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Taxes and Divorce: How to avoid mistakes when filing during a divorce

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Taxes and Divorce: How to avoid mistakes when filing during a divorce with the immense procedure!

Divorce Lawyers in Houston: I sat and thought for a few minutes prior to writing this blog post on what title to use. After careful deliberation I determined that there is no way to make the subjects of divorce and taxes any more palatable- even if I were to dress up the title.

If you are reading this blog post you’re probably considering a divorce and you also pay taxes. How those subjects relate to one another will be the focus of today’s blog from the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC.

Opposites attract in marriage which puts the responsibility for the taxes on one spouse typically

We’ve all heard the saying, “Opposites attract” in the context of dating and relationships. The attributes we find attractive in a potential partner are sometimes the qualities that we ourselves lack in abundance. Quiet and reserved people can see an outgoing and extraverted person as someone he or she would like to spend time with and help balance out their introverted tendencies. Likewise, a person who does not focus on detailed work, like taxes for example, may find a “numbers” person to be quite alluring even on a subconscious level.

With that said from my experience representing clients in divorce cases it is usually one spouse who handles the taxes while the other has nothing to do with them. This means that while the non participating spouse has less responsibility and headaches associated with preparing the taxes and filing them on time, their knowledge of any methods undertaken to complete the taxes is basically zero.

In fact, if those methods were to yield a martial tax return that was incomplete or incorrect there would be no way for the other spouse to know.

Filing a joint tax return: What does it mean for families?

Family Lawyer Houston: A joint income tax return can help families to save money in ways that spouses filing individually would not. While only one spouse may be actively involved in the preparation of the tax return, both spouses must sign their names to the return. This creates a situation where both spouses are equally liable for any mistakes that are made in determining the tax liability for the married couple.

If this sounds like you and your soon to be ex spouse then take note: if the government determines that additional taxes are owed then both of you are responsible for that additional tax burden along with penalties and interest. Being granted a divorce does not sever this responsibility for one of you.

In many divorce cases that I have worked on, our client was the spouse that was not allowed to access the family financial information. This means that he or she may have been given an “allowance” by their spouse on a weekly basis. Think of what you used to receive from your parents for mowing the lawn or doing the dishes and then expand on that as an adult.

Some spouses are so controlling that they do not allow their partner to view account information online, deposit or withdraw funds at their bank or even know how much the other earns on a yearly basis. With this in mind, it doesn’t seem right that both spouses have the same level of responsibility for filling out and submitting a tax return that is free of errors.

Innocent Spouse Relief- Help for a helpless spouse

If you find yourself in a position where your spouse is telling you that the both of you owe money on taxes previously filed then you can breathe a sigh of relief if you had no working knowledge of anything associated with the mistakes that were made. Innocent Spouse Relief is a life preserver created by our federal government that will allow you to avoid liability for taxes, penalties and interest owed due to errors on tax filings. In order to meet the requirements of this law and avoid responsibility you must show:

> That you filed jointly with your spouse on the return in the taxable year in which you are seeking relief > That your spouse is the only one responsible for the mistake made on the tax return that led to the additional amounts owed > That you had no reason to know, nor did you have any opportunity to find out, that the amount stated on your tax filings was insufficient or undervalued to what the actual total should have been > With the circumstances and facts being what they are, it would be unfair to hold you accountable for the penalties, interest and future tax burden that comes with understating your current tax liability > You must bring challenge any attempts to collect money within two years of the first collection opportunity

For those of you who bury your heads in your hands every April, you can take heart in the fact that the government has shown good judgment in at least one area of operation. While taking advantage of Innocent Spouse Relief does not guarantee you that your liability will be wiped clean it does present you a chance to move forward unscathed by a mistake from a person who is very nearly your ex spouse. It is nonetheless smart to become involved in the preparation and filing of your taxes even as divorce is on the horizon.

The more you become involved, the less likely there is to be a mistake made and the lower the likelihood of needing to take advantage of Innocent Spouse Relief.

Questions about Taxes and Divorce? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

Divorce Lawyers Houston: From Baytown to The Woodlands and all points in between the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC strives to provide quality representation to clients across southeast Texas. To learn more about our office and the services that we can provide you and your family please contact us today. A free of charge consultation where your questions can be answered is only a phone call away … Continue Reading

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When does the extended family of a child have standing to sue for custody in Texas?

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, When does the extended family of a child have standing to sue for custody in Texas? with the immense procedure!

Family Attorney Houston: The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC recently had cause to celebrate a huge victory for long-time clients of ours. These clients are grandparents who live in North Texas but whose grandchildren reside here in the Houston area. Unfortunately the son of our clients and the father to their grandchildren was sentenced to a twenty year prison term last year for a sex-related crime.

His wife and the daughter in law to our clients was sent to prison this year on a related charge. The grandchildren ended up living with a maternal aunt with whom the mother and grandchildren had been residing.

A 2016 case led the way to the ultimate victory in 2017

These grandparents came to our office last year seeking representation to win custody of their grandchildren. They feared (reasonably) that the environment that they were being exposed to with their mother was dangerous to the long and short-term development of these teenagers.

The grandparents had little contact with their grandchildren in the previous four or five months but they believed the children were not being made to attend school nor were they able to contact their grandparents. Basically, our clients believed that they offered the best environment for these kids to be raised as successful and happy people.

Despite their intentions and goals, our clients were not able to immediately able to win primary custody of their grandchildren. Ultimately we attended mediation along with their daughter in law and we settled on mandatory monthly visits for our clients with their grandchildren. Considering that they had not been able to see them much if at all over the prior half year both of our clients were happy at this result.

An important piece of advice was given to our clients by myself at mediation as well. I let them know that even though they were not able to negotiate a transfer of custody from mom to them at mediation that they were laying the groundwork for a court to do so in the future should the need arise. Our clients basically needed time to re-establish a relationship with their grandparents if they again wanted to pursue custody rather than solely having visitation rights.

As mentioned earlier in this blog post, the children’s mother stood trial and was found guilty of a sex-related crime this year. She, like her husband, was sentenced to an extended prison term that caused custody to effectively be flipped from mom to her sister. Once our clients learned about this occurring, they contacted us and again engaged in a court case in which they asserted to the court that now was an appropriate time to award them conservatorship rights over the children. What does this mean in the context of an extended family member’s ability to win custody of a child? Read on to find out more about this subject.

A person must have standing to pursue a lawsuit in Texas

Divorce Attorneys in Houston: Our clients brought a petition in Harris County seeking to be named sole managing conservators of their grandchildren. Along with their petition, each wrote and signed affidavits stating to the court just how the children’s present environment would harm in a significant manger the health and emotional development of the children. This is required under the Texas Family Code in order to be successful in this type of lawsuit.

The affidavit detailed to the judge the level of involvement that they had in the children’s lives prior to brining their 2016 case to court and pointed out the lengths they had gone to in the past year to have visitation rights over their grandchildren. Finally, the affidavit provided as much factual information as they could muster as to how the mother and father were unable to provide for the financial, emotional or physical well being of the children.

The Texas Family Code provides that a relative who is within the third degree of consanguinity can file a lawsuit requesting that he or she become managing conservators over a child if the failure to do so would significantly impair the health or emotional development of the child. Our clients met the requirements in that they were within the third degree of consanguinity and had provided testimony in a trial regarding the potential harm that could befall the children should they remain in the care of the aunt in their present environment.

Overall, the facts of this case were as sad as you might expect. Given the nature of their parents crimes it would make sense to do everything possible to help fortify the mental health of their children. However, the mother had made no attempts to seek counseling or therapy for the children while she was not incarcerated. School attendance proved to be sporadic at best as well. Basically, the concerns exhibited by our clients were proved in court to be well founded and accurate.

The court ultimately ruled in favor of our clients and awarded them a conservatorship over the children. While the parental rights of the biological parents were not terminated, they lost a significant amount of rights to their children, notably the right to determine their primary residence. It is not often that clients have a “perfect” day in court but when these grandparents walked out of the courtroom on that day with the right to raise their grandchildren in their back pockets it was a truly wonderful outcome.

Questions on custody, conservatorship and the rights of extended family to bring family lawsuits? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

Houston Divorce Attorneys: Our clients utilized their own sense of what was best for their grandchildren as well as the advice of their attorneys to fight for an win a conservatorship over their grandchildren. While the path they took to arriving at that goal was not exactly linear, their mindset was to get there no matter what obstacles stood in their way.

If you have any questions about this subject or any other in family law please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. A free of charge consultation is only a phone call away … Continue Reading

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Modification of Spousal Maintenance in Texas

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Modification of Spousal Maintenance in Texas with the immense procedure!

Divorce Attorneys Houston: In many marriages, one spouse goes out into the world and works to earn a living for their family and themselves. The other spouse often times remains in the home and provides economic value through raising children, preforming upkeep on the home and generally being available to perform emergency tasks.

Both spouses serve a necessary purpose for the marital relationship but ultimately the spouse who works has developed skills and experience working that the spouse who remains in the home has not. If either spouse wanted to get a divorce then the spouse who remained in the home is put in a position where he or she will have to look for a job and earn an income to sustain an individual lifestyle.

It is due to situations like this that the State of Texas allows for spousal maintenance under Chapter 8 of the Texas Family Code. Spousal maintenance is paid directly from the paying spouse to the receiving spouse. Our Family Code lays out the specific rules for spousal maintenance but spouses are able to agree to any sort of agreement they would like.

I have had a prior client whose spouse agreed to pay her $2,000 a month until her death in alimony. If the ex-husband would have died first then that $2,000 a month obligation would become the responsibility of his estate to pay her. These folks specifically indicated in their Final Decree of Divorce that the agreement should act like the terms of a contract and be enforceable as such.

What happens during the modification process?

About three years after the divorce was resolved, our client’s ex-husband decided to file a petition to modify the divorce decree’s language regarding spousal maintenance. It was not enough for him to simply tell the court that he doesn’t feel like paying that much money anymore, however.

