SUBCHAPTER H.  RIGHTS OF GRANDPARENT, AUNT, OR UNCLE

Sec. 153.431.  APPOINTMENT OF GRANDPARENT, AUNT, OR UNCLE AS MANAGING CONSERVATOR.  If both of the parents of a child are deceased, the court may consider appointment of a parent, sister, or brother of a deceased parent as a managing conservator of the child, but that consideration does not alter or diminish the discretionary power of the court.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 484 (H.B. 261), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 153.432.  SUIT FOR POSSESSION OR ACCESS BY GRANDPARENT.  (a)  A biological or adoptive grandparent may request possession of or access to a grandchild by filing:
(1)  an original suit; or
(2)  a suit for modification as provided by Chapter 156.
(b)  A grandparent may request possession of or access to a grandchild in a suit filed for the sole purpose of requesting the relief, without regard to whether the appointment of a managing conservator is an issue in the suit.
(c)  In a suit described by Subsection (a), the person filing the suit must execute and attach an affidavit on knowledge or belief that contains, along with supporting facts, the allegation that denial of possession of or access to the child by the petitioner would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional well-being.  The court shall deny the relief sought and dismiss the suit unless the court determines that the facts stated in the affidavit, if true, would be sufficient to support the relief authorized under Section 153.433.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 484 (H.B. 261), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1113 (H.B. 1012), Sec. 11, eff. September 1, 2009.

Sec. 153.433.  POSSESSION OF OR ACCESS TO GRANDCHILD.  (a)  The court may order reasonable possession of or access to a grandchild by a grandparent if:
(1)  at the time the relief is requested, at least one biological or adoptive parent of the child has not had that parent’s parental rights terminated;
(2)  the grandparent requesting possession of or access to the child overcomes the presumption that a parent acts in the best interest of the parent’s child by proving by a preponderance of the evidence that denial of possession of or access to the child would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional well-being; and
(3)  the grandparent requesting possession of or access to the child is a parent of a parent of the child and that parent of the child:
(A)  has been incarcerated in jail or prison during the three-month period preceding the filing of the petition;
(B)  has been found by a court to be incompetent;
(C)  is dead; or
(D)  does not have actual or court-ordered possession of or access to the child.
(b)  An order granting possession of or access to a child by a grandparent that is rendered over a parent’s objections must state, with specificity that:
(1)  at the time the relief was requested, at least one biological or adoptive parent of the child had not had that parent’s parental rights terminated;
(2)  the grandparent requesting possession of or access to the child has overcome the presumption that a parent acts in the best interest of the parent’s child by proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the denial of possession of or access to the child would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional well-being; and
(3)  the grandparent requesting possession of or access to the child is a parent of a parent of the child and that parent of the child:
(A)  has been incarcerated in jail or prison during the three-month period preceding the filing of the petition;
(B)  has been found by a court to be incompetent;
(C)  is dead; or
(D)  does not have actual or court-ordered possession of or access to the child.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1397, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 484 (H.B. 261), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1113 (H.B. 1012), Sec. 12, eff. September 1, 2009.

Sec. 153.434.  LIMITATION ON RIGHT TO REQUEST POSSESSION OR ACCESS.  A biological or adoptive grandparent may not request possession of or access to a grandchild if:
(1)  each of the biological parents of the grandchild has:
(A)  died;
(B)  had the person’s parental rights terminated; or
(C)  executed an affidavit of waiver of interest in child or an affidavit of relinquishment of parental rights under Chapter 161 and the affidavit designates the Department of Family and Protective Services, a licensed child-placing agency, or a person other than the child’s stepparent as the managing conservator of the child; and
(2)  the grandchild has been adopted, or is the subject of a pending suit for adoption, by a person other than the child’s stepparent.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 561, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1390, Sec. 13, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 1.049, eff. April 2, 2015.

Sec. 102.004.  STANDING FOR GRANDPARENT OR OTHER PERSON.  (a)  In addition to the general standing to file suit provided by Section 102.003, a grandparent, or another relative of the child related within the third degree by consanguinity, may file an original suit requesting managing conservatorship if there is satisfactory proof to the court that:
(1)  the order requested is necessary because the child’s present circumstances would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development; or
(2)  both parents, the surviving parent, or the managing conservator or custodian either filed the petition or consented to the suit.
(b)  An original suit requesting possessory conservatorship may not be filed by a grandparent or other person.  However, the court may grant a grandparent or other person deemed by the court to have had substantial past contact with the child leave to intervene in a pending suit filed by a person authorized to do so under this subchapter if there is satisfactory proof to the court that appointment of a parent as a sole managing conservator or both parents as joint managing conservators would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development.
(c)  Possession of or access to a child by a grandparent is governed by the standards established by Chapter 153.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1048, Sec. 2, eff. June 18, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 916 (H.B. 260), Sec. 3, eff. June 18, 2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1406 (S.B. 758), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2007.

Beginning with 2009 data, new systems were implemented for recording marriages and divorces in Texas.

In 2014, there were 177,230 marriages reported to the Texas Vital Statistics Unit (VSU), a decrease of 1,943 compared to 2013 in which there were 179,173 marriages reported. The crude marriage rate of 6.8 marriages per 1,000 residents in 2013 decreased in 2014 to 6.6 marriages per 1,000 residents.

The number of divorces reported to VSU decreased to 71,988 in 2014 from 76,423 in the previous year. The crude divorce rate of 2.7 divorces per 1,000 residents decreased in 2014 compared to the previous year of 2013 at 2.9.