How is custody determined? Is preference given to the mother or the father?
The court considers the qualifications of the parties without regard to their marital status or to the sex of the party or child in determining conservatorship (i.e., custody) of the child. In other words, there is no preference that a child should live primarily with his/her mother or father. The best interest of the child is always the primary consideration of the court in determining the issues of conservatorship and possession of an access to the child. There is a rebuttable presumption that appointment of parents as joint managing conservators (i.e., joint custody) is in the best interest of the child. Joint managing conservatorship does not, however, require the award of equal or nearly equal periods of physical possession of and access to the child to each parent.
