Around Labor Day every year, Texans start searching for the laws taking effect September 1. The date is real enough. More than 830 new Texas laws took effect on it in 2025.
September 1, 2026 is different. The Texas Legislature meets in regular session only in odd-numbered years. The 89th Legislature finished its work when its second called session adjourned sine die on September 4, 2025, and the 90th does not convene until January 12, 2027. Only fourteen bills carry a September 1, 2026 effective date, and none of them changes Texas family law.
The only item that touches the family courts at all is a set of provisions in House Bill 16 from the 2025 second called session, which creates seven new district courts that day: the 490th in Brazoria County, the 492nd serving Colorado and Lavaca Counties, the 511th in Comal County, the 513th, 514th and 515th in Harris County with a preference for civil cases, and the 523rd in Montgomery County with a preference for criminal cases. None sits in our service area, and none is designated a family court. A separate bill, House Bill 140, finishes abolishing the Family and Protective Services Council on the same date. Neither changes a single thing about a divorce, a custody case, or a protective order. If you have questions about how changes in Texas law may affect your family law matter, a Bedford, TX family lawyer can help you understand your rights and available legal options.
What changed in Texas family law in 2026
The custody evaluator training rule that applies to 2026 appointments
House Bill 2340 took effect September 1, 2025, but its most consequential piece reaches only evaluations where the evaluator was appointed on or after January 1, 2026. Under Family Code section 107.104(f), an evaluator must have completed at least three hours of training related to the care of a child with an intellectual or developmental disability during the two years preceding the evaluation. Under section 107.114(a-1), if the child who is the subject of the report has such a disability and the evaluator did not meet that requirement, the court may not admit the report into evidence.
The rule is narrow. It reaches only cases where the child has an intellectual or developmental disability. Evaluators appointed under Family Code section 107.106 are excluded, and that section is itself limited: it lets a court in certain smaller counties near the Gulf and the Mexico border appoint an otherwise qualified individual when no evaluator meeting the standard qualifications can do the work in time. If your custody case involves a child with a disability, ask about the evaluator’s training record at the appointment stage rather than after the report lands.
Protective order transfers became mandatory
Senate Bill 1559, effective September 1, 2025, changed “may” to “shall” in Family Code section 85.064. Where a protective order exists and a divorce or SAPCR is pending, the court that rendered the order must transfer it into the family case if the court finds that the transfer will not negatively impact the safety of any protected person. The transfer order must include that finding.
Senate Bill 1559 also set out the procedure. The motion must include a signed certificate of service. A contesting party must respond by the first Monday after the twentieth day following service, with a controverting affidavit addressing safety. If a response is filed, notice of the hearing must be served no later than the tenth day before it. And each protected person must be given an opportunity to submit a written statement on safety impact, which the court is required to consider.
Fewer families now end up with two judges issuing orders about them. Modification authority was left alone. A court could already modify a protective order under Family Code section 87.001, which lets it, on the motion of any party and after notice and hearing, exclude an item from an existing order or add an item that could have been included. Section 87.001 is unchanged.
Morrison v. Morrison and what it takes to enforce your decree
In Morrison v. Morrison, No. 24-0053, decided January 30, 2026, a divorce decree required the parties to sell community property and divide the proceeds. The trial court found thirty-six violations of the decree and three violations of a receiver order, and awarded the wife $449,254.96, an amount equal to the entire proceeds from the sale of the marital home, as part of a total award of $722,725.33. The court of appeals vacated that order and dismissed for want of jurisdiction, treating it as an impermissible modification of the property division.
The Texas Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals and remanded to the trial court. A trial court does retain jurisdiction to enforce a decree and to award damages caused by a breach of it. But the trial court had shifted the entire sale proceeds to the wife without determining the reduction in fair market value to the community estate that the husband’s violations caused. Because it failed to determine the amount of damages, its award exceeded its enforcement authority. Family Code section 9.010 permits a money judgment for the damages caused by a failure to comply, but only where delivery of the property awarded in the decree is no longer an adequate remedy.
The opinion did not reinstate the award, and the case went back to the trial court. For anyone drafting a decree, Morrison argues for spelling out consequences in concrete terms. For anyone on the receiving end of a breach, it means coming to court with proof of what the breach cost.
One thing to ignore
You will find firm blogs this month describing the expanded standard possession order as a 2025 or 2026 change. It is not. Senate Bill 1936 added Family Code section 153.3171 and took effect September 1, 2021. It directs a court to alter the standard possession order to the expanded schedule where the possessory conservator lives no more than 50 miles from the child’s primary residence, unless that conservator declines the expanded elements or the court finds the expanded schedule is not in the child’s best interest. If a source is dating that one wrong, be careful with the rest of what it tells you.
If any of this touches a matter you are dealing with right now, we are glad to talk it through. Call (817) 841-9906 or request a consultation at brandyaustinlaw.com/contact/.
Frequently asked questions
Do any new Texas family laws take effect September 1, 2026?
No. Fourteen bills carry a September 1, 2026 effective date in Texas, and none of them changes divorce, custody, child support, or protective order law. The Texas Legislature meets in regular session only in odd-numbered years, so there was no 2026 regular session.
When does the Texas Legislature meet again?
The 90th Texas Legislature convenes January 12, 2027. Between sessions, the Governor may call a special session and set its agenda, which is how the two 2025 called sessions came about.
What training must a Texas child custody evaluator have in 2026?
Under Family Code section 107.104(f), an evaluator must have completed at least three hours of training on the care of a child with an intellectual or developmental disability within the two years before the evaluation. If the child has such a disability and the evaluator lacks that training, section 107.114(a-1) bars the court from admitting the report.
Does a Texas court have to move a protective order into a pending divorce?
Yes, in most cases. Since September 1, 2025, Family Code section 85.064 requires the court that issued the protective order to transfer it into a pending divorce or SAPCR if the court finds the transfer will not negatively impact the safety of any protected person, and the transfer order must recite that finding.
Can a Texas court award money when an ex-spouse violates a divorce decree?
Yes, but the damages have to be established. Family Code section 9.010 permits a money judgment for damages caused by the failure to comply, where delivery of the property awarded is no longer an adequate remedy. In Morrison v. Morrison, decided January 30, 2026, the Texas Supreme Court held that awarding an entire sale proceeds figure without determining the actual damages exceeded the trial court’s enforcement authority.
When is the expanded standard possession order the default in Texas?
Since September 1, 2021, under Family Code section 153.3171, where the possessory conservator lives no more than 50 miles from the child’s primary residence. It is a rebuttable default: the conservator may decline the expanded elements, and the court may find the expanded schedule is not in the child’s best interest.
If you have questions about how Texas family law may affect your divorce, custody matter, protective order, or another family law issue, the attorneys at Brandy Austin Law Firm can help you understand how the law applies to your circumstances. Family law matters can involve important decisions about your family, finances, and future, making it helpful to understand your rights and responsibilities before taking the next step. A legal review can also help identify issues that may require attention based on recent changes in the law or developments in your case. Contact the firm to discuss your situation, learn about your available legal options, and determine what steps may be appropriate for you and your family.