Divorce can be a difficult and emotionally-charged process. If you are considering a divorce in Texas, one of the options available to you is mediation. Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution that can help divorcing couples reach amicable agreements without the need for a trial. In some cases, couples may be required to participate in court-ordered mediation, while in others, they may agree to use this process and work together to negotiate agreements on any outstanding issues that need to be settled in their case. By understanding how this option may be used, you can determine if it will be beneficial in your situation, and you can find the best solutions that will allow you to complete the divorce process successfully.

What Is Mediation?

Mediation is a process that helps divorcing couples resolve the outstanding disputes in their case with the help of an impartial third party. The mediator provides guidance and encourages communication between the parties, helping them find areas where they can compromise and come to an agreement. All discussions the spouses participate in during mediation are confidential. This means that anything discussed during the mediation sessions cannot be used as evidence in court should the mediation process fail.

A prenuptial agreement, often called a “prenup” for short, is a legal document that a couple drafts and signs before they get married. The main purpose of a prenuptial agreement is to set forth directives regarding the spouses’ income and assets in the unfortunate event of divorce, separation, or death. Prenups can contain instructions about marital property and non-marital property, spousal support, inheritance rights of children from previous relationships, each spouse’s debts, and financial rights and responsibilities of both spouses during the marriage.

Making a Living Online

Some couples choose to include clauses in their prenuptial agreement that address the role of social media in a couple’s marriage. At first glance, this may seem like an unnecessary consideration. However, for many people, social media is not just a means to stay in touch with friends. For some people, social media is their job. Making a living through YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram is more common than you may think. The “influencer market” is valued at over $16 billion dollars and many experts expect this number to grow. 

Reputation Matters

You may be wondering what social media as an occupation has to do with prenuptial agreements. The answer boils down to public image. When a person’s online reputation is profoundly connected to their income, it makes sense to legally protect that reputation. Prenuptial agreements that involve a social media clause may include provisions about the kind of information and images couples can share about one another across social media platforms.

When faced with the reality of divorcing parents, many children internalize the struggle between the parents. They are usually not privy to the countless closed-door disagreements and difficulties that may have existed in the marriage for years. Instead, children will often turn inward, blaming themselves for their parents’ inability to get along, and, ultimately, for the divorce. While you and your spouse may understand that it is not your child’s fault, it is your responsibility to make sure that your child comes to understand as well.

#1: Talk Openly, but Carefully

If it is at all possible, you and your spouse should talk to your child together about your impending divorce before it becomes a reality. The two of you need to make clear that the divorce is based on issues between the adults. Your child did not cause it, and your child cannot fix it. It is also important to be age-appropriate when considering what details to share with your child. For example, the challenges of raising children may have, in fact, contributed to the breakdown of your marriage. Your first-grader, however, may interpret that as being to blame by nature of his existence.

#2: Invite Communication

Once your child knows about your divorce, it is important not to place expectations on him or her regarding how to handle the news. Everyone—adults and children—will need to deal with the situation in their own ways. Do not ask your child to keep secrets; instead, share only as much as you would be comfortable with other people knowing. Do not demand that your child talks to you. Instead, provide a safe environment for him or her to express feelings and concerns without judgment or consequences.

The highest divorce rates are among military couples compared to any other profession. At Brandon Wong & Associates, we respect the sacrifices service members make for this country and we are dedicated to protecting their rights and interests. If you are deployed in another country and have been served with a military divorce it can be emotional and overwhelming. A skilled military divorce attorney can guide you through the process and ensure that you conserve your benefits.

Qualifying for a 90-day Stay

If you are serving your country overseas, you may not know how to respond to a divorce petition - but a skilled military divorce attorney can help guide you through this difficult time and process. The Service Members Civil Relief Act allows you to apply for a 90-day stay, which places a divorce or child custody issue on hold. You would need to prove the following to qualify for a stay:

Same-sex marriages are fairly new in the United States and subsequently divorces among the

LGBTQ+ community are too. Same-sex couples may come across unique circumstances if they decide to get a divorce or fight for child custody. It is best to work with an experienced LGBT family law attorney to protect your rights if you are thinking about parting ways.

When did the Marriage Actually Begin?

In 2015, the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages, enabling LGBT couples to enjoy the same rights and privileges as others in their marriages nationwide. The state of Texas recognized common-law marriages for LGBT couples beginning at the same time, although the reality is that many same-sex couples were already living together in Texas. 

