Posted on February 22,2022 in Divorce

The Supreme Court ruling of Obergefell v. Hodges was a manifestation of a sea of change in American cultural attitudes towards the legality of homosexual marriage. In many ways the culmination of many years of deeply felt activism on both sides of the issue, this 2015 ruling made same-sex marriage legal in every state. But along with same-sex marriage came the same complications and difficulties of heterosexual marriage, including divorce. While gay and lesbian couples getting divorced in Texas can expect the same-sex divorce process to look mostly the same as their heterosexual peers, here are some important facts to know.

Cohabitation Agreements Are Trumped By Prenuptial Agreements

Same-sex spouses who got married in a state where same-sex marriage was legal before the Obergefell v. Hodges decision may have signed a prenup in their state of marriage and a cohabitation agreement in Texas. Now that same-sex marriage is legal everywhere, the prenuptial agreement a couple signed in another state will take legal precedence over a cohabitation agreement signed in Texas. 

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 Posted on February 04,2022 in Family Law

Many unmarried women get pregnant accidentally or before finding out that the child’s father is not a man they want to raise a child with. They may then wonder if establishing paternity would be in their or the child’s best interests. After all, if the child’s father is abusive, unavailable, or a philanderer, many women may reason that there is simply no reason to inform him of the pregnancy. 

While some women ultimately do decide to never establish parentage in Texas, there are good reasons for doing so even if you do not like your child’s father. Before you decide whether you want to establish paternity, here are some things to consider. 

Will Not Establishing Paternity Hurt My Child? 

An abundance of research suggests that children do best by almost every metric when they have fathers in their lives. Fatherless children are more likely to drop out of school, abuse drugs and alcohol, engage in criminal activity, have trouble regulating their emotions, and become pregnant as a teenager. 

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 Posted on January 28,2022 in Family Law

Divorce requires a family to restructure major aspects of their lives: their living arrangements, their relationships, their finances, and more. While the quality of the relationship between a parent and her child can and should be the most important concern following a divorce, financial arrangements are also very important. Understanding how child support is handled in Texas is essential for moving on with a steady and predictable budget after a divorce is finalized. If you are a divorcing parent in Collin County, TX, this information may be useful to you. 

Important Factors in Child Support Payments 

Texas courts use a special formula to estimate ideal monthly child support payments. Both parents’ income from all sources is taken into consideration. This includes salary, hourly, and overtime pay, as well as bonuses, tips, commissions, and other monetary benefits.

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 Posted on January 20,2022 in Family Law

Every year, more children in the United States are the product of divorced or never-married parents. Over time, Texas law has been updated to reflect the realities of modern family life, becoming more flexible and allowing unmarried co-parents to make arrangements that work for their family. One common consequence of having unmarried parents is the likelihood that one parent will want to move away from the other and take their child with them. But when a parent wants to move and he or she shares custody of a child with another adult, Texas law has certain requirements to protect the best interests of the child. 

What Are the Best Interests of a Child? 

Whenever Texas courts make decisions about a child, including how time spent with each parent and important decision-making responsibilities are allocated, it makes these decisions with the child’s best interests in mind. Although several other factors are taken into consideration, the ultimate standard that must be met is whether an arrangement would be the best for a child, given the circumstances. 

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 Posted on December 20,2021 in Divorce

If you are getting divorced, you probably have hundreds of questions. You may wonder how you and your soon-to-be-ex will divide the contents of your bank accounts or handle ownership of the family vehicles. You may question who will keep the marital home, furniture, and other tangible property. You may also have business interests, investments, and retirement accounts that will need to be dealt with. Property division can be a complicated and contentious issue during a Texas divorce. A divorce lawyer can help.

Marital Settlement Agreements: Determining Property Division Outside of Court

Each divorce case is different. The complexity of the property division process is largely based on the types of assets spouses’ own and their ability to reach an agreement on how to divide those assets. Some spouses are able to reach a property distribution settlement without the court’s involvement. Many negotiate a property division arrangement through their lawyers and formalize their decision in the marital settlement agreement.

