Sep 04
One of the most areas of Texas Family Law undergoing the most change is Grandparents Rights. In general, Grandparents have limited rights to their grandchildren. For most Grandparents, that is not a problem - they work out things with the kids and grand-kids just fine. However, sometimes grandparents don't have great relationships with their children and thus have to resort to filing a lawsuit for visitation and/or custody. (more…)
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Modifying a Prior Custody Order Modifying an earlier custody determination under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) is governed by §152.202 and §152.203 of the Texas Family Code. § 152.202 outlines Texas’s exclusive continuing jurisdiction over custody determinations and §153.203 describes how Texas courts may not modify child custody determinations made by the courts of another state. If a Texas court has issued a final order in an e...
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Protective Orders are one of the most severe and serious aspects of Texas Family Law. Once granted, they are supposed to protect the safety and even lives of the person applying. Beyond that, they carry some important penalties for someone that a Protective Order is placed on. It ensures that they are not going to see their child on a regular basis or have any involvement in their child's life decisions. We have found that different Judges in different Courts vary widely in granting them. T...
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Did you know there are about 2 millions members of the active duty and reserve Armed Services? There are many times more veterans. The number of family members is even larger. And like everyone else, some of these relationships don’t work out. So - how does Texas treat these folks? Many service members fear that because of the nature of their profession and duty to their country, they will not be able to exercise their rights to custody, visitation and access to their children. However...
read moreSep 03
Where will the children live during the divorce? This is a complicated question because the Court will consider several factors when deciding where the children should live during Temporary Orders. A Texas Court will always consider the best interest of the child. In order to understand other factors considered, we must delve a bit deeper into what is “best” for the child. (more…)
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Let's drill down the factors that could determine child support in special cases. (more…)
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Many factors go into determining custody. Courts will look at the many factors when deciding who will be awarded custody. The court will consider the following factors: The best interest of the child; Past parental involvement/participation in the child's life; How much the parents can co-parent regarding visitation and access to the child; The stability of a household; Consistency in the child's life (Courts try to avoid disrupting the child's current routine as much as possible); Abuse,...
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Sometimes when couples get married, one spouse already has children from a previous relationship, and this new marriage creates a stepparent relationship between that new partner and the child. In some cases, this stepparent is either the first or only mother or father-figure in the child's life, so it is natural for the two to develop a strong bond. This bond can also form if the spouses are married for an extended period of time. Regardless of how that bond forms, if the c...
read moreSep 02
To better understand Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act, let's start with the basics. (more…)
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