Marriage and divorce are complex subjects, and when children are involved they become even more difficult. Blended families (made up of children belonging to one parent or the other and often also involving children born of both parents) are among the most complex arrangements of all - especially when parents of blended families get divorced.

Divorced parents of stepchildren have often spent many years integrating these children into their lives without formally adopting them. Yet while the lack of a formal legal relationship with the child does not minimize the history of care, love, and respect between a stepparent and stepchild, it can make it very difficult to seek visitation with the stepchild after a divorce, especially if the relationship between the stepparent and the stepchild’s biological parent is now hostile. If this situation sounds familiar and you are a Texas stepparent seeking visitation rights, read on and then contact a family lawyer for help.

Seeking Visitation as a Stepparent in Texas

Once a stepparent has gotten divorced from a child’s biological parent, Texas law views the stepparent as an interested third party - that is, someone who has no automatic visitation rights but who may petition a family court to request visitation. Because these petitions often involve hostile relationships between former spouses, judges are usually left to make the decision after looking at the evidence in a particular case. The factors the judge will consider include, but are not limited to:

Relationships often end because of infidelity, but even when a relationship ends for other reasons, infidelity may still have been present with or without one partner’s knowledge. Because genetic testing is inexpensive and widely available, some fathers find out unexpectedly that the child they believed was theirs, and which they have cared for and financially supported for many years, is not actually their own.

Understandably, this can cause a man serious distress. Feelings of anger, hurt, and betrayal are common, as is confusion over whether a man who is not the genetic parent of a child wants to keep contributing emotionally and financially to that child’s life. If you are a parent who has been paying child support for a child who turned out not to be your own, you deserve to know your options. Contact a Texas child support attorney for help.

Get a Court Order to Terminate Child Support

It is important not to stop making child support payments without court permission. Even if you find out a child is not yours using a private genetic testing service, you will likely still need to seek genetic testing through the state to prove you are not the father. For sure you will need to file a petition with the court to terminate the parent-child relationship and your child support obligation. You may also need to prove that you relied on misinformation when you assumed you were the child’s parent; for example, if you were married to the child’s mother at the time of the child’s birth and the law assumed you were the child’s parent, you may have assumed so as well.

Divorce is notorious for bringing out the worst in people. Years of conflict, anger, and frustration often come to the surface when spouses are trying to negotiate the terms of their divorce, and some spouses are so intent on getting back at each other that they may refuse to cooperate altogether. Other times, spouses may decide to not cooperate with the divorce process because they genuinely believe separating would be a mistake, they believe their religion prohibits it, or because they are trying to manipulate their spouse into staying with them.

Whatever the reason, if you have asked your spouse for a divorce and they have said no, you still have options. You do not have to remain trapped in a bad marriage forever. Instead, call a Texas divorce attorney who has experience helping spouses in high-conflict divorces and start the next phase of your life today.

Do Both Spouses Have to Consent to Divorce?

Texas does not require both spouses to consent to divorce in order for the divorce to be finalized. In fact, if your spouse absolutely refuses to cooperate, you may actually get the upper hand in a divorce; when one partner will not respond to a divorce petition or appear in a court summons, a judge is more likely to give you the things you are asking for in your divorce decree.

Prenuptial agreements are legal documents that couples can create and sign before getting married. Provisions in the document include directives regarding how property and assets will be divided in the event that the marriage ends in divorce, as well as plans for how finances will be handled during the marriage. Prenuptial agreements are often misunderstood, and there is quite a bit of misinformation circulating on the internet regarding them. The good news is that an experienced family law attorney can help you learn the truth about these potentially helpful tools.

Myth 1: Getting a Prenup is Planning for Divorce

The most commonly held false belief when it comes to any premarital agreement is that only couples who plan to divorce create these arrangements. This is simply not true. Although short-lived celebrity weddings have given prenuptial agreements a bad reputation, many couples benefit from prenups and never end up divorced.

Myth 2: Asking your Partner for an Agreement Will Only Lead to a Fight

Because of the misconceptions regarding prenups, it can be difficult to bring up the subject with your soon-to-be spouse. However, with the right perspective and approach, a discussion about the possibility of using a prenuptial agreement does not have to be stressful. Research the benefits of prenuptial agreements together or meet with a family law attorney who can explain the purposes of the document. The key is to keep your significant other “in the loop” so that it is a joint decision instead of trying to figure everything out on your own.

