Posted on December 20, 2022 in Divorce

Enterprising spouses often start up businesses together, finding interesting and unique ways to bring extra money into their family coffer. Sometimes this looks like a formal business establishment, and other times it might be gradually buying up real estate to rent out on platforms like AirBNB. Whatever the format, when it comes time to divorce, a couple’s business needs to be divided just like any other marital asset. 

Dividing a business can be very difficult, however, as spouses often disagree about how much of the business is marital vs. personal property or what the true value of the business is. In cases like this, make sure you have the help of an experienced business owners’ divorce attorney who can assist you in resolving these tricky issues. 

Can One of the Spouses Keep the Business in a Divorce? 

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 Posted on December 07, 2022 in Child Support

Child support might be determined by a state formula, but that does not stop it from becoming a high-conflict part of a divorced or separated couple’s relationship. The parent paying child support often feels angry and taken advantage of, while the parent receiving child support often feels as though the amount is insufficient to properly care for the child’s needs. Whatever the reason for dissatisfaction, the end result is sometimes that the parent paying for child support will try to hide income to avoid paying the full support payments he or she would otherwise be obligated to make. If you think this is happening in your case, it is important to contact a Texas child support attorney who can help you secure the support you need. 

Child Support Income Guidelines in Texas

Before a court can set child support payments, the judge needs to know how much money the paying parent makes and whether the child’s needs justify deviating from state child support guidelines (the paying parent is the parent who does not have primary possession of the child, meaning the child spends most of his or her time with the other parent). 

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 Posted on November 23, 2022 in Divorce

Texas law requires couples who are getting divorced to divide their assets and debt. Usually, though not always, Texas - which is a community property state - divides assets equally between spouses. However, spouses who are afraid of getting shortchanged in their divorce or who are willing to take advantage of their spouse may be willing to hide assets to tip the asset division process unfairly in their favor. If you are getting divorced and are worried that your spouse may try to hide assets, make sure you have an experienced Texas divorce attorney. 

How Will I Know if My Spouse is Hiding Assets? 

Often, spouses will divide and conquer chores and responsibilities within a marriage. This often leaves one spouse in charge of managing a family’s financial affairs. If your spouse has been responsible for paying bills, tracking your bank account balances, and managing your retirement accounts, you may not have a full picture of your financial affairs, which could make it easier for your spouse to deceive you during the asset division process. 

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 Posted on November 14, 2022 in Divorce

Fault & No-Fault Grounds for Divorce

The State of Texas is a “no-fault state,” which means, first and foremost, that fault is not required to obtain a divorce. In addition, this also means that Texas doesn’t have any disadvantages for those who initiate a divorce with no-fault grounds. In other words, if someone files for divorce with no-fault grounds in Texas, that person won’t automatically face any disadvantages when it comes to property division, or any other issue of the divorce. Of course, a spouse’s conduct during the marriage can still be consequential even when there are no fault grounds cited; but, a spouse will not be necessarily disadvantaged simply on the basis of filing with no-fault grounds. 

The Three No-Fault Grounds

In total, Texas law has 7 grounds for divorce, and this total includes both the fault grounds and no-fault grounds. There are 3 no-fault grounds: (1) insupportability, (2) living separately, and (3) mental disorder. The first no-fault ground – insupportability – is the most frequently cited ground of all and is interchangeable with the concept of “irreconcilable differences” which is often used in other jurisdictions. Essentially, this ground means that the couple simply cannot coexist successfully and needs a separation. The next no-fault ground – living separately – may apply whenever spouses live apart for 3 years or longer. If this occurs, then a spouse can use this as a basis for divorce. The final no-fault ground may apply whenever a spouse is involuntarily confined to a mental hospital and there is a general consensus that the underlying disorder is permanent.

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 Posted on November 10, 2022 in Family Law

If you’re a parent, or grandparent, or even merely a concerned member of society, you should be aware of the basic purpose and operations of Child Protective Services (CPS) here in Texas. CPS performs a variety of specific functions, but all functions are ultimately carried out for the purpose of maximizing the safety and wellbeing of children. Here in the State of Texas, CPS is actually one of the departments of the Texas Department of Family & Protective Services (DFPS). 

We will devote several articles to CPS, with each article focusing on one particular aspect of its operations. In this post, we will concentrate on the termination of parental rights. As many people are aware, CPS can file a petition to terminate parental rights if CPS feels that such a motion is necessary. However, this can only be successful if certain conditions are met.

