Posted on April 28, 2017 in Child Custody

Early this year, Senator Jane Nelson introduced a new bill that would give courts the right to terminate the parental rights of someone convicted of sexual assault. If passed, the new law could have significant repercussions on the rights of many Texas parents, so if you have questions about how the law could affect you, it is important to contact an experienced complex child custody attorney who can address your concerns. A skilled family law attorney in your area will help protect your rights and provide questions to any answers you may have concerning family law in Texas.

Current Law

According to Texas law, courts can terminate the parent-child relationship if clear and convincing evidence demonstrates that a parent has:

• Allowed the child to live in conditions that endangered his or her well-being;
• Did something that endangered the child;

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 Posted on April 21, 2017 in Family Law

Even when a couple chooses not to officially get married, their relationship may qualify as a common law marriage. In these cases, separating couples are still required to go through the process of divorce, so if you have questions about whether your relationship qualifies as a common law marriage and what steps you need to take to obtain a divorce, it is critical to contact an experienced complex divorce attorney who can explain your rights and responsibilities.

Common Law Marriage Requirements

Before ending a long-term relationship, couples should make sure that their union does not qualify as a common law marriage, which requires that the couple has:

• Agreed to be married;
• Lived together in Texas as husband and wife; and
• Represented to others that they were married.

Couples who fulfill these requirements have entered into a common law marriage and must go through the formal process of divorce. Although this designation does not change how child custody and child support are decided, it could have a significant impact on how property is divided. This is because Texas is a community property state, which means that all property owned by a couple after marriage must be divided equitably. In an effort to avoid dividing these assets, one spouse may attempt to prove that no common law marriage actually existed. In these cases, it is critical for the other spouse to provide evidence to the contrary, which could include:

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 Posted on April 14, 2017 in High Asset Divorce

During divorce proceedings, both parties are prohibited from committing marital waste. This means that neither spouse can intentionally waste any marital assets just so that the other does not receive them during the divorce. Although Texas law strictly forbids the dissipation of assets during the dissolution of a marriage, marital waste still can and does occur, so if you are going through a divorce and are concerned that your marital assets are being wasted, it is crucial to retain an experienced complex litigation attorney who can represent your interests and protect your property.

What Qualifies as Marital Waste?

Texas is a community property state, which means that all assets accrued during a marriage are considered marital property and must be divided equitably between both spouses upon divorce. During divorce proceedings, both parties are permitted to use those funds for reasonable and necessary expenses, including those required to make house or car payments, pay the electricity bill, or purchase clothing. However, the parties are prohibited from wasting marital property, which could include:

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 Posted on April 14, 2017 in Spousal Support

In Texas, courts can order spousal maintenance if a party can establish that he or she lacks the ability to provide for his or her reasonable needs because of an incapacitating physical or mental disability. Demonstrating a disability for the purposes of receiving maintenance can be difficult, so if you are considering a divorce and have questions about your eligibility to receive alimony, it is critical to contact an experienced complex divorce attorney who can explain your rights and legal responsibilities.

Establishing Disability

Before a court will award spousal maintenance based on disability, the party seeking alimony must first provide evidence of a physical or mental disability. This does not necessarily require the submission of medical evidence. Instead, a party can demonstrate his or her condition through circumstantial evidence and the testimony of witnesses. For instance, when attempting to establish disability, courts will take into consideration a series of factors that can be deduced through testimony, including whether the party seeking maintenance has attempted to secure employment in the past or is currently receiving any form of income. Providing this type of evidence is often necessary to demonstrating a link between the party’s disability and his or her inability to sustain employment. Without this link, courts are often reluctant to order payment of spousal maintenance based on disability.

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 Posted on March 27, 2017 in Adoption

The adoption process allows children to join loving families who can offer them a safe and comfortable home. Unfortunately, the adoption process can be complex, time-consuming, and frustrating, so it is important for prospective parents to have the advice of an experienced Leander adoption attorney who can help ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible.