Families often spend years, even decades, in the same house. Wonderful life-long memories are made in homes, and so it is understandable that if a couple decides to get divorced, it can be very difficult to decide what to do with the family home. However, because marital assets must be divided in a Texas divorce, the value of the home needs to be allocated between spouses - even if one spouse ends up deciding to keep the home. If you are wondering whether you want to keep your home in your divorce, read on and then meet with a Texas divorce attorney to examine your options. 

What to Consider When Thinking About Divorce and the Family Home 

Every divorce is different, so the answer to the question of whether you should keep the family home is not cut and dried. Many factors will go into the planning and execution of how marital assets are divided. 

Before you begin to approach the question of the home’s eventual ownership, you first need to think about your overall financial situation and what you hope to get out of the divorce. Think carefully about your long-term financial well-being, especially if you are at or near retirement age. Often, much of a couple’s net worth is tied up in their home. If you were to negotiate full ownership of your home in exchange for retirement benefits, cash savings, or other assets, you may find that while you own the house, you may not own much else. 

Deciding whether or not to get a divorce can be one of the most challenging decisions a person ever has to make. It is common for people considering divorce to go back and forth, sometimes wanting to separate, and other times wanting very much to keep their family together. Considering that divorce has the potential to have negative consequences for both spouses and children, it is not a decision to take lightly; and yet, at some point, the decision must be made. 

If you have been thinking about divorce and are wondering whether your reasons are “good enough,” it may be helpful to read what psychological experts say are rational reasons for divorce. Of course, no matter what the experts or anyone else says, your own judgment and intuition should guide you in this important decision before anything else. To learn about common reasons for divorce, read this blog and then contact a Texas divorce attorney to find out more about the divorce process, including issues regarding child support, alimony, custody, and property division. 

Physical Abuse

While this one may seem fairly obvious to people who are not involved in physically abusive relationships, spouses of physically abusive partners often find it difficult to leave–and for good reason. Rarely is a person all good or all bad; a person who sometimes loses their temper and throws things or hits their spouse may manipulate their partner into believing they have redeeming qualities. However, for your own safety and that of your children, experts recommend leaving a relationship where physical abuse is present. 

When both parties of a married couple agree that getting a divorce is the best thing for them, they may be interested in working together to pursue the most peaceful resolution possible. Often, this means getting an uncontested divorce, or a divorce in which all applicable issues have been resolved before filing a divorce petition and going to court. While an uncontested divorce is not available to every couple, it can be a great way to go your separate ways while keeping the peace. If you and your spouse think you may be interested in pursuing an uncontested divorce, read on to learn more about this process and then contact a Texas divorce attorney for help. 

Do We Qualify for an Uncontested Texas Divorce? 

Uncontested divorces in Texas are not available to everyone. The most commonly disqualifying issue is a couple who shares minor children. If you have minor children, but agree about everything else, you will instead need to file for an “agreed divorce.” You also cannot get an uncontested divorce if the wife is pregnant, or if you have a disabled adult dependent child. 

You must own no real property if you want to file for an uncontested divorce. This includes a house, land, or other real estate. 

While establishing paternity is not always easy or straightforward, doing so is important for a number of reasons. Every child deserves to know his or her father, and extensive research on the subject is very clear that children do better by every measurable outcome when fathers are involved in their lives. Furthermore, a mother deserves help from a child’s father, even if it is only in the form of child support. Finally, fathers deserve to be given a chance to uphold the responsibility they share for bringing a life into the world. 

Despite many good reasons to establish paternity, some men resist cooperating. They may hope that the mother will eventually give up or that, by dodging DNA testing or court dates, they will not be saddled with child support payments. Fortunately for mothers, Texas courts give them options as they seek to establish paternity, even when a child’s father is trying to avoid responsibility. To learn more about proving paternity, read on and then contact a Texas paternity lawyer for help with your case. 

How Can I Prove Paternity? 

Texas law allows paternity to be established in one of three ways. The most common way is through marriage - when married couple has a baby together, the father is automatically assumed to be the child’s legal parent. 

Making decisions about your children during divorce can be a confusing, frustrating, and stressful process. You may recognize and appreciate that your children need to maintain their relationship with your soon-to-be ex, but the thought of giving up time with them can feel heartbreaking. You may find that their best interests are difficult to disentangle from your own preferences. Yet a final parenting agreement must be created, and Texas law will expect both parents to play a major role in the life of each child unless there is a provable reason to do otherwise. Here is how child custody cases are typically decided in Texas. 

Four Things to Know About Texas Child Custody Decisions

The first thing to know about child custody in Texas is that it is split into two separate but overlapping areas: conservatorship, which is the authority to make important decisions regarding education, healthcare, religion, and extracurricular activities; and possession and access, which determines the visitation schedule. 