He had to offer an argument to the judge that there had been a material and substantial change in the circumstances of our client and that as a result the monthly payment of $2,000 was either no longer necessary at all or at the very least needed to be modified downward.

What the ex-husband was asking the court to do was to go back and review the language in the Final Decree of Divorce that had to do with the contractual agreement to pay spousal maintenance. It would be necessary in all likelihood to have testimony put forth regarding the desire of the parties to the Decree at the time it was signed as well as the current financial status of the ex-husband.

How our former client responded to a modification being filed

Divorce Attorney in Houston: Our client came to us with information regarding her ex-husband’s financial state which is very important. If her ex husband had been able to show that he truly had no income or wealth with which to pay the spousal support then it would have been difficult for a court not to grant his modification request.

The information our client provided had to do with various real estate that her ex husband owned across the State that was titled in the name of his business rather than himself. This got our office to thinking that discovery would need to be issued to this gentleman where he would need to provide tax filings and other financial documents that would assist us in determining whether or not he was as destitute as he claimed to be.

Material and Substantial Change in Circumstances

As we discussed earlier, a material and substantial change in circumstances need be shown by the party requesting the modification in order to have that request granted. The position of the ex husband was that he had been going through some difficulties with his health in recent years that left him unable to work and earn an income sufficient to both provide for his daily necessities and pay the spousal maintenance as ordered.

The savings that he had been living off of was being used to pay his bills and help him subsist until he became well enough to work again.

Our client was able to present her side of the story to the judge as well. She had been going through her own set of difficulties specifically with her mental health, since the time of the divorce. She had not been able to work in the past year and was considering the possibility of having to file for social security disability. She testified to the sad truth that she was living with her sister and brother in law and could barely function independent of them.

Through the discovery process we were able to ascertain that our client’s ex-husband’s business had not been doing near as poorly as he would have led the court to believe. Furthermore, the ex-husband had re-married and together the couple had purchased a tract of land early in the marriage before health problems began to affect him.

Considering the evidence put forth by both sides, the judge ruled that the ex-husband had failed to show that a material and substantial change in circumstances had occurred. While his health had been poor, he had testified to the assets he did own that could be liquidated.

Furthermore, the health conditions did not bar him from working- only from working the sort of high impact, heavy exertion jobs that he had once been involved with. Thespousal support order was maintained.

Questions about spousal support in Texas? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

Houston Family Attorney: The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC prides itself on diligent representation and sterling customer service. It is our duty to put the interests of our clients ahead of our own and we take that duty seriously. If you are in a position where you feel like a modification of a spousal support order is necessary please do not hesitate to contact our office today. A free of charge consultation is available to you six days a week with one of our licensed family lawattorneys … Continue Reading

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The Dirty Trick of the Amicable Divorce

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, The Dirty Trick of the Amicable Divorce with the immense procedure!

Houston Family Law Attorneys: Many people are scared to use a lawyer in a divorce because they think their situation is too simple or easy to justify paying for a divorce lawyer to provide help and guidance.

The same people think that in order to keep things “amicable” or as long as things are “amicable,” they should avoid getting a divorce attorney.

What many potential clients do not realize is that they are being penny wise and pound foolish. Some of the most expensive and costly mistakes I see are when someone is not represented by a lawyer.

This is an update of an article I wrote in September of 2017. I felt compelled to do so based on a recent consult.

Each consult that I discuss in this article has their own unique story and outcome that demonstrates the high cost and consequences for simple mistakes that could have been easily avoided had the people I met been represented by a lawyer.

IF YOU DO NOT BRING IT UP YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO LATER

The lady I consulted with that inspired this update had a very sad story involving domestic violence. She wanted to be able to move away from her abuser.

However, in her divorce decree, there is geographical restriction that forces her to live near her abuser because of the children they have together. When I learned that her husband went to court to finalize the case, I was hopeful because there might be time to undo what had happened.

However, when I looked up the case and saw when the judge had signed the order, I saw she had missed the deadline to file a motion to reopen the case.

I then had to spend an hour explaining she was stuck living near her abuser, even though her ex-husband:

> Had choked her > Had a family violence case pending against him > Had hit her on multiple occasions > Was not exercising his visitation

Res Judicata

The legal reason for this is because of “res judicata.” This means a matter has been adjudicated by a competent court and may not be pursued further by the same parties.

All the facts that could have helped her before the judge signed the order in most circumstances can not be brought up to change the order that was signed. The court only cares about new facts that occurred after the judge signed the order.

The Danger of Playing Too Nice

Unfortunately, in her case she was not represented by an attorney. She did not want to anger her husband by getting an attorney. She thought if she played it nice, she could get the divorce and move away after.

Another problem in her case was that she signed and cooperated with everything including:

> Signing a waiver > Signing the final decree > Going to court

She did not leave herself any wiggle room for undoing the divorce decree.

There is Still Hope

I did let her know that should some more bad facts occur, she could ask the court to modify the current order in regard to the children. I also let her know another possible reason to modify is if her ex-husband continued not to exercise his visitation.

Unfortunately, the lady I met with did not find much comfort in what I told her because it did not provide any immediate help to her and instead serves more as a cautionary tale to others.

WAIVER OF SERVICE – MEANS YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE SERVED

Divorce Houston: Personal service is not the only way to bring a party to a case under the power of the court so that the court can make orders regarding those individuals.

Alternatively, a person can waive their right to be personally served with a copy of the lawsuit by signing a waiver of service. The waiver of service must be signed in the presence of a notary, notarized, and then filed with the court.

It basically says you do not want to be served by a process server or constable/sheriff or by certified mail sent by the District Clerk.

Recently, I met with a father and his new girlfriend who were confused about why his paycheck was being garnished for child support. He told me he barely made minimum wage and the amount the income withholding said he was supposed to pay was more than he made at his job.

The other sad thing was that it had only been a few months since the order was signed and he was already in the hole several thousand dollars because what he earned was not covering what he was supposed to pay in child support.

I was told by the father that he had never been served. My first thought was that maybe he had been served by some alternative means, which meant the case could more than likely be reopened.

The father had obtained a copy of the order against him and so I was able to take a look at it. What I observed was:

> No one involved in the case had used a lawyer > The paperwork said that the father had signed a waiver > The paperwork said that the father had agreed and signed the order

I asked the father to excuse me so I could go look up the case online. I went back to my office and looked up the case. Sure enough, the record showed that there was a waiver on file. I then looked the order again and flipped to the signature page and it looked like the father had signed the order.

I then went back and explained what I had looked up and showed him a printout showing the waiver of service and his signature on the order.

I explained that he did not need to be served because the court record showed he had waived service and agreed to the order. However, if that was not the case, we could file paperwork and subpoena the notary regarding his signature.

His girlfriend then turned to him and asked if he signed the paperwork. His response was he didn’t know. In my book, that is the wrong answer to that sort of question. I explained his options for fixing the order.

As I saw it, either:

> He had signed the order and did not bother reading what he signed > The mother filled in the blanks after he had signed the order or > The mother somehow convinced a notary to sign the documents saying the father had signed the waiver

In every option I gave him, it was going to cost him several thousand dollars—a lot more than it would have cost to hire a lawyer to get it done the first time correctly.

BEWARE OF STANDARD FORMS

That same day, I met with another unfortunate individual who should have hired an attorney. In her situation, she and her husband had been able to resolve the case amicably outside of court through mediation.

In the agreement, she and her husband were supposed to split his retirement account 50/50 using QDRO. The purpose of her consult was to find out how much my office would charge for drafting that document.

She had brought all the paperwork with her so I could review it. Once I saw the paperwork, I grew immediately concerned. She had:

> A Mediate Settlement Agreement (MSA) and > A Final Divorce Decree

My concern was the divorce decree. It was not anything drafted by a lawyer. It was a standard form put out by a popular website. One of the warnings on the form is NOT to use it to divide a retirement account and to instead hire an attorney to draft the decree when you are trying to divide a retirement account.

When I reviewed the Final Divorce Decree, my suspicions were confirmed. The Final Divorce Decree did not divide the husband’s retirement account but instead gave him 100% of the account. When I explained this to the wife, she was understandably upset. She thought she was hiring my office to help her with a closing document to divide up the retirement account only to find out the divorce decree that was supposed to reflect the Mediated Settlement Agreement said something quite different.

This was another instance where having a divorce attorney would have protected an individual. The divorce lawyer would have made sure that the Final Divorce Decree that was signed reflected the agreement and that her ex did not accidentally or intentionally do anything sneaky.

KNOW WHAT FORMS TO USE AND THE CORRECT COURTROOM PROCEDURE

Family Lawyers Houston: One husband I met with recently had managed to divorce his wife on his own without the help of an attorney. He accomplished this divorce by default. A default divorce means he divorced his wife:

> First by giving her notice and > After he gave her notice, she ignored it

Once this happened, his wife was able to reopen the case by:

> Hiring an attorney > Stating the husband did not use the correct forms > Stating the husband did not use the correct procedure in the divorce

One of the things the husband had failed to do was file an inventory and appraisement with the court and explain to the correct party why his division of the property was a just and right division. Had the husband followed the correct procedure, his ex may not have been able to reopen the divorce … Continue Reading

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Dirty Divorce Trick - Turning into a Temporary “Helicopter” Parent

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Dirty Divorce Trick - Turning into a Temporary “Helicopter” Parent with the immense procedure!

Family Lawyer in Houston: Recently, we had a case where I was able to observe a husband become a “helicopter” parent. He used his new-found involvement with the children to strongly negotiate for additional time with the children and reduced child support. At the time, those involved with the case did not suspect that this behavior of his was a trick.

However, after the divorce, his behavior led the mother to believe he had just been putting on a show and had negotiated in bad faith. In this blog, we will discuss what happened so that our readers can learn by example in case they are faced with a similar scenario.

The Suddenly Newly Involved Parent

The wife in our story filed for divorce and then observed her once arguably absentee father become very involved with the children.

Before she filed, he did not attend the children’s events such as sports or other school activities; however, he was now very involved. He was also now volunteering to take the kids to school, helping to prepare meals for the children, and taking them to their doctors’ appointments.

