05/12/2026
In Texas family law cases, a jury can decide only certain issues. Many people assume a jury decides everything, but in family court that is not how it works—especially in custody cases. The judge still decides a large part of the case.
*So while a jury decided custody the Judge decides possession and access.
In a SAPCR / custody case, the jury may decide:
>Whether one parent should be appointed sole managing conservator
>Whether the parents should be appointed joint managing conservators
>Which parent has the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence
>Whether there should be a geographic restriction on the child’s residence (for example, limited to El Paso County)
>If there is a geographic restriction, what that geographic area will be.
EVEN in a jury trial, the judge decides:
>Child support (amount, retroactive support, medical support)
>The possession schedule (the exact visitation terms: weekends, holidays, exchanges, pickup times, etc.)
>Specific rights and duties (medical decision-making, educational decisions, counseling, passports, etc.)
>Admissibility of evidence
>All legal rulings and final wording of the order
So, for example, a jury might decide Mother gets the right to designate the child’s primary residence, but the judge will still decide whether Dad gets standard possession, expanded possession, supervised visits, or equal possession.
