Deciding how to divide your child's time between you can be one the most devastating issues in a divorce. In a good situation both parents come to a mutually agreeable schedule that fits into their lives and the lives of their children. In a bad situation, the parents can't agree on when visitation should occur. The Texas Family Code contains a standard possession code, also sometimes called a standard visitation schedule, for just this situation. The standard possession schedule is the minimum time given to the parent who does not have primary possession of the child.

The schedule is different depending upon whether the parent lives within or more than 100 miles of the child.

If the parent lives within 100 miles they are allowed the first, third, and fifth weekends of every month, from 6 p.m. on Friday to 6 p.m. on Sunday, or from when school gets out on Friday, or until it resumes on Monday morning. They are allowed Wednesday evenings during school from 6 to 8 p.m., or from the time school gets out, or until the beginning of school on Thursday morning.

They are allowed a total of 30 days during the summer vacation, as long as they give written notice by April 1. Without written notice the time period runs from 6 p.m. on July 1 to 6 p.m. on July 31. In the former case, possession must end seven days before the end of the vacation. They have the child every other year during spring break, on even years, from 6 p.m. the day school gets out until 6 p.m. the day before it starts.

The schedule rotates for holidays. On even-numbered years the parent gets the child from 6 p.m. the day school gets out until noon on December 26. On odd years, the parent gets the child from 6 p.m. on December 26 until the day school goes back into session. The parent gets the child for Thanksgiving on odd-numbered years from 6 p.m. the day school gets out until 6 p.m. the Sunday following Thanksgiving. The parent is also allowed to have the child on his or her birthday from 6 to 8 p.m., and on Fathers or Mothers day weekend from 6 p.m. the Friday before the holiday until 6 p.m. the day of the holiday.

The schedule is similar for parents living more than 100 miles away, except the weekend schedule can be varied based on distance, they are allowed the child every Spring Break, and they are allowed 42 days with the child during summer vacation.