child support
It is a parent’s obligation to help raise and take care of their children. This obligation does not stop even if you are divorced. Non-custodial parents pay child support as an obligation. If you are such, until when are you required to pay child support? When can you stop? If you’d like to know, then continue reading. The Usual Circumstances In most states, you can stop paying for child support when your child turns 18 or graduate high school. When whichever of these two happens first, you can then stop paying for child support. Though some states require the child to be 21 before you can stop paying for child support. In Texas, you can stop paying when your child turns 18. Another thing to take note of is if your child is self-supporting. If they are earning and can take care of themselves, you can also opt to stop paying. Another, albeit a little obvious, circumstance where one can stop paying for child support is if your child passes away. Special Circumstances The law may require you to continue paying for child support if your child decides to pursue further studies, such as college or graduate school. You might have to continue paying past the required age if your child is a special needs child. Before you decide to proceed to end child support, talk to a lawyer and check your child support terms. Once you have all the details sorted out, you can then proceed to go to your state child support agency and end your child support payments when the time comes.

How Long are You Required to Pay Child Support   Recently updated !

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illegitimate child
Single parenthood, in recent years, has been increasing dramatically. Every year, there are more than a million children who were born to unmarried parents. This is becoming an issue when talking about a child’s mental and emotional development. Especially in cases involving the child’s legal rights and legitimacy, proving the paternity has been very crucial. If the child’s parents cannot establish paternity, their child will grow up not having a legitimate father. This will, later on, raise concerns of discrimination between non-marital children and those children who were born to married parents particularly in the issue of inheritance. The Texas Family Code enumerated the instances where paternity is already presumed. When the child was born during the marriage, paternity has already been established between the father and child. All the conditions stated provide that the parents should be or has been married. One should go through a legal proceeding in order to establish the paternity of the alleged father of a child born out of wedlock. How to Prove Paternity The most common way to test paternity is through DNA testing. This is done by obtaining a tissue or blood sample from the child and from the alleged biological father. Physical characteristics say a lot in identifying that a man could be the father of a child. However, DNA testing is the most plausible method in establishing paternity. Although it may be costly, the results would be reliable. The court acknowledges this as solid evidence. Producing legal documents can also help to prove paternity. An example is a birth certificate which provides the name of the man who is allegedly the father. Another possibility that could be used as proof is to show that the alleged father claims the child as his dependent. This is usually proven in payment of […]

Establishing the Paternity of a Deceased Father   Recently updated !

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divorce3 1 1
Divorce is difficult, but not all divorces are created equally.  Here in Austin and Greater Metro Area, more and more people are choosing to resolve their family law issues via the collaborative process.  Collaborative divorce is a method of dispute resolution where the spouses agree from the beginning that they are each going to retain attorneys who will work as settlement specialists and who will not engage in court battles. Here are the top 5 reasons any Texas couple considering a split should choose collaborative divorce:   Privacy Rather than have their dirty laundry aired in a public courthouse, spouses going through a collaborative divorce resolve all issues through privileged and confidential discussions in a private conference room. This can be especially important for business-owners, professionals, and high-profile Florida residents who are concerned about the public release of either financial details or embarrassing personal shortcomings.   Respect By its very nature, divorces that go through the court system are adversarial.  They pit husband versus wife, mother versus father, as each side tries to prove to a judge that he or she is a better parent or deserves more money.  In contrast, collaborative divorce is a team-based method of conflict resolution, where attorneys help the spouses attack the problem rather than attack one another.  The attorneys help foster an atmosphere of respect and dignity within discussions. Parents and their children (whether minor or adult) are the ones who benefit the most from this aspect of collaborative divorce, as though the marriage is ending, the relationship as co-parents will continue.   Efficiency Ninety percent or more of all divorce cases end up settling, whether before filing a petition for dissolution of their marriage or after the parties have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and many years going through trial but right before a […]

Top 5 Reasons to Choose Collaborative Divorce   Recently updated !

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investigation mgn 1
Occasionally I will get a call from someone who either is in the early stages of a CPS investigation, or is concerned that a report may have been made, about how to avoid CPS involvement. Sometimes, this is a fairly complicated question, but there are definitely some things that can increase your likelihood of being involved with CPS. The first important thing to note is that CPS gets involved based on referrals made by third parties, and many of these referrals are effectively mandatory even if the person referring you doesn’t really think there is anything going on. Injuries to children can often trigger a referral to CPS even if the cause of the injury was something completely benign if the injury itself has signs of being indicative of abuse. Likewise, statements made by children indicating abuse will almost certainly trigger a referral by any school or daycare personnel who hears it, even if they don’t believe it is the case. For the most part, any agency involved with taking care of children likely will take (and should take) a broad view on what things should be reported and leave it up to CPS to figure things out after that. For reference, here are the sources of referrals from the DFPS 2013 fiscal year data book:

Avoiding CPS And What To Do When You Can’t   Recently updated !

