Posted on July 14, 2020 in Family Law

Adoption is a great way for a family-in-fact to become legal family. It’s used all the time in cases involving parents and minor children. But what if you want to adopt an adult? Can you do that in Texas?

You can. As long as the adult you want to adopt consents to the adoption. The process is actually fairly simple:

• You file the adoption petition. If you are married, your spouse must also be part of the petition and agree with the adoption.
• The adult you wish to adopt must consent in writing to the adoption.
• Both the petitioner (you) and the adult you wish to adopt usually must attend the hearing (although the court can waive that requirement if there’s a good enough reason)

Once the process is complete, the adopted adult is legally your child. (Bear in mind, this terminates the legal ties and inheritance rights that adult child may have with their biological parents.)

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 Posted on July 09, 2020 in Child Custody

Rearing a child is hugely rewarding — but it isn’t easy. Every parent struggles with the decisions they have to make. That struggle can be compounded, however, when a parent is divorced and you and your ex-spouse aren’t on the same page about your parenting plans.

If you’re in the process of developing a custody schedule and parenting plan with your ex, the best way to avoid a big problem down the line is to anticipate potential disagreements now — before the situation turns critical (and gets heated).

Here are some of the issues you may want to address in your parenting plan:

• Medical care, including whether to use traditional medicine or homeopathic treatments most of the time, whether to vaccinate or not
• Mental health treatments, including the use of medication for behavioral problems or ADHD

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 Posted on July 02, 2020 in Divorce

Nobody really ever wants a divorce — they just want to be happy. If you’ve figured out that happiness definitely isn’t with your spouse, however, a divorce is the way you’ve got to go.

Just try to avoid the following mistakes during the process:

1. Don’t start out being aggressive.

Unless you want your situation to get really ugly really fast, take a cooperative approach toward you spouse when it comes to the split. Instead of rattling off a list of demands or making threats, ask your spouse if you can work together to make the split as easy on each other as possible. If this approach fails, there’s plenty of time for an aggressive stance later.

2. Don’t make any major lifestyle changes.

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 Posted on June 26, 2020 in Child Custody

In Texas and other states alike, temporary orders are used to establish some operating terms while a couple goes through a divorce. They can allocate the use of the marital home and cars, establish support amounts and even determine who pays what share of the household bills until the divorce is settled.

Since these orders are just temporary pending a deeper exploration of the disputed issues, how much should you be concerned about the temporary orders that are put in place regarding custody of the children?

Plenty. First of all, it can take a long time for a divorce to be finalized, especially if there are conflicts. Custody of the children is always decided on whatever is in their best interests. It’s entirely possible that a judge will decide that the kids — after a year or so of living under the temporary orders — are already accustomed to the current arrangement and their routine shouldn’t be disrupted with any changes. That could put you in an uphill battle if you want to make any changes.

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 Posted on June 19, 2020 in Divorce

You know that your marriage isn’t a happy one, but did you know that it’s probably also damaging to your health?

Researchers say that being in a high-conflict relationship where disagreements over things like hobbies, the kids, the in-laws or the bills are common can actually hurt you physically, not just emotionally. While people in relatively agreeable unions tend to live longer and stay healthier than single people, the same is definitely not true for those who are unhappily wed.

If your spouse isn’t supportive of you or is outright difficult to live with, that can lead to an increase in your body’s inflammatory response. It can also affect how much cortisol, or stress hormones, are flooding your body on a daily basis. In turn, that can affect everything from the health of your heart and to how well you’re sleeping or eating.

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 Posted on June 11, 2020 in Child Custody

Have you ever heard the term “Disneyland dad” or “Disneyland mom?”

It’s the phrase used to describe a non-custodial parent who sweeps in on their rare visitation weekends, scoops up the kids and showers them with gifts, suspends bedtimes, loads up on pizza and other goodies and basically turns the entire weekend into a party — leaving you to be the disciplinarian who makes the kids go to bed on time, do their homework and eat their vegetables.

That gets really old really fast when you’re the custodial parent who has to deal with the emotional fallout every time the kids come back home. You might understand when grandparents act that way, but is it too much expect your co-parent to be an actual adult?

Probably. Here’s are some things you can do:

1. Let the kids have their fun: It sounds counterintuitive, but you’re only hurting yourself and your relationship with the kids by scowling over the presents or growling over the way their other parent lets them run wild. Bite your tongue if you have to, but work on smoothly steering the kids back into their usual routine without comment on your ex’s parenting skills.

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 Posted on June 10, 2020 in Firm News

The breakup of a family unit is difficult for everyone, but perhaps most traumatic for younger, school-age children.

Traditional litigation can be especially stressful for children, but they fare much better when parents choose the less adversarial approach known as collaborative divorce.

Understanding how it works

In a collaborative divorce, each party engages the services of an attorney trained in this kind of process. The attorneys will provide guidance and assist in negotiations that ultimately lead to a settlement satisfactory to both spouses. Collaborative divorce covers all the issues spouses expect a judge to help settle during a traditional court proceeding, including property division,child custody,child support and spousal maintenance. Often, spousesbring in professionals such as accountants or social workers whose expertise is helpful in resolving sticking points.

Realizing benefits

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 Posted on June 05, 2020 in Divorce

When it comes to their parents, kids expect a happily ever after. Unfortunately, things don’t always work out that way. Life happens, and couples grow apart. Husbands and wives split up. The hardest part of it all is breaking the news to your kids. It’s not easy telling them that your family is breaking apart and that mommy and daddy won’t be living together anymore.

Children react differently to divorce, depending on their age, personality and their relationship with their parents. Kids often blame themselves for their parents splitting up. They often think that it’s their fault. Children experience a variety of emotions from shock to sadness, anger, frustration, worry and fear upon learning about their parents’ split.

Parents must assure their children that their divorce isn’t their kids’ fault. Couples should avoid having arguments and discussions about separating in front of their children. Maintaining a routine and keeping disruptions to a minimum is vital for their continued development. It’s at the point when you and your spouse are splitting up that it’s more important than ever that you maintain an active and positive presence in your children’s lives.

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 Posted on May 29, 2020 in Child Custody

Being a teen isn’t easy. Their bodies and emotions are often in flux at this age. There are pressures put on them to do well in school and extracurricular activities and to prepare themselves for adulthood. All of this can be difficult for them to manage. If their parents announce that they’re getting divorced, this may add another level of complexity to a teen’s life, especially if they have to travel between their mom’s and dad’s homes.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to devising a shared custody schedule. Parents must take into account their careers and preferences when negotiating how to split custody. What’s perhaps most important, though, is that they maintain a semblance of normalcy for their teen.

Teens tend to spend the bulk of their time in school, participating in extracurricular activities and with their friends. They don’t respond well to unwanted change.

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 Posted on May 22, 2020 in Family Law

What can you do if your child’s other parent is lagging behind in their support payments?

Across the United States, there are billions of dollars in child support that go uncollected every year — and Texas is not immune to the issue. While a child support order is a legal obligation, many paying parents fail to uphold that obligation either because they hit a rough financial patch or simply don’t want to pay.

If your ex’s child support payments have stopped coming, here’s what you can do:

1. Talk to the other party. If they’re temporarily out of work, you can at least understand why they aren’t paying. While you can’t absolve them of their legal obligation (or the interest they may accrue), you can work with them to try to get the payments back on track.

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