It seemed like a miracle that now after the wife filed for divorce, her husband had turned into a very hands-on parent.

A Dream Come True

In our case, the wife was excited; she thought it was great her husband was now showing an interest in the children. She was not suspicious and did not think he was playing games or trying trick her. In this case, the husband and wife came up with their own visitation schedule. It involved 50/50 time with the children.

In their order, the husband was still going to pay the wife child support and the wife was still going to be the “primary parent.” However, because of the more equalized time, the husband was going to pay below guideline child support.

However, after the divorce, she became convinced he never had any intention of exercising his hard fought for time with the children. Instead, she now believes he only maximized his time with the children to argue for below guideline child support.

What convinced her was that soon after the divorce, the husband took a new job in a new state and moved away. There was no way he was going to be able to exercise 50/50 time. This meant that she was going to be doing practically everything for the children without his help. To top it off, she was also going to be receiving less than guideline child support.

How to Prevent This Trick from Happening to You

Knowing if someone is attempting to pull this trick can be difficult. I have definitely observed situations when a parent truly does want to spend more time with the children.

Our office has also seen people that were inspired to either work on their marriage or their family once they realized that things had suddenly become very real. So, the fact that a parent may be inspired to make changes and strive to be a better parent is not unrealistic.

However, it is also common for one parent to try and become very involved to try and avoid or minimize child support. In this case, the wife needed to talk to her lawyer to develop a plan on how to handle the husband’s actions.

What I like to tell my clients is that I like for them to be in control of the situation.

For example, there is no reason the order could not have involved standard visitation and guideline child support. If the parents wanted to deviate from that visitation schedule, they still could have even though there is an order as long as they agree. It is only when parents disagree that the order matters.

The same goes for guideline child support. If the wife decides to give him back some of his child support obligations, that is her right.

What Happened in the Case Scenario Above

Houston Family Law Lawyer: Ultimately, the mother decided to file a motion for new trial based on her husband’s deception. The judge ruled against the mother. He was not very sympathetic as she had been represented by an attorney and had agreed to the order.

That is not to say the mother did not have a remedy; she was just going to have to do it through a new case and not through a divorce. She would need to file to modify the order based on a substantial change in circumstance … Continue Reading

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Dealing with life post-divorce in Texas

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Dealing with life post-divorce in Texas with the immense procedure!

Spring Divorce Lawyers: Without a doubt, your life will change after the divorce you’ve been involved in has completed. Whether you feel like you’ve come out of the experience as the “winner”, “loser” or somewhere in between there will be changes for you and your family to encounter. If you are beginning the process now or are contemplating the filing of a family lawsuit now is a good time to begin to consider those changes and how to talk to your family about them.

While the subject matter may be the sort that you are not especially excited to discuss it can go a long way towards aiding your family’s collective mindset as the next stage of your lives together unfolds.

Change of Name

If you are a woman and have begun a divorce then you have most likely already made a determination as to whether or not you want to keep your last name or if you will request the court change your last name back to your maiden name. This is something that your attorney should discuss with you in a “goal setting” session prior to filing the initial documents in your divorce.

Typically in an Original Petition for Divorce a woman will specify whether or not she would like a name change and what the proposed new name is. If you are the responding party to the divorce then a counterpetition may be filed wherein you are able to request the name change in the same fashion as you could have in the Original Petition for Divorce.

It is possible to request a name change for a child as the result of a divorce, but I can’t think of an example of a prior client of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC that either requested one or had their spouse request a name change for a minor child. Either way, a court could conceivably change the name of a minor child upon the request of a party but that change would have to come most likely in the face of an opposing parent’s request to keep the child’s name the same.

Change of Residence

Divorce Lawyer in Spring TX: This is the major change that comes in every divorce case. One parent or the other will be leaving the family home to find their own place to live as a single adult. In some cases both parents will leave the marital home to find a new place to live, often after a court’s order (or mutual agreement) to sell the home.

This is a big adjustment for parents to make but it is especially hard on children. Either not having one of your parents in the home anymore takes a lot of time to get used to, or the combination of that and having to move to a new house or residence makes life especially challenging. Talking to your children early on in the process to make sure they feel comfortable and secure in whatever new surroundings they encounter is crucial.

If you are the non primary parent who gets visitation with the children make sure to take advantage of your opportunities to have the children over to your new residence as quickly as possible so that they may become acclimated. This is especially true if they are young children who will take more time to adjust to new surroundings. Change doesn’t have to be bad, but any change requires patience and communication to get through

Change of account information and access

Spring TX Divorce Lawyer: This is one that I don’t think most clients and even many attorneys consider enough when discussing important changes in post divorce life for families involved. When debts andproperty get divided up in a divorce proceeding the bank accounts are included. Many couples do not share bank accounts and keep their money separate. Well, from reading other blog posts on the subject from our office you should know that keeping “Mr.” and “Mrs.” accounts does not negate the fact that the funds from these accounts are most likely community property.

Regardless, if you share any bank accounts with your spouse the judge will divide them between you and your spouse. In the alternative if you and your spouse settle your case outside of court then the accounts will still be divided up based on your settlement agreement.

Whatever you are awarded in the divorce you will want to make sure that you have the information needed to access the account including login information as well as the password for each account. Once you have that information ready to go it is important to review the contents of the account online and address any issues you have prior to finalization of the divorce.

Then, once all your questions are answered you should make sure that only you have access to whatever new passwords you have applied for each account. You do not want to put yourself in a situation where your ex spouse is either legally or illegally able to access the financial account that was awarded to you in the divorce.

Change is inevitable- How you deal with it makes all the difference

Spring Divorce Lawyer: The pure mechanics of most divorces are very similar. The paperwork, the hearings, the settlement, etc. do not deviate dramatically from couple to couple. What does change are the people involved and their specific ability or willingness to handle the changes that they and their children face as a result of the divorce.

The clients, from my experience, that embrace change and deal with it head on are usually more successful in post divorce life than those who shy away from confronting the new developments in their lives. What’s more- you have your children to concern yourself with now more than ever.

The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC understand the issues that divorcing persons face and stand ready to help you and your family. To learn more about our office or to simply ask questions that you have please contact one of our licensed family law attorneys today. We offer free of charge consultations six days a week … Continue Reading

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How can I get a disproportionate share of the martial estate in my Texas Divorce?

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, How can I get a disproportionate share of the martial estate in my Texas Divorce? with the immense procedure!

How can I get a disproportionate share of the martial estate in my Texas Divorce?

Houston Divorce Lawyer: When you reach the point where you decide that a divorce is necessary you probably have a reason (or twenty) as to why this is the direction you want to take your marriage. Whether your it is a specific action or a series of pretty mundane offenses, the divorce will occur because something justified hiring a lawyer, filing paperwork and serving them on your spouse. A divorce is a serious life step to take, after all.

What happens when you have a very good reason for getting a divorce? Can the reason you’re asking for a divorce actually allow you to recover more property than you otherwise may be entitled to? The answer is the lawyer’s favorite response: “It depends”. This blog post details some essential pieces of knowledge you ought to have on your ability to be awarded a disproportionate (more than 50%) share of the marital estate in your divorce.

How a specific fault in the breakup of your marriage affects your finances

Divorce Lawyer in Houston: Texas, like many other states, allows you to get a divorce for no reason in particular. This is called a “no fault” divorce. In a no fault divorce you state to the court that you are divorcing your spouse because of irreconcilable differences and/or conflict of personalities. In English this means that you can no longer get along with your spouse and that there is no expectation that you ever will be able to again. This is the most common way to state your reason for the divorce in our state.

However, there are specific fault grounds that you can cite when getting divorced. Perhaps the most common fault ground for a divorce is adultery. Either you have seen the adulterous acts happen with your own two eyes or you became aware of the acts through a text or Facebook message, it is understandable to want to end the marriage as a result of learning that your spouse is not being faithful to you.

Let’s go with the adultery example to discuss our big picture topic of winning a disproportionate share of the marital estate in your divorce case. Once you assert the reason for the divorce having been filed you have to be able to substantiate the allegation. By this I mean that you cannot merely allege that your spouse has cheated on you. Evidence must be presented to the judge in your case.

Assuming that you have met this challenge, the next step in the process is to have a judge consider whether to award you a disproportionate share of the marital estate. A judge will consider what sort of division is “just and right”. What does just and right mean in the context of Texas Family Law?

When infidelity affects the property allocation in a divorce

Divorce Attorney Houston: A former client of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC had the following happen in a trial. Our client was the wife in marriage where she had reason to believe that her husband had committed adultery against her. Given that she did not want to file for divorce immediately she suggested marriage counseling as way to attempt to reconcile with her husband. Her husband refused to go to counseling but without tangible evidence to prove that her husband was being unfaithful she continued in the marriage.

Months later she discovered personal belongings of another woman in the marital home. At this point she moved out of the home and hired our office to represent her in the divorce. It took some effort but eventually we were able to learn of the adultery through written proof provided by her spouse in the discovery phase of the case. Sounds like a good thing for our former client, but what did the judge have to say?

Is evidence of affair necessary at the outset of divorce or merely prior to judgment?

Houston Divorce Lawyers: Her adultery assertion coupled with her request for a disproportionate share of the marital estate hinged on whether or not it was necessary to show a judge proof of the adultery at the time she alleged this fault ground as the reason for the breakup of the marriage. If the proof was necessary the moment she listed adultery as her ground for the divorce then she may not be able to collect the share of the estate that we had hoped she would be awarded.

Ultimately the judge sided with our client in reasoning that even though she had no tangible proof of the adultery at the time she alleged it in her Original Petition for Divorce, the fact that she was able to prove it prior to trial won the day for her. She won the disproportionate share of the community estate that she had been working towards throughout her divorce case. While each divorce case is unique, this is a result that I believe should be held as the standard in situations that involve fault grounds for divorce and a claim for a greater than 50% share.