Grounds for Termination

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 Posted on November 09, 2022 in Divorce

Divorce looks a little different for everyone, but one thing is certain: Your life is about to change - a lot. Whether you anticipate a fairly peaceful divorce or a hostile separation, there are certain things you can do to get ready for divorce that will help the process move faster and more easily, plus help you recover more quickly once your divorce is finalized. Read on to learn more about divorce preparation and then contact a Texas divorce attorney for help with your case. 

Start Prioritizing Now

You may wish you could have your entire savings account and your full 401(k) balance, but that is probably not compatible with Texas divorce law - and even if it were, your spouse would hardly agree to it. Instead of thinking about everything you could have in a perfect world, think about what is really important to you. Do you want to keep your marital home? Do you hope to spend every Christmas with your children? Whatever the most important things are, start thinking about them now so you can discuss them with your attorney. 

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 Posted on November 01, 2022 in Child Custody

In an ideal situation, a child is brought up with healthy regular contact with both parents, as well as all grandparents. In reality, of course, things don’t always work out this way, particularly when it comes to grandparents. Grandparents often play a vital role in the development of children, but the law simply doesn’t give too much weight to grandparents when it comes to legal rights with respect to grandchildren. In the State of Texas, grandparents can obtain legal custody of a grandchild, but doing so is quite difficult. When compared with legal custody, grandparents may seek a visitation order with grandchildren. But, as we will discuss, even obtaining a visitation order from a Texas court isn’t easy. 

The Basics of Grandparent Visitation Orders

The difficulty in obtaining a visitation order for grandparents ultimately derives from the simple fact that parents have the highest influence when it comes to their children. Consider this point: if grandparents can simply acquire a visitation order without much trouble, how would this affect the parents’ ability to raise their child? Texas courts recognize the importance of grandparents, and the role that grandparents play in the lives of grandchildren, but courts must follow the principle that parents have the ultimate authority.

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 Posted on October 28, 2022 in Child Custody

Parental visitation is a very serious matter. The State of Texas believes firmly that children do best when they have regular, supportive interaction with both biological parents – or, with both adoptive parents, as the case may be. This is why Texas courts have an elaborate system in place to ensure that court-ordered visitation schedules are enforced properly. In a typical scenario, parents develop a custody agreement, and as part of that agreement one parent has a visitation schedule. That visitation schedule allows the non-custodial parent to visit his or her child in a predictable fashion. 

The problem, however, is that sometimes the visitation schedule is denied or not honored by the other parent. Sad though this may sound, sometimes the other parent may attempt to block contact between the children and the non-custodial parent. In these unfortunate scenarios, how can the visitation order be enforced? Let’s look at the steps involved.

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 Posted on October 27, 2022 in Prenuptial Agreements

Prenuptial agreements can be highly useful tools to preserve certain property interests in the event of divorce. More and more couples are utilizing these tools as people see the value in being able to predetermine certain outcomes with respect to property division. Prenuptial agreements can also be useful in predetermining spousal maintenance and other issues as well. When a prenuptial agreement is created in Texas, the creators need to follow certain steps to ensure that everything is done properly. In this post, we will go over these steps, one by one, so readers can have a sense of what this process looks like.

Step 1: Identify Goals / Interests

The first step is to simply identify the goals and interests of the parties involved. If neither of the parties have any goals which might be furthered by a prenuptial agreement, then a prenup won’t even be necessary. Prenups can only be used for specific purposes, they can’t achieve everything. So, for instance, if people want to use prenups to predetermine child support, this can’t be done, because it would be against public policy requiring both parents to support their children.  

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 Posted on October 25, 2022 in Divorce

Most people have heard of the idea of “annulment,” but few people besides family law attorneys know what this idea really means. If you’re married, you are likely curious about the details of this concept and how this concept can potentially impact your marriage. In this post, we’re going to discuss the basics of this concept and then discuss the process for obtaining an annulment here in Texas.

Annulment vs. Divorce

When a married couple obtains an annulment, this means that the marriage itself was never valid from the beginning. Annulment therefore is a declaration that the marriage was “void.” This is the critical difference between annulment and divorce. A divorce is the formal dissolution of a valid marriage, whereas an annulment means that the marriage never existed in the first place. When a marriage is declared void through annulment, this declaration carries important ramifications. 

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