The second thing to know is that parents are encouraged to create a parenting plan together, rather than relying on the courts for help. While cases of partner violence, child abuse, or extreme hostility between parents may make it impossible for parents to work together, generally speaking, parents are expected to handle the matter themselves, using the help of a mediator if necessary. 

Parents of minor children in Texas generally stop paying child support when a child turns 18 or graduates from high school, which comes last. This is based on the assumption that a legal adult is competent to provide for themselves and that, while a parent can still help the child if he or she wishes, there is no longer a legal obligation to send child support funds to the child’s other parent. 

Some children, however, are never able to become fully self-sufficient. Physical or mental disabilities can prevent an adult from functioning normally, often leaving them completely dependent on their parents for the rest of their lives. In cases like this, the Texas legislature makes an exception to the typical termination of child support payments. If you are getting divorced and have a disabled adult child, you are likely wondering what this law means for you. 

Adult Child Support

According to Texas law, if a child is over 18 and the following conditions exist, child support may be ordered indefinitely: 

No couple begins their marriage hoping that it will eventually end in divorce, but anticipating the potential for divorce is a practical perspective in today’s age. If you suspect that divorce may be in your future, you likely have a million questions. Do you want to go through with it? Do you have to go through with it if your spouse insists? Do you really need an attorney, or can you handle the divorce issues yourselves? 

The answers to these questions are complex and depend on your circumstances. However, one certainty is that you can get the answers to all your questions with the help of an attorney. Here are three more reasons that hiring an attorney for your Texas divorce could benefit you. 

Have an Advocate in Protecting Your Interests

Maintaining a perspective with an eye to your current and future interests is sometimes more complex than divorcees would believe. It is easy to accidentally give up long-term benefits for short-term compromise in a way that can seriously hurt you in the long run, especially when it comes to your finances. A divorce attorney with experience and perspective can help you plan your divorce in a way that benefits you now and in the future. 

Decisions about the medical treatment that people receive are deeply personal. Your sense of ethics, your religion and personal history with medical professionals may all influence what care you choose to receive. Your preferences may also have an impact on what medical care you want your children to receive.

If you and your ex have differing ideas about the right treatment for your children or even what medical professionals should provide their care, how can you resolve those issues in a shared custody scenario in Texas?

Your parenting plan will talk about medical care

Whether the Texas family courts create a parenting plan or approve one created by the parents, there will typically be a section within the document discussing decision-making authority. It is common for parents to share such authority.

Parental alienation is a very serious issue that does happen in divorce cases. It has been studied by experts and found to be a real phenomenon that has a detrimental impact on the child. Essentially, parental alienation has been defined as a situation in which “one parental figure has waged a psychological campaign to, baselessly, turn a child against the other parent.”

For instance, your spouse may have blamed you for the upcoming divorce and slowly tried to manipulate the child into thinking that everything was your fault or that you are fundamentally a bad person. What they’re trying to do is get the child to want to spend more time with them or to not want to spend any time with you. Parental alienation is so damaging because the child may not even realize it’s happening. This can cut them off from contact with their other parent, which can hinder their development as they grow up.

Are people claiming that it’s happening when there’s no evidence?

The problem here is that some studies have found that parental alienation is being misused. There are cases in which some experts feel it should not apply, but it is at least being claimed.

Couples in Texas get divorced for many kinds of reasons. For example, some people get divorced because of health issues. One spouse may not want responsibilty for the other’s medical bills. Other spouses grow apart over the years and separated to pursue what makes each of them happy.

A significant number of divorces in Texas occur because one spouse cheats on the other. Infidelity is among the leading causes of modern divorce, and it can lead to very emotional divorce proceedings. The spouse who discovered the affair often wants justice, and they may try to use the courts to seek it.

Will you need to prove that your ex was unfaithful to divorce over adultery in Texas?

Marriage vows require a lifetime commitment of fidelity and mutual support. It is easy to make such a promise at the peak of your romance with someone else. It can be a lot harder to fulfill those obligations week after week, year after year.

People sometimes find themselves struggling to maintain their marriages despite having entered into the union with the best of intentions. They may feel emotionally disconnected from their spouse or violated by something their partner recently did.

Many of these couples turn to marriage counseling or couples therapy to work on their issues. However, couples therapy has a somewhat negative reputation. There are those who say that it is better to file for divorce than to try to work through an issue in couples counseling.