William Adam Flowers v. Lacey Flowers

407 S.W.3d 452, 2013 WL 3808156, 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 9000
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 23, 2013
Docket14-11-00894-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by71 cases

This text of 407 S.W.3d 452 (William Adam Flowers v. Lacey Flowers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
William Adam Flowers v. Lacey Flowers, 407 S.W.3d 452, 2013 WL 3808156, 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 9000 (Tex. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

KEM THOMPSON FROST, Justice.

This is an appeal from an order in a suit to modify the parent-child relationship. The father challenges the trial court’s rulings regarding (1) modification in the terms of the final divorce decree relating to the parents’ respective rights and duties concerning their minor children, (2) certain restrictions on the terms and conditions of access and possession, and (3) specific permanent injunctions determined by the court to be in the children’s best interest. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

I. Factual and PROCEDURAL Background

Appellant Lacey Flowers and appellee William Flowers were divorced in November 2004, after twelve years of marriage. They are the parents of three minor children: a son and twin daughters. In the final divorce decree, Lacey and William were appointed joint managing conservators of the children, but Lacey was granted the exclusive right to determine the children’s primary residence in Harris County, Texas, and contiguous counties. Under this decree, Lacey also was granted five other important rights. Specifically, Lacey was given the right, after conferring with William, to do the following (1) consent to medical, dental, and surgical treatment involving invasive procedures, (2) consent to psychiatric and psychological treatment of the children, (3) represent the children in legal actions and to make other decisions of substantial legal significance concerning the children, (4) except as provided in Family Code section 264.0111, receive the services and earnings of the children, and (5) except when a guardian of the children’s estates or a guardian or attorney ad litem has been appointed for the children, to act as an agent of the children in relation to the children’s respective estates if a child’s action is required by a state, the United States of America, or a foreign government. Lacey also was granted the right, subject to William’s agreement, to consent to the marriage of the children or their enlistment in the armed forces of the United States. In this opinion, we will refer to the six rights mentioned in the two prior sentences collectively as the “Six Parental Rights.”

William filed a motion to modify the parent-child relationship in February 2009, asking the trial court to grant him the exclusive right to determine the children’s primary residence as well as the exclusive rights listed in Family Code section 153.132, which includes all the of the Six Parental Rights. In addition, William sought (1) modification of the terms and conditions for access to or possession of the children so that William and Lacey would have possession of the children under a standard possession order and (2) termination of his child-support obligation and the imposition of a child-support obligation on Lacey.

*456 Lacey filed a counter-petition in which she requested various modifications to the terms and conditions for access to or possession of the children. Lacey sought modification so that she would be granted the right to consent to psychiatric or psychological treatment of the children without consulting with William or obtaining William’s agreement. Lacey also requested an increase in child support as well as permanent injunctive relief.

The issue of primary residence was tried before a jury. By agreement of the parties, an associate judge presided over the jury trial. The only question submitted to the jury was whether the order that designates Lacey as the conservator who has the exclusive right to designate the children’s primary residence should be modified to appoint William as the conservator who has that exclusive right. The jury answered “no” as to each of the children.

Thereafter, other issues were tried to the bench. Under the trial court’s final order:

• Lacey retained the exclusive right to determine the children’s . primary residence, but the geographic restriction on this right was removed.
• Lacey’s Six Parental Rights, which under the divorce decree required consultation with William or William’s agreement, were changed to exclusive rights not requiring consultation with William or his agreement.
• Neither parent may designate Jim Evans (a man William began dating in 2007 and living with in 2008) or a person with whom that parent has a dating relationship to pick up or return the children unless the other parent agrees in writing that Jim Evans or the third party with whom the. parent has a dating relationship may pick up or return the child.
• William is permanently enjoined from leaving or placing the children in the care of any person not related to them by blood or adoption without the prior written approval of Lacey.
• William is permanently enjoined . from appointing any person not related to them by blood or adoption to pick up or return the children to Lacey without Lacey’s prior written approval.

William appeals from the trial court’s final order.

II. Issues and Analysis

In his first three appellate issues, William challenges the trial court’s removal of the geographic restriction on Lacey’s exclusive right to determine the children’s primary residence. In his fourth issue, William challenges the trial court’s modification of the Six Parental Rights to make them exclusive rights not requiring Lacey’s consultation with William or his agreement. Under his fifth, sixth, and seventh issues, William challenges the restriction on whom William may designate to pick up or return the children as well as the permanent injunction.

A trial court may modify the provisions of the divorce decree that provide the terms and conditions of conservator-ship or that provide for the possession of or access to a child, if modification would be in the best interest of the child and the circumstances of the child, a conservator, or other party affected by the order have materially and substantially changed since the rendition date of the divorce decree. 1 *457 See Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 156.101(a)(1) (West 2013). We review a trial court’s decision to modify an order regarding con-servatorship or the terms of possession of and access to a child under an abuse-of-discretion standard. See Baltzer v. Medina, 240 S.W.3d 469, 474-75 (Tex.App.Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, no pet.). Likewise, we review a trial court’s order granting a permanent injunction under an abuse-of-discretion standard. See Jim Rutherford Investments, Inc. v. Terramar Beach Cmty. Ass’n, 25 S.W.3d 845, 848 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2000, pet. denied). Generally, the test for abuse of discretion is whether the trial court acted without reference to any guiding rules and principles or whether the trial court acted arbitrarily or unreasonably. See Downer v. Aquamarine Operators, Inc.,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
407 S.W.3d 452, 2013 WL 3808156, 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 9000, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/william-adam-flowers-v-lacey-flowers-texapp-2013.