March 2022 Under the Texas Standard Possession Order

Introduction

Hi, Chris Schmiedeke from Divorce Simplified back for guess what? Right, the review of the March 2022 standard possession order.  The only unusual piece to this month is that Spring Break falls in this month.

Weekend and Weekday Visits for March

If you would like to see a visual of the March 2022 calendar, you are going to have to watch the video!  Sorry. The Thursdays periods of possession this month are, March 3rd, March 10th, March 17th, March 24th, and March 31st.  One of those Thursdays technically does not exist because we know that holiday possessions overwrite the weekends and Thursdays.  But it is the non-custodial parent’s Spring Break, so the day will not be missed.  For the weekends, the first Friday of the month will be March 4th and the third Friday will be March 18th.

Spring Break for 2022

It is the noncustodial parent’s spring break this year. If you watch the video, I have put in the spring break for my daughter. Your spring break may differ. If it does, you’re going to pick them up at six o’clock on Friday when they’re dismissed for Spring Break. For me, I would pick up on the 11th (Friday) for the Spring Break the week of the 14th.  If your spring break is a different week, then just simply move the pickup date, say, down a week. So maybe the pickup would be on the 18^th and your spring break is the week of the 21st. If you look at the video calendar, you can see it eats up a couple of weekends in March. A second and a third Friday in my example.  If you move Spring Break down a week, you would eat up a third and a fourth Friday weekend. Sorry, I wish I could be more clear, but with everyone’s Spring Break different, it is tough to do. The bottom line is you’re going to have to move the week around to fit your situation. If you’re lucky enough to have the week of the 14th, then the calendar in my video should be perfect for you.

New Standard Possession Order

I wanted to address a question that was asked to me in the comments on my YouTube channel. It was regarding the new standard possession order that went into place on September 1st of 2021. In the old orders, most of you probably have the old versions, where there’s an under 100-mile provision and there’s an over 100-mile provision. That was the old standard possession order. Now beginning September 1st, 2021, they have an under 50-mile provision, then a 50-to-100-mile provision, and over a 100-mile provision. So what changed? In the old days in the under 100-mile provision on the weekends and for the Thursdays, you could elect to pick up after school or return to school on Fridays or Thursdays, or Mondays, whatever the case may be.  This was done when the order was signed by the judge. But you had to elect it and put it in the order before it was signed, and it was kind of messy. You did not get to make the election after the fact. Most of you probably don’t have the election in your order.

The new under 50 makes the “election” automatic. So, the Thursdays pick up after school, return to school Friday. And then on the noncustodial parent’s weekends, they would pick up after school on Friday, return to school on Monday. So that is now the standard language that goes into all the orders. And then the 50 to the 100 provisions are the same as the old under 100. It’s what you already know. The over 100 miles haven’t changed either. So, the Thursdays, the weekends, all of that hasn’t changed. What has changed is the pickup and drop-off times for the under 50 miles. The parents have to live within 50 miles of each other for this provision to apply.

Important Upcoming Dates

The month of April is coming up. That’s a big month because it’s the designation month for summer possession. So, if you want to know more about that and be prepared before I do the next video, go back and watch my videos from last year for the standard possession order, summer designation, the April video. Try and refresh yourself before the post for next month, and I will see you in April!