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Recent Blog Posts
Standard Possession Orders
In Texas, non-custodial parents have the right to interact with their child at certain times. Although there are several types of visitation orders in Texas, one of the most common is the Standard Possession Order (SPO), which is usually utilized when parents cannot agree on a visitation schedule. Although the SPO was specifically designed to be fair and workable to both parents, this type of schedule is not always in a child’s best interests, so if you are going through a divorce and are unable to reach an out-of-court agreement with your spouse regarding custody and visitation, you should consider speaking with an experienced complex child custody lawyer who can help you find a solution that is best for your family.
SPO Schedules
When couples are unable to come to a custody arrangement, the court steps in and creates an agreement that is in the child’s best interests. In many cases, this takes the form of the Standard Possession Order, which generally provides that the possessory, or non-custodial parent has the right to visitation with their child starting at 6:00 p.m. on the first, third, and fifth Friday of each month. This period of visitation ends at 6:00 p.m. the following Sunday. Additionally, the non-custodial parent is granted visitation with the child every Thursday evening for two hours.
What Is a Conservatorship Under Texas Family Law?
In Texas, family law courts use the term conservatorship to describe the responsibilities, duties, and rights of parents towards their children. Essentially, the term is used to describe what many other states refer to as custody. There are two types of conservatorship in Texas: sole managing conservatorships and joint managing conservatorships. The type chosen by the courts depends on the specific circumstances of each case, so if you are considering divorce and have questions about your legal rights or duties as a parent and how they could be affected by the dissolution of your marriage, it is important to contact a complex child custody attorney who can address your concerns.
Sole Managing Conservatorships
Parents who are appointed as sole managing conservators are given primary responsibility for raising their child. For example, sole managing conservators can decide where their child will live, can consent to medical treatments, have the right to receive child support payments, and can make decisions regarding their child’s education and employment. Texas courts presume that joint managing conservatorships are in the best interests of a child, so sole managing conservatorships are rare. In most cases, courts will only award one parent sole conservatorship if:
Grandparent Rights: Can I Visit My Grandchild Against Their Parents’ Wishes?
Many grandparents play a crucial role in their grandchildren’s lives and in some situations, they can continue to do so even after the child’s parents have dissolved their marriage. However, this is not always true, in which case, children may be prevented by one parent from seeing their grandparents. In Texas, it is possible for grandparents to receive a court order allowing them to visit their grandchildren, although obtaining such an order can be a difficult process, especially if one of the child’s parents vehemently opposes visitation, so if you are seeking visitation with your grandchild, it is critical to contact a complex child custody lawyer who has the experience and resources to assist you.
Establishing Standing
Grandparents must have standing before visitation will be granted, which means that they must be able to prove the following:
- They are the biological parent of one of the child’s biological parents;
Sharing Custody Over the Holidays
The approaching holiday season can be a joyous time for family and friends to reunite and celebrate together. Unfortunately, these festive occasions can become contentious when ex-spouses are unable to come to an agreement about holiday visitation with their children. To help avoid this type of stressful situation, you should consider speaking with an experienced complex child custody attorney who can help you find a solution that is in the best interests of all parties.
Court-Ordered Visitation Schedules
When a couple is unable to come to an out-of-court agreement regarding custody matters, courts are required to step in and create a parenting agreement. In these cases, visitation schedules take the form of either standard possession or expanded standard possession arrangements. Under a standard possession order, the holiday visitation schedule will be set in stone, regardless of the distance between the parents’ residences.
Child Custody and the Bird's Nest Arrangement
The type of parenting schedule that is best for a family depends on the specific circumstances of each case. For example, the division of parenting time and responsibilities for a family where both parents work full-time may look very different from the arrangement made by another couple, where one of the parents stays home with the kids. Often, finding the correct arrangement is difficult, especially if the children involved are very young.
In recent years, more and more couples with young children are implementing what is commonly referred to as a bird's nest arrangement. Under this model, the couple’s children continue to live in the marital home while the parents take turns sharing it with them according to a predetermined schedule. While the bird's nest arrangement has proven successful for many parents, it is not right for every family, so if you are going through a divorce and are considering implementing this type of custody arrangement, it is critical to first speak with an experienced complex child custody lawyer who can explain the potential advantages and drawbacks of this type of plan.