Adoption Requirements

In Texas, prospective adoptive parents must meet certain basic requirements before they can begin the actual process of adoption. For instance, to be eligible to adopt a child, a person must be over the age of 21 years old and be financially stable. Adoptive parents must also complete an application that contains information about their background and lifestyle and will be required to:

• Undergo a criminal background check;
• Provide references from both relatives and non-relatives,

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 Posted on March 20, 2017 in Child Custody

It is not uncommon for a child’s extended family to step in when the parents are unable to provide adequate care. Under the Kinship Care program offered by Child Protective Services (CPS), relatives are granted custody of children who cannot remain with their parents. Unfortunately, these individuals are often not compensated to the same degree as foster parents and so may struggle with the financial aspects of child rearing. However, a recently introduced bill could change this by increasing the financial aid available to Kinship Care guardians.

The Benefits of Kinship Care

There are a number of benefits to allowing children to remain with relatives in the event that their parents are unable to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of parenthood. For instance, the Kinship Care program allows children to remain in a familiar setting, which can be far less traumatic than if they were uprooted and placed in foster care. This program also helps:

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 Posted on March 13, 2017 in Child Custody

A new law, House Bill 453, was recently introduced in the Texas Legislature. If passed, the law would establish a presumption of equality between both fathers and mothers in regards to the division of parenting time during divorce proceedings. Technically, the legal presumption that favored mothers over fathers was eliminated in 1974. However, the law still provides that one parent will be the main custodian of the child, leaving the other parent time according to a standard schedule. If passed, the new law could significantly affect custody determinations, so if you are considering a divorce and have children, it is important to contact an experienced Williamson County complex child custody attorney who can explain your legal options.

House Bill 453

Currently, Texas law does not retain a provision for an equal division of parenting time between both parents. Although some judges consider granting schedules that reflect this policy, many others do not. House Bill 453 attempts to address this by changing the law to help parents share the duties and rights of raising a child equally, even after a marriage is dissolved.

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 Posted on March 06, 2017 in Child Custody

In 1985, psychiatrist Richard Gardner coined the term parental alienation syndrome (PAS) to describe a set of behaviors exhibited by children whose parents deliberately attempt to turn them against the other parent through a variety of coercive or manipulative techniques. Unfortunately, PAS occurs at an alarming rate, especially during emotional and stressful divorces or disputes over child custody; as such, if you or a loved one has children and is considering a divorce, it is important to contact an experienced complex child custody attorney who can ensure that the interests of your children are protected.

Parental Alienation Defined

Parental alienation involves the manipulation of a child by one parent to denigrate the other parent, essentially forcing the child to choose sides. This can lead the child to emotionally reject the targeted parent, which can have lifelong repercussions for both parties. Many parents may even be unaware that they are contributing to parental alienation, which could include any of the following activities:

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 Posted on February 24, 2017 in Complex Divorce

Those who choose to change their last name when they get married, but later decide to obtain a divorce, have the option of reverting to their maiden name as a part of the divorce proceedings. However, there are other methods of achieving this goal, so if you are a Texas resident, are going through a divorce, and want to legally change your name, it is important to speak with an experienced complex divorce attorney who can walk you through the process.

Divorce Decrees

In Texas, a party to a divorce can change his or her name during the divorce process itself by including a request with the petition for a dissolution of marriage. In addition to the request, the party must certify that he or she is not requesting the name change in order to avoid facing criminal charges or other similar reasons. When these steps have been fulfilled, the family court can order the name change as part of the divorce decree, which can be used as proof of a legal name change at a later date. It is important to note, however, that individuals cannot utilize this process for changing their name to something other than their maiden name.

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 Posted on February 17, 2017 in Prenuptial Agreements

While most people have heard of prenuptial agreements, many are unaware that couples can also enter into what are known as postnuptial agreements. Postnuptial agreements are written contracts that are entered into by two parties who are already married. Essentially, postnuptial agreements dictate how a couple’s assets will be divided in the event of death or divorce and so can significantly simplify divorce proceedings. However, not all postnuptial agreements are enforceable, so if you are considering entering into a postnuptial agreement or believe that yours does not meet state requirements, it is important to contact an experienced high asset divorce attorney who will aggressively represent your interests, whether during settlement proceedings or in court.

Dividing Marital Property

In Texas, all property obtained over the course of a couple’s marriage is community property and is usually split equitably between the divorcing spouses. However, if a couple does not have a prenuptial agreement, but does not want to leave the division of their property up to a judge, they can choose to draft a postnuptial agreement that arranges for the division or exchange of some or all of the community property. Furthermore, as part of the exchange, a couple may also agree that any income from the exchanged property will become the separate property of one spouse.

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