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Recent Blog Posts
When Are Custody Evaluators Used in Texas?
Child custody evaluations are ordered by Texas courts when parents are locked in a custody battle, and judges need to get impartial information regarding the best interests of a child. Although custody disputes generally take place during divorce proceedings, they can also happen any time a parent requests a modification in their custody arrangement. Unfortunately, custody evaluations can be long, expensive, and invasive proceedings, and if you are worried that a custody evaluator may be appointed to your case, it is important to understand how custody evaluations work.
What is a Child Custody Evaluator?
Custody evaluators are trained professionals who are often appointed by the court, although parents can hire private evaluators as well. Evaluators in Texas must have the appropriate education, supervised experience, and must work within a rigorous set of guidelines.
What if My Spouse is Alienating My Children From Me?
One of the most unfortunate consequences of a Texas divorce is the tendency for parents to feel so hostile towards each other that they try to alienate their children from their other parent. In the worst cases, both parents actively try to develop a bias against each other. Other times only one parent is trying to undermine the parent-child relationship.
Regardless of whether one or both parents are responsible for alienation, it can have a terrible impact on children and Texas family courts take this behavior seriously. If you are concerned that your relationship with your children is threatened because of your spouse’s actions, it is important to understand what behaviors are generally understood as alienating and what options you may have.
What is Parental Alienation?
Although alienation can look many different ways, certain actions and behaviors may indicate that one parent is trying to cultivate distance or suspicion from a child towards their other parent. These include, but are not limited to:
Help! I Am Divorcing a Spouse Addicted to Gambling
Irresponsible gambling has destroyed the lives of many Texans, but the consequences of this behavior are, unfortunately, not restricted to the gamblers alone. A gambling addiction can take a serious toll on the relationship and finances of a couple, so much so that divorce is ultimately the only option.
Gambling, and the secretive and wasteful behaviors associated with it, complicate divorces in Texas. If you plan to divorce a spouse with a gambling problem, it is important to protect your finances and gather evidence to support your case in court.
What is Dissipation of Assets?
Dissipation of assets occurs when one spouse wastes, profligately spends, or otherwise abuses a couple's shared marital assets. Dissipative behavior can be done out of spite or to hide assets for later use, but dissipation can also occur when money is recklessly spent for purposes unrelated to the marriage. Some examples of dissipative behavior include:
What are the Most Common Small Business Valuation Methods?
Once a divorce process begins, you have endless things to think about and take care of. For small business owners, the list is even longer. You may worry that your divorce will permanently affect the success of your business, leaving you without a way to provide for yourself or your children.
Understanding how businesses are valued and treated in a Texas divorce is an important first step in making wise decisions during the divorce process. While this blog gives a brief overview of business valuation methods, your attorney is the most qualified source of answers to your questions.
What is My Business’s Market Value?
Using the market valuation method means looking around at the value of recently sold similar businesses with a willing seller and a willing buyer. Requiring both the buyer and seller to be willing excludes any businesses whose prices may have been artificially lowered by an unwilling seller in a tight situation.
Should I File For Bankruptcy During My Texas Divorce?
Conflict around finances is one of the most common reasons couples in Texas get divorced. Whether financial troubles are due to irresponsible spending or an unpredictable downturn in a family business, the added stress of financial woes makes divorce even more difficult.
Couples who are getting divorced may wonder if filing for bankruptcy would be beneficial. Each couple’s situation is unique, so it is important to understand how bankruptcy during divorce works and what your options are. This blog is a brief overview of how bankruptcy and divorce can influence each other. If you have questions about your divorce and financial situation, a qualified Texas divorce attorney is your best source for information.
Should We File For Bankruptcy Before or After Filing For Divorce?
Bankruptcy proceedings attempt to help couples or individuals reorganize their debt in a manageable way, but the bankruptcy process itself is not free. If couples wait until after they are divorced, they will have to pay the filing fees, credit counseling fees, and attorney’s fees twice - once for each spouse. If couples are still married, they can file a joint bankruptcy case.
What is a QDRO in a Texas Divorce?
