If you are a noncustodial parent operating under the default summer possession schedule, your 30-day window began on July 1 at 6:00 p.m. and runs through July 31 at 6:00 p.m. This is the time the Texas Family Code guarantees you — and if your co-parent is refusing to surrender the children, shortening your time, or creating obstacles to exchange, you need to act now. Once school resumes at Conroe ISD on August 12, the regular school-year schedule takes over and your summer window is closed.
At Griffin & Cain, Attorneys at Law, we handle emergency custody enforcement matters throughout the summer in every Montgomery County family court. If your possession time is being denied, call (936) 441-2999 today — every day you wait is a day you cannot recover.
What Happens When the Custodial Parent Refuses to Comply
The default July 1–31 summer period is not optional. It is a court order. If the custodial parent refuses to deliver the children at 6:00 p.m. on July 1, or picks them up early on July 31, or withholds the children for any period within that window, they are in violation of the court order.
Your options for enforcement escalate based on the severity and pattern of the violation.
Contact law enforcement at the exchange point. If the custodial parent refuses to surrender the children at the court-ordered time and location, you can request law enforcement assistance. Officers will typically review the court order on-site. While police officers cannot force a parent to hand over a child in most circumstances, they can document the refusal — and that documentation becomes evidence in your enforcement case.
File a Motion to Enforce. This is a formal legal action filed in the court that issued your custody order. The motion asks the court to hold the custodial parent in contempt for violating the possession provisions and to order makeup time, attorney's fees, and court costs. In Montgomery County, enforcement motions can often be set for hearing within 2–4 weeks if filed promptly.
Request an emergency hearing. If the custodial parent has taken the children out of the jurisdiction, is refusing all contact, or is creating a pattern of escalating interference, your attorney can file for an emergency hearing before the court. Emergency settings are typically granted within days — sometimes within 24 to 48 hours.
Pursue criminal charges under SB 2794. If this is the third documented violation within 24 months and you have two prior contempt findings, the three strikes visitation law elevates the interference to a state jail felony.
The Makeup Time Standard
Under Texas Family Code §157.162, if the court finds that a parent has failed to comply with possession provisions, the court shall order additional periods of possession to compensate for the missed time. The makeup time must be the same type (weekend for weekend, summer for summer) and approximately the same duration. The court can also order the violating parent to pay the other parent's attorney's fees and court costs.
Makeup time sounds simple in theory, but it creates practical headaches. If your summer possession was shortened by two weeks, the court may order two additional weeks of possession during the school year — but finding a two-week block during the school year is difficult and disruptive. This is why acting quickly during the summer window itself is preferable to seeking makeup time after the fact.
Documenting the Violation: What You Need
Montgomery County judges expect organized, specific evidence. For each violation of your summer possession, document the date and time of the scheduled exchange, the location specified in the court order, what happened (refusal, late arrival, no-show, early pickup), how you attempted to communicate with the custodial parent (texts, emails, phone calls), whether law enforcement was contacted and whether a report was filed, and any witnesses to the failed exchange.
Screenshots of text messages are powerful evidence. Save every message related to the exchange — including messages where the custodial parent makes excuses, proposes alternatives, or explicitly refuses to comply. Courts respond to chronological, factual documentation. Avoid editorializing or sending angry messages that could be used against you.
The August 12 Clock: Why Timing Matters
Conroe ISD's first day of school for the 2026–2027 academic year is August 12. Once school resumes, the regular school-year possession schedule takes over — first, third, and fifth weekends, Thursday overnight (under the ESPO), and alternating holidays. Your summer window is gone.
If your summer time has been denied and you have not filed enforcement by mid-July, the realistic timeline for a hearing may push into August or September. You will still recover makeup time, but the summer itself is unrecoverable. Filing now — in the first two weeks of July — gives you the best chance of resolving the dispute while the summer window is still open.
What If the Custodial Parent Has Legitimate Concerns?
There are circumstances where a custodial parent may have genuine safety concerns about summer possession — substance abuse, domestic violence, unsuitable housing, or a new partner with a criminal history. These concerns are valid and should be addressed through the proper legal channels: a motion to modify, a temporary restraining order, or a CPS investigation if child safety is at immediate risk.
What the custodial parent cannot do is unilaterally decide to withhold the children based on their own assessment of the situation. Texas law requires compliance with the existing court order until a court modifies it. Taking the law into your own hands — even with good intentions — is contempt.
Call Griffin & Cain Before Your Summer Time Runs Out
Your children deserve time with both parents. Your court order guarantees it. If that order is being violated, Griffin & Cain can help you enforce it — quickly and effectively — in every Montgomery County family court.
Call (936) 441-2999 for a free consultation. We serve parents in Conroe, The Woodlands, Magnolia, Willis, and throughout Montgomery and Walker County.
