prenuptial agreement
If you’re someone who’s planning to get married soon, the thought of getting a prenup might have crossed your mind once or twice, but why would you, right?  Prenuptial agreements – legal documents that state how a couple’s assets and possessions will be divided in case of a divorce – aren’t really necessary, especially if you know the law and are satisfied with their terms. But coming up with a prenup doesn’t easily equate to being a non-romantic, it just means that you’re someone who is careful about your future, and takes into account the possibility that all relationships come to an end, even if we didn’t want it to. It’s not bad to plan for the future, especially if you own properties, stocks, have children, or would be spending for the family, such as education. Let me show you what I mean. The Up and Down Sides of a Prenup Let’s start with the upsides: It could help identify who gets what, for example, a business you already have before entering the relationship It can be crafted according to your preference and situation, but of course, it could only cover those that are within the law It could protect you from each other’s individual debts that may pile up before or during the course of your marriage, such as student loans It could save you more time in the future, because negotiations regarding properties would no longer occur given that they are already stated in the prenup  It can help you prepare for the worst possible consequence a divorce could give you based on your own previous experiences However, it also has its downsides: It could make you look like you don’t trust your relationship to last and that you’re open to the possibility of separation or divorce, even […]

Prenuptial Agreements: Why is it more relevant today?   Recently updated !

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No fault divorce courtroom
In Texas, a no-fault divorce is the default mechanism to request a divorce.  Officially by Texas law, a no-fault divorce is when there are conflicts between two parties that could not reasonably be overcome.  In reality, it is simply the type of divorce two people seek when they are looking to get out of a marriage, and serves as a mechanism to ending a marriage with the least amount of drama. It also provides an avenue for victims of abuse to leave a marriage without a burden of proving anything beyond that the marriage itself is unsustainable. State Representative Matt Krause is attempting to pass two bills in 2017.  The first bill increases the amount of time that two people must wait before a divorce is finalized.  This is in an attempt to get a couple to work out of their problems, instead of a divorce. The second bill that Rep. Matt Krause is putting forward will make it hard for all people to get a divorce.  This bill would make divorce only possible for criminal reasons such as abuse and adultery.  While Mr. Krause states he isn’t trying to deter people from getting divorces, he also says he hopes to give children a better future through securing the idea of marriage. While at first glance this may seem okay, it puts a thorn in the side for many divorces.  In some cases, women will seek divorce because they or their kids are being abused.  However, unless the man has been caught abusing his wife, this new law would make it impossible for them to get a divorce.  This could result in violent relationships to continue on. Krause has been quote as saying that marriage has been devalued as of recently.  He wants Texans to admit to their mistakes and […]

No-Fault Divorces in Texas May Become Harder after New Bill   Recently updated !

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holidays as a divorcee
One would think that life following divorce means freedom from commitments. You would think life is easier when you’re single again. Well, for some it can also be the opposite. The picture of being alone and no one to be with, especially during the Holiday season, can be a bit depressing. After all, life is not as black and white as people want it to be. There will always be gray areas to which we cannot avoid. Divorced couples both experience the good and bad things during the holidays. Having kids, to most couples, can be the hardest part during any holiday. Where will the child celebrate Christmas? Thanksgiving? New Year’s Eve? As we can anticipate, it will benefit one and can disadvantage the other or perhaps both can benefit if the child celebrates the holidays with only one of the parents. For instance, if the kid celebrates, Christmas together with the mother, the father might be alone and be lonely during the Christmas season. On the other hand, if the father has a second family, he can spend more time with them and would not worry about unpleasant situations that might come up between his other child and with his new family. Thus, this situation can benefit them both.   Another circumstance is the celebration of holidays with the families and friends of your ex-spouses. It cannot be avoided that there are attachments already formed with these people. It would really be a lonely thought that you won’t be able to spend the holidays with them. Even if they invited you to come over, things might get a little messy especially when there are still unresolved issues among you. On the other hand, people who don’t have good relationships with their spouses’ family and friends celebrate because they need […]

The Best and Worst Things about Divorce During the Holidays   Recently updated !

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Co-Parenting Tips before Kids go to School
Interaction after separation from a former spouse can be awkward and might lead to a little tension between the ex-couples. Divorce after marriage is complicated, especially when you have kids together. Most of the time, divorced couples usually still have children at a school age. For the sake of the kids, parents will always do their best to cooperate with each other even if they are not in good terms. Here are some points that can be helpful in co-parenting your kids at school. First, set aside all personal sentiments towards each other. Of course, you had or still have problems and arguments that you cannot agree about. But keeping this for the mean time and helping each other can give the kids a lighter heart by seeing their parents not fighting and reaching out to each other. Having an, even just a civil, interaction between biological and step parent s can also make things easier. A pleasant contact between spouses can help lessen the anxiety of the child with his or her peers at school. We don’t want to give the kid’s schoolmates a bad impression of his or her family. Second, effective time management leads us to better organization. Parents can take turns in tutoring or helping the kids in their schoolwork. However, living in different houses might be a little work in terms of the adjustment of the kids. Choose a schedule that would fit in with the needs of the most. Plan ahead of time and inform one another if something comes up. If it will be the father’s time with the child but something came up, the mother can take over when the child needs help with his homework. As much as possible, give the kids the time they deserve. It is the least that […]

Divorced Parents: Co-Parenting Tips before Kids go to School   Recently updated !

