I'm going through a nasty divorce/custody battle. I believe it's in the best interest of my children to have both parents in there lives an equal time. Hence, I would agree to 50/50 split today (with me paying the delta of the difference we would pay each other in support). We live 2 miles from each other. Neither one of us has ever done anything wrong in life. She was a stay at home mother for my children and I was the sole provider and have a Master's from a prestigious university. She is only concerned with getting full child support (not the best interest of the children) which they want us both equally. Recently, she has began dating a felon (3rd DWI), he has several misdemeanors (assault with bodily injury) and is on 10 years probation. I've been told it's not normal for a court to award split custody hence I'm going for primary and if CS is not her goal, she will want to see them more. Is it normal for a court to award split custody? If two parents are good parents (only red mark is her dating situation) is this common in Texas courts? I've been told 25 times that dad's don't win. I've written down all their names and will be letting then know they were wrong.
The best advice is to know your judge. Each has his/her individual views on 50/50 custody. Other considerations can be the child's age, how close you and the ex live to one another and the school, and so forth. There are many presumptions built into the Texas Family Code that can be rebutted if sufficient evidence is presented.
If it was in the best interests of the children to have both parents equal time in their lives, why would it be a "nasty" divorce/custody battle? I rest my case. Not too many judges will do 50/50 split custody unless parents agree and ask for it and live in close proximity to one another. Conventional wisdom is that a primary residence is in children's best interests in most cases.
50/50 custody requires both parents to work together really well. If they don't both agree to it, it is unlikely that the judge will order it. Gender isn't the issue.
Some courts are more opposed to 50/50 than others. Others will ok almost anything that both you and your ex agree to. This is partt of why you want a lawyer who knows your court.
Depending on the details of the boyfriend's criminal history - what and when - you probably have a strong case to be primary with her having a regular or expanded SPO. Or you may need to pursue an injunction against boyfriend being around the children.
Texas is a gender neutral state. I've seen many men receive primary custody do I don't know who you have been talking to.
Harris county judges usually won't do 50/50. That's why mediation is so popular.
