The February 2022 Texas Standard Possession Order

Review of the February 2022 Texas Possession Calendar

A quick review of the Texas standard possession order for February of 2022 shows we are going to have our Thursdays for the non-custodial parent on February 3^rd, February 10^th, February 17^th, and February 24^th.  In addition, the non-custodial parent will have the first and third Friday of the month which would be February 4^th and February 18^th.

Weekend Extended by a Holiday (Presidents’ Day)

The only caveat to this month that makes it a little bit unusual is that we have Presidents’ Day.  Check your school’s calendar but I would bet money that your school is out on Presidents’ Day.

This is an excerpt from a standard possession order that involves my favorite couple John and Jane Jones who are getting divorced. Jane Jones is the non-custodial parent and John Jones is the custodial parent.  in this scenario Jane has visitations so this is the weekend possession extended by a holiday provision.  Review your order and you should have this in your order.  If you have a standard possession order and do not have this in your order, then you do not have a standard possession order.

For the month of February, we have Presidents’ Day which is going to be a student holiday.  So, except as otherwise expressly provided in this possession order meaning if there’s something else in the possession order that overrides this so be it.  But typically, there is not if a weekend period of possession by Jane Jones ends or is followed by a student holiday or teacher in-service day that falls on a Monday (which we know that Presidents’ Day does) during the regular school term as determined by the school in which the child is enrolled, or we know would be enrolled if your child is not of school-age yet or a federal estate holiday that falls on the Monday during the summer months.  If you’re talking about the fourth of July or something like that when school is not in session that weekend period of possession shall end at 6 pm on that Monday.

So, when you are looking back at the calendar for February you are seeing that the possession is then going to end at 6 pm on Monday, February 21st unless you have a different transfer provision time which if it’s returned to school, and that’s your transfer provision then you’re going to return to school on Tuesday the 22nd in the morning.  So, just look at what your transfer provisions say but that is why the non-custodial parent day extends into the 21st.

How to Determine the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Weekends

As an addition to a discussion this month of what the visitation schedule looks like I also wanted to talk about how you determine the first third and fifth weekends.  The final point I want to get to on the standard possession calendar is I had a comment from a woman who said “Chris, don’t the first third and fifth weekends begin on January 1^st, the 15^th, and the 29^th?  I’m confused as to why you said January 7^th and January 21^st”. That is an important point to make and I think it’s a very good question.  Don’t get confused about the first third and fifth weekends.  That is not the language.  The language is the first third and fifth Friday. The first weekend of the month is January 1st and January 2nd but that is not going to be the visitation for the weekend.  It is the first third and fifth Friday.  The first Friday of the month is the seventh and that is the weekend period of possession under a standard possession order.  The third Friday of the month is January 21st which makes the third weekend of the month.

Understanding the Standard Possession Weekend Language

If you look at provisions on weekends that occurred during the regular school term beginning at 6 pm on the first third and fifth Friday, Friday it doesn’t say the first third, and fifth weekend.  It says the first third and fifth Friday.  So, this is another important point under a standard possession order.  The words that are used are super important, so you have to know the wording that’s used.  Sometimes the words that aren’t used are super important.  As you can see highlighted below it says on weekends that occur during the school term but right below that it says on weekends that do not occur during the school term.  So, what does that mean?  When they’re out of school that means summers and weekends go through the summers weekends that do not occur during the school term.

Thursdays During the School Term

If you look at Thursday of each week during the regular school term you do not see anything in there that says what happens on Thursdays that are not during the school term.  The reason for that is because Thursdays don’t continue in the summers.  That’s how you tell.  Again, the words that are in there are important the words that are not in there are important.

March is Going to Be an Important Month

This is your discussion on February and what the standard possession order looks like and a little education on how you determine what a first third and fifth weekend looks like.  Next month we’re going to talk about March standard possession order which is a pretty important month. This is because in March we are rolling up on the notice provisions for the extended summer possession.