Child Support Expenses
When some people think about child support expenses, they only consider the costs related to providing food, clothing, and insurance. However, the reality is that child support awards cover not only a child’s basic needs, but also additional expenses. To learn more about what you could be required to pay in child support, please contact one of our experienced child support lawyers for advice.
Calculating Child Support
When deciding how much a parent will be required to pay in child support, courts look at both parties’ incomes, the number of children involved, and all child-related expenses. This includes estimates of the cost of basic necessities, such as food, clothing, housing, and medical care. However, there are usually a number of other expenses associated with raising a child. For example, education-related expenses alone can quickly become overwhelming and could include: private school tuition, uniforms, school supplies, tutors, and fees for after school clubs. These types of costs are usually included in a court’s child support calculation, although other expenses related to recreation, are not always covered. Texas law also does not mandate coverage for a variety of other childcare costs, including expenses for:
Divorce Mediation
Dissolving a marriage does not necessarily have to be contentious. In fact, many couples are able to come to decisions regarding custody, child support, and property division without a judge’s intervention. When this is possible, it can significantly cut down on expenses, save time, and help protect children from the more emotional aspects of divorce. Mediation is one of the best ways to achieve this type of result, so if you and your spouse are both focused on an amicable divorce, please contact a member of our experienced divorce legal team to learn more about your options.
What Does the Mediation Process Involve?
Mediations are one of the most popular methods of negotiating a divorce settlement and involve a meeting between both parties, their respective lawyers, and a neutral third party. This third party, known as a mediator, is tasked with helping couples resolve the following kinds of issues by facilitating discussion and negotiation:
Why You Should Avoid Snooping during Divorce
Many couples are able to dissolve their marriage amicably and require little to no court intervention in coming to a child custody or spousal maintenance arrangement. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, especially when one of the parties suspects the other of substance abuse or hiding assets. In these situations, it can be tempting for one party to look through the other spouse’s emails or text messages in an effort to find information that can be used in court. This is almost never a good idea and can actually lead to criminal charges, in addition to jeopardizing visitation time and other child custody matters. If you believe that your spouse has been going through your private electronic information, you should strongly consider speaking with an experienced complex divorce attorney who can explain your legal options.
Federal Law
Although checking a spouse’s email or cell phone may seem innocent enough, it actually qualifies as a violation of federal law, which prohibits unauthorized access to private email accounts. Recently, a Michigan man who suspected his wife of having an affair and logged onto her email without permission was even charged with the felony offense of misusing a computer, which is punishable by up to five years imprisonment. For this reason, parties to a divorce should be wary of invading each other’s privacy by checking their email or reading their text messages without permission.
Health Care Coverage for Children
In Texas, parents are obligated to provide financial support for their children. This responsibility does not end when a couple dissolves their marriage or decides to separate. Instead, the non-custodial party will be required to pay child support in an amount determined by the court. When calculating how much a parent will be required to pay, courts take into account each party’s income, how much time each parent spends with the child and the child’s health needs. Unfortunately, even when parents are ordered to help pay for medical care for their child, many fail to do so, which can put extreme financial stress on the custodial parent and even endanger the health of the child, so if your ex-spouse is refusing to help pay for your child’s medical care, it is critical to speak with an experienced child support lawyer who can ensure that your child’s best interests are protected.
Medical Support
According to state law, non-custodial parents are required to provide medical support for their children, which includes the cost of health insurance or out-of-pocket medical expenses. As long as the non-custodial parent can provide medical coverage through his or her health insurance policy at a reasonable cost, then he or she is required to include the child on the policy. However, if the parent cannot obtain coverage through an employer, then the custodial parent will be required to provide coverage if available through his or her employer. Even in these situations, the non-custodial parent would still need to reimburse the other parent for the cost of insurance.
Inheritance and High Asset Divorce
Texas law requires that divorcing couples divide their property in an equitable manner. However, this rule only applies to marital property, as separate property will remain under the sole ownership of the original holder. Inheritances, for example, are considered the separate property of the person to whom they were bequeathed, even if they were given to one spouse during a marriage. In some cases, it is still possible for another party to retain a portion of one spouse’s inheritance, so if you were given a valuable gift or inherited property from a loved one during your marriage and you are now going through a divorce, please consider speaking with a high asset divorce attorney who can help you protect your assets.
Separate Property
Under Texas law there are three types of assets that qualify as separate property:
- Any property owned or claimed by a spouse prior to the marriage;
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