Family law question? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today

Family Law Attorney Houston: Your divorce is one of the most important times in your life. Making an investment in an experienced and detail oriented attorney is smart in both the long and short terms. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC offers the sort of expertise and understanding that it is not always common among attorneys. Finding an advocate who can strike that balance is absolutely essential to a successful divorce case.

If after reading this article you have additional questions on the subject of divorce, community property and fault grounds, please do not hesitate to contact our office today. A licensed family law attorney will be happy to meet with you to answer questions and provide you with more information about our office and the services we provide. Thousands of southeast Texas families have built relationships with our office and we would be honored to speak to you about your legal matter in a comfortable and convenient setting … Continue Reading

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Tips for beginning the school year for recently divorced parents in Texas

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Tips for beginning the school year for recently divorced parents in Texas with the immense procedure!

Houston Divorce Attorney: If you find yourself having recently divorced your spouse the summer time and beginning of a new school year are perhaps the most important tests that you will encounter to determine how your new family unit will handle these changes. Shuffling the children back and forth between parents for their specific periods of possession, then transitioning back into the “normalcy” of the school calendar is a lot to take on both logistically and emotionally. While some divorced families struggle with this transition, others are able to overcome these sort of difficulties and succeed in spite of them.

So what exactly separates the family that is able to cope with these changes and the one who fails to do so? More importantly- how can you best ensure that you can count your family among the latter rather than the former? The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC would like to discuss some tips and advice that we have seen be effective for past clients of ours when it comes to transitioning into your first school year as divorced parents.

When life gets busy make sure you are communicating with your ex spouse.

Houston Family Lawyer: Extra curricular events, church, doctor appointments and family commitments all take up time during the school year. Note that I haven’t even gotten to homework and other assignments from school yet. When you and your children are being pulled in multiple directions all at once it is critical to be on the same page with your ex spouse.

This can be done through tools as simple as Google Calendar where you both can update and view appointments, information on sporting events or any other information that is important for your family. If you and your ex spouse do not currently have a relationship that would do well for collaboration in something like Google Calendar then using a co-parenting website like Our Family Wizard will allow you to send messages and updates to your ex spouse regarding changes or updates for the kids’ schedules.

The key here is to avoid being petty. It’s that same instinct that we had in high school to maybe not tell the friend that’s been annoying us lately about the party on Friday night that will want to not tell your ex spouse about information pertaining to the children. My advice would be to ignore that instinct if you have it and to always aim to be the bigger person. At this stage in the game your divorce is done and the people that are most affected by your and your ex spouse’s inability to be civil to one another are your children. From my experiences as a family law attorney I have never seen a client gain a longstanding advantage by being petty in this way. Communicating with your ex spouse will force you to overcome this obstacle.

Plan ahead for back to school supplies and homework/project deadlines

Divorce Lawyer Houston: If you are the parent whose responsibility it is to pay child support to your ex spouse you may be thinking that the child support money should be used to pay for supplies before school begins. For many children you may be right about that. Office supply stores and grocery chains sell prepackaged school supplies that meet the needs of the schools in their area. However, many children (possibly your own) are involved in extra curricular activities, sports or other pursuits that require materials and supplies that go above and beyond what you can pick up at the grocery store. In this situation it is wise to find out as early as possible what your child is going to need to be prepared for the school year and to work with your ex spouse on determining how the costs are going to be allocated. This can avoid misunderstandings and resentment on both sides.

Another area to make sure that you and your ex spouse have planned ahead for is school projects, assignments and daily homework responsibilities. I have learned from representing many parents of school aged children that schools are much more “aggressive” in handing out lengthy homework assignments and school projects with short turnaround times for completion compared to when you or I were in school. The best way to manage this workload is to make sure that your ex spouse is aware of the assignment if it is handed to your child during the time that you have possession of him or her. That whole communication thing I was just discussing with you comes into play here. It is frustrating to say the least if your child were to come home to you on a Sunday night with a huge project due on Monday morning where no work has been started yet. Avoid these situations by communicating and planning with your ex spouse- even when you don’t feel like it.

The health of your child is the number one priority.

Houston Divorce: If you learn from an email that your child’s school has a case of [insert name of infectious sickness here] it is always a good move on your part to make sure that your ex spouse is aware of this too. Also, if your child needs to stay home from school during a day that you have possession of him or her because he or she is under the weather always communicate this to your ex spouse. I have had a former client receive angry text messages and phone calls from an ex spouse when she received emails from the school notifying her that the child was not present when attendance was counted. Had our client contacted his ex wife the morning before school began this misunderstanding (that almost led to a lawsuit) could have been avoided.

Questions on issues surrounding the beginning of the school year? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

If you have read through this blog post on the beginning of the school year and have questions for one of our attorneys please contact us today. A consultation is free of charge and a licensed family law attorney is available to meet with you six days a week … Continue Reading

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Are your marital arguments an indicator of a future divorce?

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Are your marital arguments an indicator of a future divorce? with the immense procedure!

Family Law Lawyer Houston: If you are considering a divorce you most likely have a pretty unique set of reasons for wanting that divorce. Not that the reasons themselves are unique to you and your spouse, by any means. It’s likely, however, that the arguments, lack of trust, suspicions about infidelity and any issues regarding finances have some unique characteristics come from a place or set of circumstances that could not be replicated outside of your family home.

That’s what makes it so difficult for you and your spouse to know if there is an opportunity to save the marriage or if the only option would be to file for divorce. As a family law attorney, I have seen people fight about all sorts of things. These fights have ranged from the serious- accusations about one spouse not being faithful to the other, to the trivial- spouses getting fed up with having to pick up the other’s laundry too frequently.

What are the sort of arguments that you may be looking for in terms of potential warning signs that divorce may be on the horizon?

Being an absentee spouse

This is a warning sign that therapists and family counselors discuss frequently with patients. It is very easy in our busy, modern lives to focus on everything in your life other than your marriage. It is the classic example of taking something for granted.

The thought is- this (marriage) is always going to be there, he/she isn’t going anywhere. With that thought in mind it doesn’t take much to shift your attention away from your relationship with your spouse to your work, your children, etc.

It is that time that you spend with your spouse, away from the distractions that the rest of the world provides that shores up any weaknesses in your relationship and helps you both to recalibrate to one another’s changing needs. If your attention shifts away from your home the emotional and physical distance between you and your spouse can overwhelm the relationship and cause the sort of arguments and accusations that I discussed at the outset of this blog.

If you are thinking about a divorce then you need to consider whether or not you and your spouse will be willing to seek counseling or other outside help to discuss whatever underlying issues of abandonment (at least emotional abandonment) that you may be experiencing.

It takes two to tango in the areas of counseling and therapy so if both spouses are not willing to participate then your arguments made very well lead to divorce ultimately.

Communication is key

Kingwood Divorce Attorney: It is no secret that an unwillingness or inability for you and your spouse to communicate effectively with one another can and will lead to a divorce if this problem is not solved. It’s ironic that arguments are conducted verbally, yet it is the lack of verbal communication that got you and your spouse to this point in the first place.

Talking about the state of your family or your emotions is difficult enough taken by itself, but if you throw in the added element that men and women typically do not utilize the same methods to communicate then the degree of difficulty is ratcheted up even further.

If you are doing your best to speak to your spouse on their terms using whatever skills that you inherently have to do so and there are still problems in this area then it may be time to consider either changing your methods, seeking outside help or addressing head on whatever your perceived issues are.

From my experiences, I have known clients to have tried this but because the communication breakdown is so severe, their idea of what was wrong ended up being light-years away from what their spouse believed to be the problem. At that stage, it doesn’t really matter who is right or wrong. The damage to the relationship had been done.

Consider where your spouse is coming from

Finally, one sort of argument that I have heard prior clients talk about with great frequency is that their spouse just stopped considering their point of view or motivation for doing something, and instead began to assume the worst about why something was done. There is ample opportunity for us as adults to view the actions of our spouses as having bad intent.

Unfortunately in situations where divorce is an option on the table, some spouses have absolutely acted in self serving ways that are intentionally harmful to the marriage. With that said, in the great battle between “negligence” and “bad intent”, negligence is by far the more likely explanation for someone’s actions.

Very little (if any) of your spouse’s actions are done to hurt you. Whether or not your spouse was considering you when the action was made is an entirely different question and one that rightfully may lead you to believe a divorce is necessary.

If you and your spouse are constantly accusing one another of doing things to anger, hurt or otherwise harm the marriage relationship or one another it may be time to focus on your motivations for saying those sort of things.

It’s likely that a lack of trust is the root cause, or that you are so disconnected from one another that your assumptions are just that. Reconnecting through open and honest communication is a good place for a stronger relationship to start and for your arguments to end.

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC: Family Law attorneys who put clients first

The Woodlands Divorce Attorney: It is the attitude of each attorney and every staff member at the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC that our clients’ interests and well being comes before anything else. Our operating procedures seek to ensure that our client’s cases are handled diligently and with the care that they deserve, with no exceptions.

If you have any questions on divorce or any other subject in family law please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today. Our licensed family law attorneys are available six days a week to meet with you in a free of charge consultation … Continue Reading

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Creating a post-nuptial agreement in Texas and its potential benefits for your family

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Creating a post-nuptial agreement in Texas and its potential benefits for your family with the immense procedure!

Spring Divorce Lawyers: Post nuptial agreements are similar to pre marital agreements with the exception that post marital agreements are signed after the marriage has already begun. I realize that this will not be an earth-shattering revelation for me to make but it bears mentioning that the motivations behind signing an agreement of some sort with your spouse will have changed now that you are married.

The law in Texas holds that you and your spouse may agree to and sign a post-nuptial agreement where a portion or all of their community estate is included in the agreement in some form or fashion. A common part of this agreement is that either your income or your spouse’s income will be the separate property of whichever one of you has actually earned those wages.

The other spouse will have no claim to it should a divorce occur. Regardless of the type of income or property that is partitioned, if the property or income goes to you in the agreement then it is yours free and clear of any subsequent orders from a court or negotiations between you and your spouse.

