Relocation in Texas (also known as Geographic Restrictions or lack thereof)
How does a Court determine if a geographic restriction for the child’s primary residence should be put in place, and if so, the area of that geographic restriction? OVERVIEW In Texas, the Court’s power to determine geographic restrictions comes from Texas Family Code sections 153.134(b)(1)(A) and (B). The first section allows the Court to establish [...]
Court-Ordered Spousal Maintenance v. Contractual Alimony: Overview
The issue of whether spousal payments are court-ordered spousal maintenance or contractual alimony has come up again and again. Because this issue has a lot to it, I will outline some topics I hope to address and why the parties should care. This post will just serve as an outline. The Topics: What is court-ordered [...]
What are the two types of spousal payments in Texas?
Texas has recognized that at times, a spouse may need extra help getting to a point where they are independent or for some reason (typically domestic violence) the spouse should be given extra support that the ‘just and right’ division of community property cannot address. Therefore, the Texas legislature have outlined the process for a [...]
Dallas County Online Records
Ever wonder how we can know so much about your existing case or prior order when you call us the first time? The trick is knowing where to look. Most counties keep online court dockets now, and Dallas County also keeps many of the pleadings and orders online. So when you give your name and [...]
Enforcement of International Custody Orders
We are starting to get more and more questions regarding enforcement of custody orders from other states or even other nations. Sometimes the person finds out after the fact that there was a court case and a corresponding final order without them ever being able to take part in the decision. Fortunately for parents, Texas [...]
Child Support and Bankruptcy…
Unfortunately, many people ordered to pay child support have had to file for bankruptcy. We see this occasionally, and while sometimes that person is attempting to avoid their child support obligation, many times the person truly is experiencing hard times. Even more unfortunately, that person may believe bankruptcy will stay, halt or eliminate their child [...]
Parental Alienation Syndrome in Child Custody Cases
One concern many parents have is that the other parent is alienating their child from them, or that the child is suffering from Parental Alienation Syndrome (“PAS”). Before going to far with this topic, understand that this is an extreme situation and does not apply to every case. Many times a parent will vilify the [...]
Challenging Child Support by Challenging Paternity
When parents divorce, it is only proper that the parents still support their children. In the case of women, there are very few circumstances where there is a question as to whether she is the biological Mother. However, men don’t have it that easy, and some men accept children, and the obligation to support them, [...]
Trying to find those text messages?
I recently had someone call to ask about getting text messages from a phone company. This comes up often with regard to allegations of adultery, and I found the below article. http://www.divorce360.com/divorce-articles/cheating/catching/checking-text-messages.aspx?artid=1071 The gist is that some companies keep the actual data (text) sent, but most only keep the information regarding who sent and who [...]
Alimony (really Court-Ordered Spousal Maintenance) Changes on the Horizon
Any blog about Texas “alimony” should first state that in Texas, courts do not order “alimony,” courts order “spousal-maintenance.” Alimony, or post-divorce spousal payments, must be agreed to by the parties while the court may order spousal-maintenance in some situations. In the past, Texas required a spouse to either have been married for 10 years [...]