Dividing marital property is generally one of the most difficult and contentious parts of a divorce. Couples, especially those who have been married for many years, have often accumulated a large number of valuable assets. Included in the assets that must be divided are individual and shared retirement accounts, such as pensions, 401(k)s, and IRAs.
Spouses who earned pensions through decades of hard work may understandably feel upset about having to divide money they view as being rightfully theirs. Likewise, other spouses will have supported a working spouse throughout a career and feel entitled to their fair share of the retirement funds. It is important to understand how retirement funds are generally handled in a Texas divorce so divorcees can set reasonable expectations throughout the process.
Are Retirement Benefits Always Divided Between Spouses?
What Happens When More Than One Man Claims to Be a Child’s Father?
Establishing paternity can be challenging even when the identity of the child’s biological father is clear. When there is uncertainty surrounding the father’s identity, it becomes even more complicated. In some cases, more than one man may have a presumption of paternity, or come forward with a claim of paternity in an effort to secure parental rights. It is important for both fathers and mothers to understand how these conflicts can be resolved to ensure that the correct man is recognized as the child’s father.
Competing Presumptions of Paternity
In Texas, a man is presumed to be the father of a child if he is married to the child’s mother when the child is born, as well as if his marriage to the child’s mother ended within 300 days before the child’s birth. While it is not especially common, it is possible for these presumption criteria to apply to two different men. For example, a child’s mother may have gotten divorced from one man and then remarried another man within this 300-day period. In other cases, only one man may have a presumption of paternity, while another man wishes to voluntarily acknowledge paternity because he believes himself to be the child’s biological father.
How Can Child Custody Affect Other Parts of a Divorce Resolution?
When parents get divorced in Texas, their children are often one of their most important concerns. Addressing child-related issues is also one of the most important parts of the divorce process. Most notably, parents will need to determine child custody arrangements that affect each parent’s involvement in their children’s lives. However, the decisions made regarding child custody can also impact other elements of a divorce resolution.To achieve an outcome that best meets your needs and your children’s needs, it is important to understand how all of these different issues may affect each other.
Child Custody and Child Support
According to Texas law, the parent who will be ordered to pay child support in a divorce is usually the parent who will have less custodial time with the child according to the child custody order. If you expect that your spouse will be granted a larger share of physical custody, you should be prepared to make child support payments. The amount paid is based on a percentage of the noncustodial parent’s monthly income.
Do I Need a Prenup for My Second Marriage?
Prenuptial agreements can be a touchy subject between partners, and there are many reasons why people may be reluctant to consider them. Some may be concerned that a prenup will start the marriage off on the wrong foot, and others may feel that a prenup is unnecessary given their current financial situation. However, for those who are about to begin their second marriage, the benefits of a prenuptial agreement often start to become more clear. Here are some reasons why a prenup may be a good choice as you prepare to get remarried.
You Want to Avoid the Mistakes of Your First Marriage
Divorce is a largely unpleasant experience, but one positive that may result from divorce is a better understanding of what can go wrong in a marriage. Perhaps disagreements about finances were a major contributor to the failure of your first marriage, and you want to address these issues up front in your next marriage. Or, perhaps the division of marital assets in your divorce was difficult and embittered, and you want to have a better plan for dividing assets amicably if you need to do it again in the future. A prenup can allow you to do both of these things.
What is the Role of a Guardian ad Litem in a Texas Child Custody Dispute?
In many Texas divorce cases, parents can reach a child custody agreement that serves their children’s best interests. However, it is not uncommon for parents to have significant disagreements or even serious concerns about the other parent’s influence on the children. When this is the case, a child custody dispute may need to be resolved through litigation, and the court may seek input from a representative known as a guardian ad litem when making decisions regarding a child’s best interests.
If you are involved in a complex child custody dispute, it is important to understand the role of a guardian ad litem and how it may affect the outcome of your case.
What Does a Guardian ad Litem Do?
There are a few different kinds of child representatives that the court may appoint in a child custody suit, but a guardian ad litem, or GAL, is one of the most common. The primary role of a GAL is to provide information to the court regarding a child’s best interests. Often, a GAL is a professional or a representative from a volunteer organization with a specific focus on the well-being of children. Anyone who serves as a GAL must have sufficient knowledge and training to fulfill their appointed duties.
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