A pre-nuptial agreement can take separate property and make it part of the community estate

If you and your spouse agree to do so, a piece of property that was previously a part of one of your separate estates can be converted into community property within the pre-nuptial agreement. A statement that “Piece of Separate Property” is now part of the community estate is what I am referencing here, as opposed to you transferring the title to a piece of your separate property to your spouse or deeding a piece of land that was in your name to your significant other.

Requirements of a post-nuptial agreement in Texas

Texas law holds that certain requirements must be met for your post-nuptial agreement to be valid and enforceable.

In Writing

For starters, like a last will and testament, a post-nuptial agreement must be in writing in order for a court to enforce the agreements contained within it.

Must be Signed

Both you and your spouse must have signed the document free of any fraud, duress or other factor that may have unduly or unfairly influenced your decision making capabilities.

Free of any Fraud or Duress

In fact, the failure of one party to sign the agreement and the possibility of fraud or duress being in existence are probably the two most commonly stated reasons as to why the validity of a post-nuptial agreement may be challenged by either you or your spouse.

Must Disclose Financials or Waive Disclosure

The other big reason that family law attorneys in Texas encounter is a similar reason for going back and having to open up a previously closed divorce case- that there was a failure by one spouse to disclose information that otherwise stated would have caused the agreement not to be signed off on by one party. This two part analysis must show that one spouse withheld the information and secondly the “innocent” spouse would have had no other way of knowing this information.

What are some motivating factors for signing a post-nuptial agreement?

Divorce Lawyer in Spring TX: If you entered into your marriage with plenty of assets and very little or no debt, but your spouse is in the opposite position, then you know what it is like to have creditors hounding you for money and payments.

Asset Protection

This may have come as a shock to your system and caused you to consider your options in regard to how best to protect your assets. A post-nuptial agreement is one such way that you and your spouse can actively protect the assets that could be sought by creditors in collection efforts for your spouse’s debts.

I have also seen married people enter into pre-nuptial agreements when their marriage is on the rocks and in need of shoring up through therapy or counseling. If you are questioning whether your marriage can last it is likely that you are questioning the motivations and motives of your spouse at least to a certain extent.

Reduce Suspicion

A post-nuptial agreement can decrease the level of suspicion by both you and your spouse prior to these important therapy sessions even beginning. What better way to ensure that your intentions are purely the maintenance of your marriage rather than an attempt to shield or steal away a portion of your spouse’s assets?

If you partition your assets and debts prior to beginning counseling both you and your spouse understand the what the playing field is and can have greater peace of mind as a result.

Insulate Risk

Finally, it could be that you or your spouse are taking on a new business opportunity, expanding an existing business or have simply come into money through an inheritance or gift from a family member. If you all have engaged in a recent “big ticket” purchase or are planning on engaging in a risk like expanding a business then it may be beneficial for you and your spouse to insulate the “other” spouse from the risks incurred by the spouse about to take on a loan.

A situation that I have seen before involves a spouse taking out loans on behalf of her business. She was using inheritance money to pay for the debt and the married couple was experience tough financial times as a result.

When fear and worry over money rises to this level then a post-nuptial agreement can put those fears to rest. For instance, in the above situation the family home was transferred into the husband’s name in order to provide him and the children with the security of knowing that their home would not be in jeopardy should the wife’s business creditors begin to look for assets to pay off unpaid debts. At the same time, this agreement alleviated concerns that the wife had towards her husband’s perceived lack of faith in the future success of her business.

Questions about post-nuptial agreements? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

Spring TX Divorce Lawyer: The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC represents clients in many different capacities, one of which is the drafting of post-nuptial agreements. To learn more about this process and to have any questions you have answered on this subject please do not hesitate to contact our office today. A free of charge consultation with one of our licensed family law attorneys is only a phone call away … Continue Reading

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How can a step parent adopt their step child in Texas?

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, How can a step parent adopt their step child in Texas? with the immense procedure!

Spring Divorce Lawyer: A few weeks ago I was doing consultations with prospective clients of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC on a Saturday morning when a husband and wife walked in to speak with us. I came to find out that the wife had two children from her prior marriage and her current husband was interested in formally adopting his step children.

For all the children out there who don’t have any parents who take a strong interest in them, I was happy to see that there were two kids out there that probably have gone through some stressful times that have two loving parents in their lives.

Make no mistake that this is not a consultation that the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC take on a regular basis. Step parents who want to and are in a position to adopt their step children don’t come along all that often. In many situations one parent of a child has recently died or is no longer actively involved in their child’s life.

There is where the rub lies for most families- in order for a step parent to adopt their step child there must either be a deceased parent or a biological parent’s rights to the child must be terminated.

If you are a step parent who would like to begin to the process of attempting to adopt your step child then this blog post is designed for you. As with most things in the field of family law in Texas there are steps to follow in our legal system to be able to complete a successful adoption. Let’s discuss those steps and problems that you should be aware of.

Step parents can motion a court to become a person with rights and duties for a child

Parental rights as established by a family law court is what you are actually seeking through the adoption process of your step child. Of course you have an ability to assist in the raising of your step child, especially if he or she resides in your home, but in the eyes of the law you do not have any rights to make decisions for the child’s well being or any duties to provide certain things for the child.

Step parent adoptions function basically the same as other “traditional” adoption cases with the exception that step parent adoptions can occur only in specific situations. Those situations are as follows:

-Deceased parent. As stated earlier in this blog post, your step child may have a parent who is deceased and you are willing to step into that void and become a parent to the child in the eyes of the law.

-Absentee parent. Unfortunately this is the situation that I ran into with the prospective clients that I met with a few weeks ago. When a biological parent is not taking an active role in their child’s life a step parent can intervene and petition a court in order to gain rights and duties as to that child.

In addition to these circumstances being applicable, you as the step parent must be married to the parent of the child who is actively involved in their life.

How to actually petition a court for adoption of a step child

Houston Divorce Lawyer: Now that you know the sort of circumstances that can lead to your being able to adopt your step child, you will need to know the steps involved in actually adopting him or her.

Like with a divorce or other lawsuit involving children, you will need to file a Petition in order to have your case assigned to a family law judge in the county where you live. It is possible to file a Petition for Step Parent Adoption on your own but it is advisable to hire an attorney who has worked with adoption cases before. Saving time and money are both possible with the assistance of an attorney.

If your step child’s “other” parent is still living you have the option to attempt to work with that parent to agree to terminate their rights to your step child. If this is not possible then you will need to have your petition heard through the family law court to which your case has been assigned.

As we have discussed in many blog posts, the best interests of the child will be the guiding principle that your judge uses to determine if you will be successful in your adoption attempt.

To assist the court in making their determination, there will be a social study completed in the event that the judge believes that it is in the best interests of your step child for your adoption attempt to continue. A social study involves having a licensed social worker, therapist or similar professional visit your home to evaluate your living conditions. Your step child will be met with and interviewed as well as your spouse.

Finally, an amicus attorney will be appointed by your judge in order to assist him or her in making a final determination. The amicus will perform some of the same sort of evaluations as the social study worker.

Ultimately the amicus attorney will make a recommendation to your judge as to whether or not you should be allowed to adopt your step child. Ultimately if you are a devoted step parent and have the best intentions for your child the odds are in your favor once your case proceeds to this point.

Questions about step parent adoption? Please contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

Divorce Lawyer in Houston: From Baytown to Brazoria and into The Woodlands, the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC represents clients across southeast Texas. In order to learn more about our office and to schedule a free of charge consultation please contact us today. We take a great deal of pride in assisting families like yours with their legal situations and we would be honored to speak to you about the possibility of helping you do the same … Continue Reading

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Preparing for a Social Study during your divorce or child custody case

If you have need a best suitable service your Child Law experience, Preparing for a Social Study during your divorce or child custody case with the great process!

Houston Divorce Lawyers: In your divorce or child custody case you may be faced with a difference of opinion between yourself and your opposing party on who should have the right to determine the primary residence of your child. When it comes to child custody issues this is the most basic and important dispute that you and your child’s other parent could have.

While you all may come to an agreement on how to settle this issue down the road in your case, as of now you are faced with the prospect of a longer than average case length and the possibility of having to rely on your judge to decide the case. If either of these eventualities could be avoided that would be for the best but in some situations you cannot do so.

A social study evaluation will occur in almost every situation where you and your opposing party disagree on this subject. When conservatorship, possession and/or access to your child are in dispute then a social study will likely be ordered by your judge. Today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC will discuss what a social study is, how it will impact your case and its possible effects on the outcome of the legal matter that you are engaged in.

What does the law in Texas say about social studies?

The Texas Family Code contains the state law on family law cases like the one that you are going through. This includes subjects related to social studies. The key thing to understand about social studies is at their conclusion the person who conducts the study will make a recommendation to the judge regarding which parent should have the right to designate and determine the primary residence of your child. While not every case will hinge on what the social study recommendation is, many cases will. Knowing what to expect could mean the difference between you reaching your goals and falling short.

How long can a social study last?

From my experiences a social study can last anywhere from six months to a year and a half in length. Interviews are conducted during the course of the social study of you, your child’s other parent, and any other persons that are relevant to your case. Your child will be interviewed where age appropriate with you and your opposing party. A solo interview of the person conducting the study with your child occur as well.

You will be asked, along with your child’s other parent, to provide the social study evaluator with a list of references can be contacted in regard to your parenting skills and history. The interviewer will ask your references for an explanation of their history with you as a parent and their judgments of you regarding your involvement with your child. School teachers, counselors, physicians and other people in your child’s life may be interviewed as well.

When an evaluation is complete what happens next?

Family Law Attorney Houston: When all interviews and inspections of your home have been completed the evaluator will have everything that he or she needs to begin writing a report for the judge in your case. That report will detail their findings and will explain the recommendation regarding which parent should win the right to determine the primary residence of your child. Other recommendations that are commonly made involve whether or not a geographic restriction should be put in place that limits where your child can live as well as a finding regarding visitation schedules for the parent who does not win the right to determine your child’s primary residence.

I will reiterate that the judge does not have to listen only to the recommendations made in the report that the social study evaluator creates. In fact, it would be a rare instance where your judge only relies on the recommendations when it is all said and done.