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domestic violence in digital age
Technology, while a very helpful tool in this day and age, can also be a tool used for violence. A Californian woman experienced this while she was trying to get away from her controlling and violent husband. She planned to escape to Oregon and stay with friends but her phone’s GPS was used by her husband to track her down. He searched her phone records which helped him determine where his wife was staying.  After locating her whereabouts, he started calling the woman’s friends and even left them threatening voice mails saying he would kill anybody who helped her.   There is no question that technology of smart phone has made life more convenient and has connected a lot of people. Flipping the coin, this technology has also made it harder for domestic violence victims to escape from their abusers. Cellphones keep detailed call log information, GPS services, and applications. The principal wireless account holder is granted access to all this information. This also includes application purchases and the GPS location of the wireless phones under the account. With the family plans becoming more popular, the principal account holder may be able to control the entire family’s cellphone service. When the principal account holder is an abusive person, they have the ability to turn their victim’s cellphone as their weapon against the latter. This is done by interrupting their service, or using the information contained in their account to intimidate and stalk them. Federal Communications Commission regulations are requiring 95% of cellphones to have GPS technology. This technology is undoubtedly helpful in emergency cases. However, national statistics show that approximately 10 million men and women experience abuse from their intimate partner every year with the use of this technology. Therefore,  there is an obvious need for a mechanism to protect the […]

Domestic Violence in the Digital Age   Recently updated !

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Possible Child Custody Arrangements After Your Divorce
 Child custody arrangements are one of the most nerve-wracking court decisions you’d ever have to anticipate as a parent in a Texas Family Court. Most of the parents who approach Texas family law attorneys have this as their biggest concern regarding their divorce. Parents are also aware that the divorce can have a huge impact on their child’s life. In fact, the impact could be greater on the children. Child custody is one of the subjects parents have the most questions about. Possession Vs. Custody Despite this being, not a legal term, parents usually refer to their ‘possession’ issues as ‘custody’ concerns. Parents, who approach family law attorneys in Texas usually ask along the lines of ‘Can I get sole custody of my child?’ Most parents who ask this question do not trust their spouse to be a good parent to their children after the divorce. They also tend to ask more questions and seek more information about split child custody. A lot of parents get shocked at the fact that in the legal world, ‘child custody’ doesn’t exist. Child custody arrangements are in fact conservatorship arrangements in the state of Texas. Conservatorship is governed by Texas state laws regarding relationships between parents and children. Conservatorship also covers the rights and duties that parents have over their child. How are all these related to or affected by your divorce?   The Impact of Conservatorship to You and Your Children   As a conservator, you must be able to make sound decisions for your child until he or she is no longer a minor. This includes decisions regarding where your child will primarily live until adulthood, the school where your child will be attending, decisions regarding healthcare, psychiatric and other medical procedures. These are basically the core of your parental duties […]

Custody vs. Conservatorship in Your Divorce   Recently updated !

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adopting family in texas
Under the law of Texas, for legal purposes, a child is only permitted to have one legal set of parents, either biological or adoptive. Adoption is the asking of the court to make people who are not already biological parents of a child the latter’s legal parents. These cases require the careful determination of the court of which parents will serve the overall best interest of the child. To assist the judges in deciding to choose the child’s official set of parents, the process requires  a number of reports and specific studies to show the best interest of the child. Persons Permitted to Adopt Generally, any adult who is at least twenty-one (21) years old and is financially stable, is able to file for a petition with the court to be able adopt a child who has the capacity to be adopted. The capacity of the child to be adopted is dependent on the surrounding circumstances of the case. Explained below are a few common scenarios: Biological rights of the parents have been or will be terminated A child can be adopted if each of his or her living parent’s rights over him or her has been terminated or will be terminated because of a suit for such purpose is filed with the Adoption lawsuit against them. The termination of parental rights may either be voluntarily or involuntarily. Stepparent Adoption Without the need for the termination of the rights of both the biological parents of the child, stepparents can ask to adopt the latter. In this type of adoption, if a biological parent is married to the stepparent who is seeking adoption, the former may keep his or her parental rights. However, the other parent’s parental rights is still required to be terminated to give way for the parental rights […]

Who May Adopt in Texas?   Recently updated !

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Attorney-Client Relationship
Family law cases are a specific type of civil cases, revolving around issues concerning spouses, parents or children.  In some family law cases, there is no need for a lawyer, such as in an uncontested divorce case when one party decides to represent his or herself in court. There are people, however, who choose to hire a lawyer because it is more convenient to depend on his or her legal services.  Attorney-Client Relationship in General: How is It Established? The latter instance gives rise to a legalese called the Attorney-Client relationship. This type of relationship is not exclusive solely to family law cases, because the moment a person enters into a contract with an attorney to avail his or her legal services, the attorney-client relationship is formed. Attorney-Client Privilege in Family Law Cases In the state of Texas, the attorney-client relationship comes with the attorney-client privilege. The purpose of which is to encourage free discussion between the two so that the lawyer may be able to render proper advice to the client seeking his or her professional help, and take proper legal actions which the issue posed by the client requires.  This means that confidential information is protected, and all exchanges between the two parties are subjected to nondisclosure to third parties, unless the client chooses or risks such right to be waived.  Marriage and Divorce This relationship protects confidential information gathered by the lawyer during client representation in divorce or marriage-related cases, as well as the materials and documents gathered which the law requires to be submitted, and the thoughts and conversations communicated during their discussion of the case. Unless otherwise called for by the facts or the laws, the client and lawyer maintain the nondisclosure to third parties of shared information.  Division of Property Similarly, the privilege protects […]

Attorney-Client Relationship in Family Law Cases   Recently updated !

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