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 Posted on December 13,2021 in Child Custody

Many parents seek to pursue what they call “full custody” of their child in a Texas divorce or custody modification. However, Texas law actually does not use the terms “custody” or “visitation” - instead, a parent’s legal relationship with their child is split into two areas: Conservatorship, meaning the right to make decisions for the child, and possession, or time spent with the child. In our last blog, we cover Texas’s treatment of child custody in fuller detail. 

It is important to know that Texas only terminates one parent’s rights if he or she meets the grounds for termination under the Family Code - not because parents dislike each other or disagree with each others’ parenting methods. In this blog, we will examine some of the rare situations in which a parent may be able to get full parental rights that exclude the other parent. 

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 Posted on November 23,2021 in Child Custody

Parents want what is best for their children. Whether you are an unmarried parent or a parent planning to divorce, you probably have several questions about child custody in Texas. Who your child will live with and how significant decisions about the child’s upbringing will be made are essential concerns during a Texas divorce. Read on to learn about child custody laws and what to do if you need help with child custody concerns.

Legal Custody and Physical Custody

Each state handles child custody slightly differently. In Texas, “legal custody” refers to parents’ decision-making authority. Parents with legal custody have the right to decide where their children will go to school, what type of healthcare the children receive, whether the children go to church or participate in other religious practices, and more.

Physical custody refers to where the child lives and which parent cares for the child on any given day. The Texas Family Code calls custody “conservatorship,” but the term child custody is still used informally in this blog for clarity purposes.

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 Posted on November 03,2021 in Divorce

Whether you are just thinking about divorce, or you have already filed the divorce paperwork with the court, you may understandably have questions about the divorce’s impact on your finances. Spousal maintenance can help offset the negative financial consequences of divorce. However, alimony or spousal maintenance is only available in certain circumstances. If you are interested in pursuing spousal maintenance during your divorce or you think your spouse will ask for spousal maintenance, contact a skilled divorce lawyer for help.

You May Be Able to Negotiate an Alimony Agreement

Spouses may be able to negotiate an agreement about the terms of spousal maintenance payments during the divorce process. Often, one spouse will receive certain assets in exchange for paying spousal maintenance to the other. For example, you may be able to negotiate a spousal maintenance arrangement that trades maintenance payments for business interests, stocks, or other assets.

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 Posted on October 21,2021 in Family Law

Family violence or domestic violence is a very legitimate problem in Texas. Unfortunately, some people abuse the legal system by making false accusations of family violence. Whether you are going through a divorce, child custody dispute, or other family law matter, being accused of family violence can have a major impact on your case. The best thing to do when you find out you have been accused of child abuse, domestic assault, or another form of family violence is to contact a skilled family law attorney for personalized legal guidance.

Do Not Speak to or Visit the Person Accusing You of Family Violence

Being accused of something as heinous as child abuse or domestic violence is understandably shocking. If a current or former romantic partner, family member, or housemate has accused you of harming them or their children, you may be eager to defend yourself. You may want to confront the accuser and set the record straight. However, confronting the accuser is one of the worst things you can do in a situation like this.

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 Posted on October 13,2021 in Divorce

When a couple gets married, we typically think of it as an emotional or romantic union, not a financial union. However, getting married does entangle the spouses’ finances considerably. During a divorce, the spouses’ property and debts will be divided. However, each spouse must be fully transparent about his or her assets, income, and debts in order for property division to be accurate. Some spouses try to manipulate their divorce outcome by hiding assets.  

Financial Fraud is Fraud on the Community

Texas divorce cases are subject to community property laws. This means that property acquired during the marriage is the property of both spouses. Both spouses are entitled to a portion of the marital estate during property division in a divorce – save for a few exceptions. Separate property is not divided. However, the amount of separate property a spouse owns can still influence the divorce case. Each spouse’s income and overall financial circumstances heavily influence issues like child support and alimony. Some divorcing spouses try to sway divorce issues in their favor by lying about income and assets. They may do so to gain a financial advantage or to “get revenge” on their spouse. Hiding assets in this way is considered “fraud on the community” by Texas law.

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