With that said, the social study evaluator was likely chosen by the judge and that means that he or she must feel strongly that the opinions of this person are worth considering. With that said the social study is something to take very seriously even if it is not necessarily issue determinative.

When is a social study begun in your case?

Houston Divorce Attorney: A social study is usually ordered to begin at the conclusion of a temporary orders hearing. If you are involved in a contested child custody case it is likely that you have to go to a temporary orders hearing to decide this issue. The same can be said of a divorce (in addition to any property issues that need to be resolved on a temporary basis). A judge will give you and the opposing party an opportunity to agree to what person will conduct the study but if you cannot agree one will be appointed by the judge.

Who will conduct the social study in your case?

Therapists, counselors and people with mental health backgrounds are typically the sorts of people who are appointed to conduct social studies in family law cases. Licensed social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists typically fit the bill in this regard. Once you find out who the social study evaluator will be look into their professional history on the internet. If you do not believe that the person has the minimum qualifications to do the job you need to contact your attorney. At the very least your attorney can speak to you about the person’s resume or can raise their being appointed in a hearing with opposing counsel, the judge and the social study evaluator.

What to expect when you are interviewed in the social study

As I mentioned a moment ago you will be interviewed during the social study along with your child’s other parent. Your child will also be interviewed by themselves as well as with you and your opposing party in groups of two. In order so that coaching cannot occur all of these interviews will likely take place on the same day.

The social study evaluator will want to learn how you relate to your child and vice versa. It is helpful to be able to learn this information outside of the distractions of other people and things. Preparation for these interviews is important. Even if you consider yourself to be a great, involved parent you will likely encounter questions and subject matter that you never really consider in your day to day life. In order to provide answers that address the concerns of the social study evaluator you will want to work with your attorney beforehand so that you can fully prepare.

Whatever parenting skills you have will be on display during this interview. A lot of people have told me over the years that the social study interview feels forced or unnatural. I can’t necessarily disagree with these folks, but I would argue the whole premise of a family law case feels unnatural and hard to stomach a lot of times. With that said, this is the position that you are in and it is recommended that you enter the process fully prepared

More on social studies in tomorrow’s blog post

Houston Family Lawyer: When we pick up on the topic of social studies in tomorrow’s blog post, we will focus on home visits and the ever exciting topic of paperwork that is associated with social studies.

If you have questions about the subject matter that we touched on today please consider contacting the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. We offer free of charge consultations with licensed family law attorneys six days a week where your questions can be answered in a comfortable, pressure free environment … Continue Reading

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Uncontested divorce in Texas: Sixty days between you and the rest of your life

If you have need a best suitable service your Child Law experience, Uncontested divorce in Texas: Sixty days between you and the rest of your life with the great process!

Divorce Lawyer Houston: How can you speed up the divorce process a great deal in Texas? The best answer to this question to work with your spouse prior to filing for divorce in order to settle any outstanding issues that you will need to sort through. Everybody wants a quick and easy divorce. That’s what I hear most frequently during the free of charge consultations that the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC offers. Who can blame them? Divorce is not fun and divorces can be expensive. Why waste time and resources on them if you do not have to?

Not all divorces can be quick and easy but many can be relatively quick and easy. In today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC we will discuss the factors that can lead to your divorce getting wrapped up sooner rather than later. While the vast majority of issues that you may face in your divorce cannot be gone over in detail here, I would like to touch on those circumstances and factors that could lead you towards a resolution in short order for your divorce case.

Time is relative in the world of divorce

Different people think of “quick” in different terms. Some people think of quick like a microwave- if it’s not ready in five minutes then it’s not quick. Other people think of quick like a sundial- everything takes a little bit of time, after all. In Texas, the fastest most people can get divorced is sixty days. That means within sixty days of filing your petition for divorce you would be able to present a Final Decree of Divorce to your judge that is signed by you and your spouse.

Beginning your divorce by filing a Petition for Divorce

The very first document that would be filed in your divorce case is called a Petition for Divorce. This document states some very basic information to your court: who you are, who your spouse is, if you have any children and the basis on which your divorce is founded. If you are asserting that your divorce is being filed due to abandonment, abuse or infidelity then go ahead and say so but just know that these type of divorces are not going to the “quick and easy” ones that I described in the opening to this blog post.

Ultimately that is ok. You don’t need a quick and easy divorce. You need a divorce that will tie up any loose ends in the marriage, divide community property fairly and will leave you and your children in good positions to move on with the rest of your lives. If it can be done quickly, that’s great. If not then that’s ok too.

Back to the topic of the Divorce Petition. You will file the petition in the county that you and/or your spouse reside. For most folks this is the same county, but the longer I do this job the more I find out that spouses don’t always live in the same county- not to mention the same home. You have the option of filing the petition in whatever county you live in or the county that your spouse lives in. Most folks will decide to file in their home county so that they can have “home field advantages” like less travel time and things of that nature.

Waiting is the hardest part (of divorce)

Houston Divorce: If you have filed for divorce then get ready to…wait. Your divorce petition will either have to be picked up by a process server or constable and physically served upon your spouse or your spouse will agree to sign a waiver of service. This waiver of service does just that- waives their right to be served formally with the divorce paperwork. Note that if you believe that your divorce is uncontested- i.e. that there are no outstanding issues to negotiate upon- that this is the better/faster option to choose.

Once your spouse is served or signs the service waiver you and your spouse will likely have to wait sixty days to go to the judge with your signed and completed final decree of divorce. The reason for this is because the state of Texas (through the Texas Family Code) mandates that you wait at least sixty days in order to make sure that a divorce is actually something that you want to do. If not, you have some time to cool off and make other plans. I have had clients on occasion tell me out of the blue that he or she has reconciled with their spouse. This is always great news to hear as nobody wants another person to get a divorce. But, I can tell you that this does not happen frequently.

Keep in mind that if your spouse has been convicted of a crime related to family violence against you or a member of your home this sixty day waiting period can be waived by the judge. However, you must file a motion to waive the sixty day waiting period and then have a hearing on the subject after providing your spouse at least three days of notice prior to the hearing date. I can honestly say that I have never had a divorce case that has wrapped up in less than sixty days.

61 days is a best case scenario

Another thing to keep in mind is that sixty one days is a best case scenario for most people awaiting a divorce. Not every case will be completed in this time. In fact, the vast majority of cases will take longer than sixty one days. It doesn’t have to be a long, long time after that but to get everything done that needs to get done in just two months is harder than it looks. Consider the fact that you and your spouse must have agreed upon every single issues in your divorce prior to an attorney drafting your final orders that encompasses all those agreements.

I mentioned earlier that if you and your spouse are on speaking terms and in agreement on the issues related to your divorce that a waiver of service may be signed by him or and returned to you. If this is the case you should file that waiver of service so that when you come to court later on the judge can see that this step has been completed. If not, your divorce will not be finalized on the day you attend court.

Not all spouses are ok with signing a waiver of service. On some level, other than saving time, you should wonder what is in it for your spouse? Unless he or she absolutely wants to get the divorce over with- at the neglect of any issue related to divorce- he or she should consider their options before signing the waiver. If you are in a position where your spouse has emailed or mailed a waiver of service to you then do not sign it unless you have spoken to an attorney first.

Requirements of the final decree of divorce

Houston Family Lawyers: If you have children then orders regarding custody and child support will need to be included and accounted for in your final decree of divorce. Rights and duties (otherwise known as conservatorship) will need to be divided up between you and your spouse.

The other main issue of a divorce case deals with property. Any community property (property acquired during your marriage, for the most part) will need to be divided between you and your spouse as well.

Once you have an order that contains provisions for all these subjects you or your spouse will need to attend a short, uncontested hearing with your judge. If you have hired an attorney, he or she will go with you and ask you a series of yes/no questions that tell the judge that you have reviewed the document you are asking him or her to sign and that it includes orders regarding the children/property issues we just discussed.

Overall, it is possible to get a quick divorce but it is always advisable to have legal representation in doing so. Hiring an attorney will not slow your process down, but may actually help you avoid problems and allow your case to proceed without undue delay.

To learn more about the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC please contact us today. We offer free of charge consultations with a licensed family law attorney six days a week … Continue Reading

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How to speed up your divorce in Texas

If you have need a best suitable service your Child Law experience, How to speed up your divorce in Texas with the great process!

Family Attorney Houston: Nobody wants to go through a divorce. You may find yourself wanting to separate yourself from your spouse due to arguments, anger, violence, lies and any number of other bad and intolerable offenses but nobody wants to have to go through months of a divorce case to do so. A magic wand that could be waved that results in the divorce would be much preferable. However, that is not reality and the law in Texas has certain requirements that must be met in order to get a divorce.

Just because a divorce is necessary should not and does not mean that it will have to take an exceptionally long time for it to be completed. This should come as a welcome relief if the length of the process that you are about to undergo has been a concern of yours heading into the case.

Today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC will center around the subject how to speed up your divorce case as much as possible. While you do not want to miss anything important in your case you also do not want to delay the process any amount more than necessary. I will note that some of you reading this blog will not be able to have the short and sweet version of a divorce that I am about to lay out in this blog post. That’s ok. You want a divorce done well that protects your and your children’s rights- not a short divorce that ends up hurting you in the long run.

Keep in mind that “speed up” is a relative term

The fastest you can likely get a divorce in Texas is sixty days. From the date that you file your Original Petition for Divorce to the date that the divorce can be granted by a judge, you are looking at a two month time frame. The reason for this waiting period is to give you and your spouse an amount of time to truly consider whether or not a divorce is right for you. You may be surprised to learn that I have had many clients who have used this time period to reconsider divorce and attempt a reconciliation. I hope the same will be possible for you, but statistically (from my experience) this is unlikely.

Your judge can decide to waive this sixty day waiting period if he or she believes that your situation merits doing so. If your spouse have been convicted on a crime of domestic violence against you or someone in your household, for example, then the judge may choose to waive the sixty day wait. Again, this does not happen often (thankfully) and therefore you should fully expect to wait your sixty days before getting a divorce in Texas.

