at the Hampton Road office: immigration status does not reduce your custody or visitation rights in Texas. Courts apply the same best-interest standard to every parent. Status does intersect with parenting in specific ways — passport and international travel provisions, what happens to possession if a parent is detained, and powers of attorney designating caregivers as a contingency — and because The Piri Law Firm also practices immigration law and crimmigration defense, we build parenting orders with those contingencies planned rather than ignored. Consultations in Spanish and French.
Why Oak Cliff Parents Choose The Piri Law Firm
Michael Piri is a Texas attorney practicing Family Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Immigration — verify his licensure on his State Bar of Texas profile. He earned his J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law and is fluent in Spanish and French. Free 30-minute consultations, flat fees and payment plans, 24/7 availability. Visit our Oak Cliff office page for directions, and read reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Frequently Asked Questions
The other parent won’t let me see my kids. Can I call the police?
Usually not productively. Police generally won’t enforce possession disputes without a court order, and even then treat them as civil matters. The effective remedy is documenting each denial and filing a motion for enforcement, where contempt, make-up time, and attorney’s fees are available.
Can I stop visitation if my ex isn’t paying child support?
No. Texas treats support and possession as independent obligations. Withholding the children over unpaid support puts you in violation and hands the other parent an enforcement case. Enforce the support order instead.
What is standard visitation in Texas?
The Standard Possession Order: first, third, and fifth weekends, Thursday evenings in the school year, alternating holidays, and 30 days in summer — expandable to near-equal time for parents living within 50 miles.
Can the primary parent move away with my child?
Usually not outside Dallas and contiguous counties without your agreement or a court order. If you learn of a planned move, act immediately — courts can block relocations that violate the geographic restriction.
My child is 13 and doesn’t want to go. Do I have to force visits?
The order remains enforceable regardless of the child’s preference, and courts expect the primary parent to make real efforts to comply. If there’s a serious underlying issue, the answer is filing to modify — with evidence — not informal noncompliance.
The Piri Law Firm — Oak Cliff Office
602 S Hampton Rd, Dallas, TX 75208 · (833) 600-0029 · Free 30-minute consultation, 24/7 · Nosotros hablamos español
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This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
