Texas Parental Responsibility Statutes

A detailed examination of Texas Family Code § 41.001 and a parent’s obligation for property damage caused by a kid.

Texas, like the majority of states, has enacted legislation that holds parents civilly accountable for certain offenses done by their children. The Texas legislation under consideration here only establishes parental liability for property damage (not personal harm) under limited circumstances. We’ll go through the specifics of this legislation in the sections below, but bear in mind that parental responsibility might emerge in a variety of different situations that aren’t covered by this act.

Who Could Be Held Liable Under Texas Law?

Section 41.001 of the Texas Family Code establishes legal responsibility on “a parent or other person who has the obligation of control and appropriate discipline of a child.” In rare cases, culpability may extend to a legal guardian.

When Does Liability Under Texas Law Occur?

Section 41.001 holds a parent exclusively accountable for property harm. The Act does not address physical injury or other types of damage caused by a child’s behavior.

The first component of the legislation holds a parent accountable when a kid’s negligent behavior causes property damage and such behavior is reasonably traceable to the parent’s negligent failure to exercise their “obligation of control and appropriate discipline” over the child. (Learn more about the Duty of Care and Negligence.) It should be noted that this section of the legislation puts obligation on a parent regardless of the age of the kid, as long as he or she is a minor under the age of 18.

The second section of the Act holds a parent accountable “where a child’s deliberate and malicious behaviour” causes property damage. The parent’s culpability is limited to $25,000 in “actual damages,” plus “court expenses and reasonable attorney’s fees” for the opposing party. This second portion of the legislation requires the youngster to act with some amount of purpose or intent; it does not apply to simple accidents. This section of the law likewise does not apply to the behavior of all youngsters, only to those who are at least 10 years old but under the age of 18.

Parents may be held liable in excess of the Texas Statute.

As we said in the opening, parents in Texas should not believe that they are immune from civil responsibility if their child’s conduct do not come within the scope of these laws. That is not correct. Under conventional “common law” liability standards, parents may still be held accountable and face a personal injury lawsuit for injuries caused by their child’s reckless or willful activities. For example, if a Texas parent is aware that their kid has a proclivity to engage in particular reckless or irresponsible behavior, the parent may have a legal need to take reasonable precautions to keep the child from causing foreseeable injury to others.