The purpose of this blog is to help you to get your case done in as close to sixty-one days as possible. You may not hit the nail right on the head but I believe that with planning and some forethought you can get it taken care of will minimal delay.

What needs to be in placed for you to get a divorce

Divorce Attorneys in Houston: At a bare minimum you and your spouse must have two things in place in order to get a divorce: proof that one of you provided sufficient notice to the other that a divorce has been filed in Texas and there must be a written agreement that shows a settlement of the issues related to your case. The written agreement is typically called a Final Decree of Divorce and contains provisions related to a division of your marital estate as well as a breakdown of the rights, duties, visitation times and possession details associated with your children if you have any.

Notice and Service of your Original Petition for Divorce

Houston Divorce Attorneys: Notifying your spouse of your Divorce Petition having been filed does not mean driving to her house and tapping her on the shoulder to let her know that you have filed for divorce. I mean you must provide her with legal notice of the divorce. This is an entirely different subject altogether.

Legal notice means either having your spouse waive their right to be personally served with the divorce papers or going through the process of actually legally serving him or her. A waiver of citation allows you to not hire a private process server or constable to formally serve your spouse with your divorce petition. A waiver provides sufficient proof to the judge that your spouse has been legally notified of your divorce. Keep in mind that your waiver must include provisions as set forth in the Texas Family Code and must be signed in front of a notary in order to be considered legally valid.

When a waiver is not an option you must serve notice upon your spouse. Usually waivers work when your divorce is relatively “open and shut”. If you and your spouse are not on speaking terms or have huge areas of disagreement in one area or another of your case then you can bet that a waiver is not an option for you all.

As I mentioned earlier, the typical method for serving your spouse with notice of your divorce is via a process server or constable. These folks will pick up your divorce paperwork at the courthouse and go out to your spouse’s home or business and physically hand the paperwork to him or her. Once this is completed your process server will complete the paperwork stating the date/time/location of service and will return it to the court. This proof of citation will be filed for your case providing proof that your spouse has indeed been served with notice of this divorce case.

Your spouse is told within the paperwork that he or she receives that there is a limit of twenty days (and a few extra in most cases) to file a response or Answer to the Original Petition for Divorce. If he or she fails to do so then a default judgment can be taken against him or her. A default judgment is a finalized judgment from the court that can be obtained without additional notification to your spouse.

Look at your circumstances to determine if a sixty day divorce (or something close) is possible

Divorce Attorneys Houston: Once you and your spouse are both aware of the divorce then you can move ahead to determine whether or not a relatively quick divorce is possible. You can make this determination by reviewing the circumstances and issues apparent in your case. If you all are in agreement on virtually all the issues of your case then you may be looking at a quick divorce. However, if you have a lot of issues that are unresolved then a longer, more detailed divorce is likely necessary.

From my experience it is issues related to children that tend to slow down a divorce- with good cause. Your children are the most important aspect of your life and it will be no different in your divorce. If you and your spouse, for example, are not in agreement on which one of you will be caring for the children on a primary basis then this is a disagreement that is essential to any divorce case. Child custody, child support, the division or rights and duties and other issues are all inherent in a divorce case when minor children are involved. If you and your spouse are nowhere close to an agreement on these issues then you have no realistic chance at a sixty day divorce.

More information on how to obtain an efficient and quick divorce in tomorrow’s blog post

To learn more about how you and your spouse can avoid a long and protracted divorce please come back to our blog tomorrow in order to read more. If you have any immediate questions please consider addressing those to the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. We offer free of charge consultations six days a week with one of our licensed family law attorneys. Scheduling a consultation is easy, fast and can help you to problem solve and think through many issues associated with your case … Continue Reading

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Searching for a divorce attorney in Texas? Consider these helpful tips first

If you have need a best suitable service your Child Law experience, Searching for a divorce attorney in Texas? Consider these helpful tips first with the great process!

Family Lawyers Houston: Hiring a divorce attorney takes time. If you have never gone through this process I can assure you that it is not one that you want to rush through only to find that by saving time you ended up selecting an attorney that wasn’t a great fit for you and your family. Instead of guessing at what is important when it comes to interviewing and selecting an attorney the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC have prepared a run-down of what we believe are some of the most important tips and tricks for hiring the right divorce attorney for you and your case.

What do you want in a family law attorney?

This is a pretty open ended piece of advice so I wanted to start off here and build up to more specific pieces of advice. The key phrase that I used in the subject-header for this section may have been one that you glossed over without giving it much thought. “Family law attorney” is what you want to look for when hiring a divorce lawyer. Divorce is a type of family law case that is heard in family law courts, in front of family law judges across Texas. Most counties have courts that hear only family law cases.

This means that you are best served by hiring an attorney who has experience in handling divorces- preferably divorces like yours. “Like yours” can mean anything from a divorce with six kids to a divorce where you and your spouse are worth tens of millions of dollars between the two of you. No two divorces are created equal as I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post.

If you go out into the world and search for an attorney who practices civil law (as opposed to criminal law) you’ll find many, many lawyers who will take every case that walks through their door no matter what amount of experience he or she has in representing clients in those fields. It is a common occurrence that people just like you hire attorneys who have little to no family law/divorce experience based on the lawyer’s assurance that he or she has “done a divorce or two” a few years back. It’s just like riding a bike, right?

Wrong. You are best served by hiring an attorney who has family law and divorce experience. Just like anything else, specific areas of the law call for specific actions, strategy and knowledge. While a general practice attorney may be able to file your divorce, attend hearings with you and help you draft your final orders, the details and nuances of an experienced family law practitioner will not be available for you to take advantage of.

Apply lessons from your own life to hiring an attorney

Family Lawyer in Houston: If you’ve been working at your company for five or ten years then you know how much that you have learned on a year to year basis. Think about what you knew about your job after six months and how much you knew after six years. I’ll bet you could fill a warehouse with the knowledge that you acquired. You could do your job passably after six months but after six years you were likely among the best in your company at doing your job.

The same can be said of attorneys. If your divorce attorney has had six divorce cases in their life then their experience level is limited. That doesn’t mean the lawyer isn’t good at their job or shouldn’t have taken your case. It does mean that you are likely better off having chosen an attorney with 60 divorces on their belt this year alone.

Assess your case and your circumstances honestly

If yours is going to be a contentious divorce then do not fool yourself into thinking that it will be an easy, steady as she goes type of case. If you expect that your spouse is going to come at you hard with the goal of stripping as much property from your side of the ledger as possible you ought to hire an attorney to help you prepare for this and to build a strategy of your own.

Consider your children, their ages, their specific needs and what you believe is best for them. Do you have a special needs child that requires nearly 24/7 aid? What about a particularly bright child that has struggled in standard classroom environments? What about your finances? Do you need to make sure that your spouse’s debts remain with him or her rather than finding their way onto your plate after the divorce is finalized? How are your retirement benefits going to be divided?. These are the type of questions that you need to be asking yourself as you prepare to interview family law attorneys.

Brainstorm goals- big and small

Houston Family Law Lawyer: A popular personal finance guru with a national presence will tell you that you can undergo any process, no matter how difficult, if you have a big enough “why”. As in- why are you doing the thing that you are doing. What’s your motivation for sticking it out, sucking it up and going through your divorce? You’re not doing it for fun and games, I can tell you that. You need to develop and articulate your “whys” in the form of goals- both big and small.

If you want to 1) become the primary caretaker of your three children and 2) remain in your home after the divorce you need to make sure your attorney is aware of that. Your goals and your spouse’s goals may not coincide perfectly and may even be contrary to one another. In this type of situation your attorney can prepare you by informing you of just how likely you are to achieve your goals and can help you to understand why.

Your circumstances are unique to you and your family. If you’ve told your divorced friend about a goal and she told you that you were not likely to get something done that may not be the case. Your attorney is there to support you, but also to help you understand what are and what are not realistic goals in your circumstances. With all of this said, let’s transition into our last tip for today’s blog post.

What is your number one goal for your divorce?

Don’t go into a meeting with a divorce attorney before you have considered deeply what your number one goal is. Figure out what is the most important aspect of your divorce is for you. If you have children it will probably be them, but what about your children is most important to you? Do you want to make sure that they can remain in the same school where they’ve grown up? Are you concerned about maintaining their current standard of life? Do you feel like you need to keep your spouse’s time with your children to a minimum due to safety concerns?

Dig down into the nitty gritty of your circumstances and figure out what your number one goal is. If you don’t know this goal before your case starts you are unlikely to have figured it out once your case gets going. The reason for that is there are lots of new distractions that will be coming your way once your divorce begins. Deadlines from the court, updates from your attorney, upset spouses, etc. can cloud your judgment and your mind a great deal. The bottom line is: get a big goal, tell it to yourself and then tell it to your attorney.

Our final bits of tips and tricks will be posted in tomorrow’s blog

Family Lawyers in Houston: Thank you for your time and interest in the topic of hiring a family law attorney for your divorce. If you have any additional questions or need clarification on any subject in the field of family law please contact us today. We offer free of charge consultations six days a week with one of our licensed family law attorneys. No case is too big or small for our team of staff and attorneys. We value our relationships with our clients and would be honored to learn more about you, your family and your case … Continue Reading

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Have Wealth? Over 50 years old? Read this before your divorce begins

If you have need a best suitable service your Child Law experience, Have Wealth? Over 50 years old? Read this before your divorce begins with the great process!

Divorce Attorney Houston: We began to discuss the topic of over-50 divorces in yesterday’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. As I will often do when we have multi-day topics such as this one, I recommend that you go back and read what we had to say yesterday to give yourself a better idea about what factors are often in place when spouses in their fifties, sixties and beyond enter into divorce proceedings. Often times issues that you never would have anticipated being relevant rear their heads in cases like these.

In today’s blog post we will put a bow on this topic by delving into some final thoughts on relevant issues related to over-50 divorces. If you are just now learning about divorce and are confused or need clarification on anything we have discussed please do not hesitate to reach out to the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today. We offer free of charge, no strings attached consultations with our licensed family law attorneys six days a week. You can come in, ask your questions and go about your merry way if you would like.