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divorce
Life after a divorce can be tough. There’s a lot you’ll need to sort out, especially your emotional state. Even if the marriage wasn’t terrible and the reason for the divorce was something you and your ex-wife amicably agreed on, you could still be hurting deep down. Life goes on whether you like it to or not, that includes your ex finding a new husband. Even if it does suck, there will come a point where you’ll have to just accept it and just get along with her new husband. If you’re having a hard time with that, why not consider the following things as you go along? Take Your Time Everyone gets over things at their own pace. There really isn’t a correct timeline for moving on. As long as you’re really trying and making an effort to better yourself, then you’re doing fine. Moving on should really be the first thing you need to focus on. Accept that things are over and that they’re over for a reason. Don’t think that you’re on the losing end or that things won’t get better. Also, avoid placing the blame on anyone for what happened. Things just happened to unfold the way they did and now you’re here. There’s nothing you can do except to move forward and continue with your life. Harboring any negativity regarding the whole ordeal will just make it harder for you to move on and might just put you in a spot where you just become a toxic person. No one wants that. Be Warm, Be Open When the time comes that you believe you’re over it and have moved on significantly, you’ll see that you’re in a better headspace to deal with things that involve your ex. Her new husband included. Just as how every […]

Tips on How to Get Along with Your Ex-Wife’s New Husband   Recently updated !

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common law marriage
The state of Texas has laws that seek to protect the welfare of children. However, the parents of the children need to be responsible for their affairs in order to keep everything in order. For parents who did not get married, then there are provisions in the law that they need to observe. Common-Law Marriage Texas recognizes common-law marriages. These are marriages without formalities like the marriage license or a ceremony. The State has certain requirements before recognizing a couple as married. Firstly, they should agree that they are married. Second, they should live together as husband and wife. Finally, they should declare themselves to the general public as a married couple. This means they should introduce themselves as married to each other and also engage in legal affairs like a married couple, like jointly applying for credit.  They are considered married once the requirements are established. It is understood that only adults above the age of eighteen can marry under these terms. Children in a Common Law Marriage It should be clarified that these are the conditions for a common-law marriage. Having children is not necessarily a prerequisite, nor can it be a substitute. Just because a couple has a child together, that does not make them a married couple. They still need to fulfill those conditions.  The children in a common-law marriage will have the same status as those of a married couple. Thus, they are legitimate children with complete rights to inheritance and under the same legal protections as children of regular marriages. The same is true when a common-law couple divorces. There will be a distribution of property, with recognition of community or conjugal property. There will be entitlements to child support and a right to petition for alimony.  State Recognition It should also be noted […]

Status of Children of a Common Law Marriage in Texas   Recently updated !

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polygamy
Polygamy is the state of having simultaneous marriages. It means you have more than one spouse. Some religious affiliations practice polygamy. A typical polygamous marriage would consist of one man and several women as his spouses. Though some countries may be lax or may permit polygamous marriages, the United States treats these marriages differently. Polygamy and the United States If your religion practices polygamy, you might want to reconsider going about a polygamous marriage in the US. To this day, the US views all polygamous relationships, or marriages, as illegal. Regardless of your reasons for practicing polygamy, the United States chooses to consider these kinds of marriages as illegal. There may be several reasons why the US considers polygamous marriages illegal. Most of which are moral dilemmas that the government sees in a polygamous relationship.  They also go after polygamy because there are other crimes involved in those types of marriages. Some of the crimes that take place in a polygamous marriage would include statutory rape, child abuse, and incest. These are what states go after when going after a polygamous marriage. What About Texas? All states in the United States consider polygamy to be illegal. Texas is, of course, included. What does that mean for those people in Texas who are polygamous? You can get arrested if you are found to be practicing polygamy. Even for religious reasons. Texas has had a history of going after polygamous marriages. This is especially for those taking place in religious sects. To this day, Texas still enforces those laws. There really isn’t much you can do to avoid getting in trouble. If you’re currently practicing it in the United States, it is best to consult a lawyer. As much as it seems like a violation of your religious freedom, the country still […]

Polygamous Marriages in Texas

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Full Custody: Is It Really What You Want?
    There are many parents who go through a divorce, and for most of them, getting full custody of their child is their ultimate goal. If you are going through a divorce and you have consulted an attorney, it is likely that the attorney will ask you what your goals are in the divorce case. If you have not read any of our previous posts regarding child custody, you could still be hoping that you would be awarded full custody of your child once the divorce is finalized. Most parents undergoing a divorce want to have as more time as possible with their child, possibly because they feel that they’re losing hold of everything else in their family life. Some parents would even resort to intimidation, just to gain full custody of the child, which, by the way, is not a legal term. ‘Full Custody’, we mean.   There are also cases wherein parents are seeking full custody because of very legitimate reasons. There could be the presence of abuse from the other parent, neglect, or other significant reasons. There are also some who would like to terminate the other parent’s rights to the child, or just restrict the time the other parent can spend with the child. Other times, one party in the divorce is just angry and is trying to get back at the spouse in the worst possible manner, using their child. He or she might even threaten the other parent with a lawsuit. Whatever the case, it is almost impossible for Texas courts to terminate parental rights under normal circumstances.   What Full Custody Means Full custody is a huge responsibility. It means physical possession of your child and making decisions for your child, all by yourself. It also places a huge responsibility for you […]

Full Custody: Is It Really What You Want?   Recently updated !

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