Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: child custody/POA

Power of Attorney and conservatorship (custody) are not the same things. A power of attorney is limited and you can only give someone else the power to do something you already have the right to do. If for convenience sake he wants to give her the authority to exercise some of his rights on his behalf, it will not effect your rights to the children nor will it give her any power he does not have under the divorce decree.

Re: child custody/POA

Perhaps the POA is for the significant other to pick the children up from school or something simple. That does not mean that she has conservatorship rights.

Re: child custody/POA

It is unclear if this should be addressed under WA law or TX law. In WA a POA can only grant authority to do what the principal could have done for themselves. So the POA may authorize the future spouse to pick the children up from school or to seek emergency medical care (generally a parenting plan provides that the parents have to consult on non-emergency medical care).