What to do with your family home

I sadly hear clients all the time talk about what was once thought of as their “Forever Home” now needing to be put up for sale due to circumstances related to divorce. While most people will never own a Forever Home due to the nature of how frequently we move nowadays, the concept extends to the sentimental and emotional value of living in one residence for an extended period of time. If you are a person in your sixties who is now considering divorce you could have raised your children and even your grandchildren in your marital home. Now having to come face to face with the prospect of selling that home can be pretty overwhelming.

Fortunately there are ways for you to prepare for having to go through something like this. Reading and learning as much as you can is a good place to start. For instance, given that Texas is a community property state, your home may represent a sizeable chunk of your and your spouse’s combined net worth. What will you and your spouse decide to do with your home? Selling it during your marriage may allow you to escape from the tax consequences on the profit/capital gain that is earned. If the home is awarded to you or your spouse and is later sold, your tax liability would be on any profit made on the sale over and above $250,000.

As any family law attorney worth their salt will tell you, it is important to consider the prospect of selling your house as a both an emotional and financial decision. It is undeniable that you and your spouse have built in a great deal of memories into your home. This is a virtually inescapable fact. However, you cannot place the importance of these memories in front of what is best for you and your family. You can purchase a new house and make new memories in the future. You cannot undue a mistake made in your divorce due to sentimentality.

Handling retirement savings as a part of your divorce

Houston Divorce Lawyers: One of the most important wealth building tools that is at the disposal of most any American is that of retirement savings vehicles like workplace 401(k) plans, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) as well as general mutual funds, index funds and simple savings accounts. Many of these options allow people to save for retirement, sometimes on a tax free basis. We’ve all played with the online compound interest calculators, I’m sure, and have seen just how much a little bit of money saved now can grow in ten, twenty or thirty years.

All it really takes is some discipline. If you can save now, you can prosper later. You and your spouse likely have some money tucked away in these type of accounts and are either taking advantage of them now, or are planning on doing so as soon as you retire. What happens if an unexpected divorce crosses your path? Are you able to move forward and know how to handle your retirement savings?

A big concept to be aware of when it comes to dividing retirement benefits in a gray divorce is that sometimes you are not able to change the beneficiary on certain accounts due to their already beginning to pay out benefits. If this is the case you will need to be able to either compensate your spouse an equivalent value of what his or her share is, or work out a way to be compensated if you are the spouse of the employee receiving the benefit.

Social Security and gray divorce

The ability to receive a portion of your spouse’s social security benefits depends in large part on when your final decree of divorce will be entered. This is due to the fact that you and your spouse must have been married for at least ten years before your divorce is finalized in order so that one spouse can receive benefits under the other’s work history. If you are the spouse who will want to claim benefits under your ex-spouse’s name you and your attorney need to carefully consider the timing of everything so that you are not unable to claim benefits in this way.

Spousal Maintenance

The following situation is fairly common in the modern gray divorce. Let’s suppose that you are a woman in your early sixties who has decided that now is the right time to get a divorce. You have not worked outside the home since before your kids were born. However, when you did work you did so to help put your husband through law school.

Flash forward some thirty-odd years and your spouse is a successful attorney and has been for sometime. You and he have built up some substantial wealth and now you are interested in knowing just what interest you have in the resources that have been accumulated. Also- what about you going back to work? While your estate may be substantial it may not be enough to sustain you? What can be done?

Well, remember that as Texas is a community property state, any and all income earned during the course of your marriage (as well as property) is considered to be jointly owned. This means that even if you never earned a dollar during your marriage that a just and right division of the money and property in your life will be made available to you.

Secondly, given the length of you marriage you are able to take advantage of the laws in Texas that regard spousal maintenance. Maintenance is more widely known as alimony in many states. It allows you to receive a certain amount of money each month for a certain period of time after your divorce, as paid by your ex-spouse to you. This will allow you to meet whatever minimal basic needs you have while you get your feet under you after a divorce.

The bottom line here is that you have rights if you are the spouse who has been married to a high income earner during the course of your marriage. However, the court will not assert those rights for you. You need to hire an attorney with experience in handling high income, gray divorces in order to ensure that your rights are protected properly.

Questions on gray divorce? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

Family Law Attorney Houston: To learn more about gray divorce please contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. Our attorneys have handled many, many gray divorces and that is to your advantage. Allow our attorneys to utilize that expertise in order to benefit you and your family during this difficult time. We pride ourselves on representing our clients to the fullest of our abilities and your case would be no exception.

To schedule a free of charge consultation with one of our licensed family law attorneys simply give us a call. We offer consultations six days a week here in our office where we can address any questions or concerns that you may have … Continue Reading

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Things you probably didn't know about divorce in Texas but definitely need to

If you have need a best suitable service your Child Law experience, Things you probably didn’t know about divorce in Texas but definitely need to with the great process!

Houston Divorce Attorney: You’ve probably heard the expression, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” I don’t know where the phrase came from and as an attorney I couldn’t think of a less true statement, to be honest. What you don’t know certainly can hurt you when it comes to life in general as well as in a divorce case. You’ve worked your entire life to build a good marriage, save money, invest wisely, raise well adjusted and productive children. Now it has become obvious to you that in at least one of those regards you have not managed to do as well as you would like. What do you really need to know before, during and after a divorce?

Well, you need to know quite a bit. Too much to list in a single blog post. We can start to prepare little by little in hopes of having you know as much as you can about divorce. In yesterday’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC we began a discussion on this topic and in today’s blog we will continue doing so.

Don’t take the division of your community property for granted

Most people who enter into a divorce have a mistaken belief when it comes to how their property is going to be divided up between themselves and their spouse. I guess at some point a rumor started circulating that property in a Texas divorce would be divided straight down the middle- 50/50. This is not the case. In fact, there is nowhere in the Texas Family Code that references an equal division of community property upon divorce.

Let’s establish one thing right at the start: only community property is divided by a court in a divorce. This means that property (including most forms of “income”) acquired, purchased or earned during your marriage is to be divided at the time of your divorce. There are some exceptions that exist- property inherited during your marriage and property that was gifted to you alone- but for the most part all property that comes into your possession during your marriage is considered community property.

Separate property is everything else, namely the property that you acquired prior to the beginning of your marriage in addition to the exceptions I laid out in the above paragraph. The separate property that you and your spouse own are not within the court’s power to divide. It is important to note that there is a presumption under the law in Texas that all property owned by you and your spouse at the time of your divorce is community property. Therefore, you and your spouse must each provide evidence to rebut this presumption if you intend to argue that a particular piece of property is separately owned.

All of this is to say that when dividing up community property, a court must only do so in a just and right manner. Just and right sounds a little squishy to most people and in fact it is. A judge is given a fair amount of latitude to divide up community property based on the circumstances of you and your spouse. It could be that property is basically divided up 50/50, but most courts do not end up at this result. How exactly a court will divide up community property is the topic of the next section in this blog

What factors will a court consider when dividing up community property?

Houston Family Lawyer: Although courts are given wide latitude when it comes to dividing up property there are some guiding principles that a judge can look to. These are all pretty straightforward and basically center around the future income earning abilities of you and your spouse, your work experience/education, and your physical health at the time of your divorce. A judge is placing educated guesses on how well you are positioned to earn an income for yourself after your divorce and provide for your needs/those of your children. If you are more highly educated, have an established career and a significant amount of separate property to your name you are likely not going to be awarded more than half of your community property estate.

Another important factor that a judge will consider when dividing up community property is any fault that you or your spouse played in the breakup of your marriage. For example, if you are alleging in your petition for divorce that your spouse committed adultery and that infidelity caused a breakup in the marriage then a judge will listen to evidence and review the circumstances to determine if it actually played a substantial role in your divorce. If so, you may be entitled to a disproportionate share of your community estate. For our purposes, disproportionate means greater than 50%.

Fair does not mean equal because equal is not always fair. It is nearly impossible for a court to divide up your community estate in an exact 50/50 fashion even if the evidence and circumstances lead your judge to believe that this is the appropriate method to divide your community estate.

It’s all business when it comes to dividing up your community estate

I understand that your divorce is an emotional time in your life. As a family law attorney, I have shared in highly emotional and delicate situations with clients of all different backgrounds. There is no doubt that what you are going through in a divorce is something that you will not be able to replicate (thankfully) ever again.

With all of that said, consider that if you allow your emotions to drive your divorce strategy that you are likely going to encounter mistakes in your thinking and planning. For example, if you are particular attached to your home you need to consider if that attachment is born out of necessity and reason or out of an emotional attachment to the memories made and years spent in the home. Now, of course it is likely a combination of the two but you need to determine what factor is driving you more towards wanting to remain in the house.

What I will typically tell clients is that if you are pushing hard to remain in the house for your child’s sake, it is my experience that children are more resilient than we give them credit for. If you decide to move from your home this can be a great start to a new beginning for you and your family. As long as you and your children stick together and not lose sight of what is important- namely your family and your traditions- a new house will not affect you and your family all that much.

Do not make decisions based on emotion or memory in your divorce. It is dangerous for your to do so. If you are not financially able to remain in your home then you need to consider selling it. Consider property taxes, utilities and a mortgage payment as the costs that you will need to bear in order to remain in the family home. Many times you will be asked to refinance the loan so that your spouse’s name is removed from any responsibility with the lender. There are up front costs associated with doing so and you need to be prepared to bear those up front costs.

Interested in learning more tips on divorce? Stay tuned to tomorrow’s blog post

Divorce Lawyer Houston: We will continue our discussion about less well known, yet vitally important parts of your divorce in tomorrow’s blog post. Thank you for your time and consideration in reading with us today.

If you have questions about the content about anything that we discussed today or want to learn more about our office please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today. We offer free of charge consultations six days a week with one of our licensed family law attorneys. We take a great deal of pride in meeting with people in our community just like you in order to discuss family law issues. Your questions and concerns can be addressed and answered in comfortable, pressure free environment … Continue Reading