Posted on June 21, 2019 in Divorce

When you got married, you dreamed of building a life together with your spouse. Since divorce wasn’t even something you considered, you adopted the “share and share alike” mentality that’s common for newly married couples.

Now, however, your marriage has crumbled, and you have been spending some sleepless nights anxiously worrying about what happens to certain things — like student loans — after you’re divorced.

Well, here’s what you should know about student loan debt and divorce in Texas:

Each spouse keeps the loans they had prior to marriage

If you and your spouse met at college and got married after graduation, each of you will likely walk away with your own student loans to handle. Debt acquired before a marriage is considered separate debt — not marital debt.

Any loans acquired after your marriage will have to be divided

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 Posted on June 19, 2019 in Firm News

One big source of conflict between divorced parents in Texas involves child support and visitation. Once the courts establish which party is to pay child support and receive visitation rights and which is to retain custody, it is up to both guardians to abide by the court order. Some co-parents believe they have leeway when it comes to child support and visitation. What they fail to realize is the rulings made by the courts are not suggestions. They are legally binding commitments.

One parent cannot personally penalize the other parent for not upholding her or his end of the arrangement by withholding access to the kids. There are legal penalties for not adhering to child custody, support and visitation orders.

Purpose of child support and visitation orders

The courts recognize that children fare best with the involvement of both parents in their lives. They structure child support, custody and visitation orders to reduce the psychological and economic effects of the divorce or separation on kids and ensure both parental units remain as involved as possible. Parents may not agree with their child support, custody or visitation orders, but they are legally bound to honor them.

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 Posted on June 13, 2019 in Divorce

Some people are absolutely thrilled to get divorced — but most people experience real grief at the end of their marriage, even if it was a short one.

The end of a marriage generally represents the end of all the dreams you built up of life with that person — and entire future that suddenly vanishes before it could ever become a reality. It also leaves you with a mixture of memories that are both good and bad times with that person and a history that has a real emotional impact on your way of being as you move forward.

Overcoming your grief at the end of your marriage takes time and plenty of energy — which is why it is often best to put as many of the practical details of your divorce in the hands of your attorney. That way, you can focus on regaining your sense of self and your personal identity without as many distractions.

In addition, here are some other ways you can cope with the feelings you’re experiencing:

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 Posted on June 06, 2019 in Family Law

Millennials are a generation of people who seem to have learned from the mistakes of others — and that’s probably why the divorce rate is declining.

Here’s how these “children of the modern age” approach marriage differently than their parents and grandparents did:

They’re waiting longer to get married in the first place

Some of the reason that Millennials are waiting longer to get married — most are nearing 30 years of age when they marry (if they marry at all) — are no doubt the problems that many have with student loan debt and coping with a world in which wages have not kept pace with inflation.

However, a lot of them are waiting longer to get married simply because they want to be absolutely sure they’re marrying the right person. The average Millennial couple that marries has been together 4.9 years before they tie the knot. This is not — by any means — a generation in a rush to commit or one that believes in love at first sight very easily. They take their time to get to know the other person with the full understanding that it’s much easier to just break up than get a divorce.

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 Posted on May 31, 2019 in Child Custody

When you got divorced, you probably promised yourself that despite your busy schedule that made it impossible for you to handle equal custody of the kids that you wouldn’t be one of those “Disneyland Dads” who swept in on the odd weekend for a great time — then turned the real parenting over to your children’s mother.

Unfortunately, it can be easier to fall into that trap than you realize. When you feel marginalized when it comes to the kids, you want every moment with them to be positive, and that’s hard to do if you’re really parenting. It can be far sweeter to just shower them with affection and material things rather than deal with the awkward, painful reality of moody, exasperating and sometimes, frustrating kids.

Here’s what you need to remind yourself — daily — until you get it ingrained:

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 Posted on May 23, 2019 in Divorce

Years ago, if you wanted a divorce, one spouse had to prove that the other spouse had done something worthy of divorce in the eyes of the law. That trapped a lot of unhappy couples in marriages that one or both no longer wanted.

Today, since Texas is a “no-fault” divorce state, you can’t be trapped in an unhappy marriage just because your spouse doesn’t want a divorce. That doesn’t mean, however, that every divorce will go smoothly. Many divorces are contested on one or more grounds.

What does it mean when a divorce is contested?

A contested divorce is one where the couple can’t agree on one or more important issues. The most common reasons for contested divorces are disagreements over:

• Property division
• Spousal support (alimony)
• Child support

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 Posted on May 21, 2019 in Firm News

Divorce can be a messy process. That is why couples pursuing divorce would do well to look into various services that can help them come to a more amicable agreement. For example, one Texas woman offers co-parenting classes to couples. Even though Texas courts do not mandate such classes, they can provide a major benefit to former spouses.

Another major consideration before heading into divorce involves knowing how long the proceedings will take. Each case is different. Some couples can finish everything in a few months, while other couples will be in court for over a year. There are various factors to look at to figure out how long you can expect to debate with your spouse until you settle everything.

The mandatory waiting period

Divorces in Texas cannot receive full finalization until 60 days after initially filing the divorce paperwork. It is possible for a judge to waive this waiting period, but those instances are few and far between. Knowing that you have at least 60 days before you can divorce fully, you should use that time wisely to get as much settled as possible.

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 Posted on May 16, 2019 in Divorce

Money can often lead to marital conflicts. However, a new study indicates that one specific money woe — student debt — is bringing a lot of young couples to their breaking points.

According to a study from Student Loan Hero, student loan debts seem to be particularly toxic to marriages. Money trouble was generally cited as a contributing factor in a third of all divorces — while student loans were specifically blamed by one out of eight divorced borrowers.

Why are student loans so stressful? That’s probably because the cost of an education has spiraled past the rewards. While many people still see a college degree as critical to a young person’s success, the debt young people have to take on to get that degree can be staggering. Right now, the average student loan balance is $34,000, and the number of people with student loans topping $50,000 has tripled in the last 10 years. When two people with student loans marry, that’s double the debt and double the stress.

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 Posted on May 09, 2019 in Child Custody

When you and your spouse divorced, you agreed to some pretty specific terms for custody and visitation with the kids. Unfortunately, your ex-spouse seems to feel pretty comfortable about bending — or outright breaking — the rules whenever he or she feels like it.

While an occasional deviation from the formal agreement can be fine when ex-spouses agree on it, and a genuine mistake or accidental slip-up can be forgiven once in a while, you don’t have to allow your ex-spouse to simply ignore the rules whenever it suits him or her.

What counts as a violation of your custody agreement?

• Keeping the child past the scheduled visitation or time
• Picking the child up from school without notifying you
• Taking the child out of state without notifying you per your agreement
• Failing to meet you at the designated time and place for exchanges
• Continually interrupting your visitation time with phone calls or “just dropping in” at random while you have the child

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 Posted on May 02, 2019 in Family Law

If you own a business (or are about to start one), you need to think about the possibility of divorce and how that could damage your enterprise. There are ways to protect your company — but the sooner you act the better.

If you’re nowhere near a divorce right now

If you’re happily married or not married at all, you still need to divorce-proof your business as much as possible. You can do that through several different means, depending on your situation:

• Get a prenuptial agreement — Before you tie the knot with someone, insist on a prenuptial agreement that protects your business. If your intended spouse balks, you can consider an agreement that phases out over time or offer something else that will make the agreement more acceptable.
• Get a postnuptial agreement — If you’re already married when you start your business, a postnuptial agreement can function the same as a prenup — and be just as effective. Just make sure that it’s reasonable and fair. A family law attorney can help you make sure that any agreement is enforceable.

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