I have never had anyone endorse or say positive things about going through a litigated divorce, particularly if there are children involved. The destruction and turmoil can be very horrible on a personal level. At best, if you litigate your divorce you may end up with a little bit more property than the other side but you will have incurred some substantial personal turmoil to get it and you have to ask, is it worth it?

Collaborative Divorce is your alternative to the destruction that accompanies a traditional litigated divorce. When you choose a collaborative divorce you are taking the first and biggest step towards moving on with your life rather than spending 9-12 months (or more) in front of a judge rehashing the past and assigning blame. This is something that many people feel is worth talking about as you can see below:

Divorce is a painful event, but if there was a way to lessen the pain, collaborative divorce is the way to go. My wife and I had decided to end our 10-year marriage. We wanted to do it as amicably, fairly and easily as possible. Traditional divorce creates barriers between the parties and advocates antagonistic behavior. In the end of a traditional divorce, a judge decides based on the evidence presented. Collaborative divorce lessens the adversity and puts the power to finish the relationship back in your hands. The process is legal and logical. Lawyers help you work out any legal issues, but all of the separation of property is decided by you and your ex-spouse. It truly is a revolutionary way to approach what is arguably the worst event besides death. – Director of System Engineering at Large IT Firm

Call The Shea Law Firm at (832) 592-7913 if you need to get a divorce without the destruction that goes along with litigation.

Are you considering divorce and are not sure where to begin?

Has your spouse already filed for divorce and you are not sure how to protect yourself?

Are you wondering:

• How much child support is involved in your divorce?
• Is spousal maintenance going to be awarded in your divorce?
• How often will you see your kids after the divorce?
• What is separate property and what is community property?
• What happens to retirement accounts in a divorce?

To help answer some of the most common questions I am proud to announce the release of my Woodlands Divorce Guide available for free download. You can get your copy by clicking on the link below.

The Woodlands Divorce Guide

If you have a question that is not answered in this version of The Guide, post your question in the comments below or contact us and we will consider it for inclusion in future editions.

A recovery that you obtain for personal injuries during your marriage is generally considered to be your separate property and not community property in a Woodlands divorce. There is one significant exception however. A personal injury award can be made up of several different components. There may be an award for pain and suffering as well as for lost wages. The portions of a personal injury award that belong to the community estate include damages for lost wages, medical expenses, and other expenses associated with injury to the community estate. Once an item is identified as community property it becomes subject to division between you and your ex-spouse in the divorce.

Who Must Prove What?

When a spouse receives a settlement from a lawsuit during marriage, some of which could be separate property and some of which could be community property, it is that spouse’s burden to demonstrate which portion of the settlement is his or her separate property. This is important to remember, the person claiming the personal injury award as community property does not have to prove a thing unless the other spouse is able to establish the award is separate property by clear and convincing evidence. Call (832) 592-7913 and speak with a Woodlands Divorce Lawyer about protecting your rights if you or your spouse settled a lawsuit during your marriage.

A lawsuit carries serious consequences when the judge makes a ruling and renders judgment. This may surprise some people, but a divorce is also a lawsuit that is going to determine your rights to property and your children. If you do not follow the required procedures to protect your rights then you risk the judge not even considering your side of the story before he or she makes their final divorce judgment.

If your spouse had you formally served with the divorce petition, you absolutely must file an Answer if you want to protect your rights. If you do not, it is very likely the judge will enter a default judgment against you. This happened in a recent Appeals Court case where a husband failed to file his Answer within the required court deadline and was then the victim of a default judgment. He was hoping for reconciliation and did not respect the seriousness of the divorce lawsuit. After the divorce court entered the default judgment he decided to take things seriously and requested a new trial. The result – request denied and the default judgment stands.

Let this be a lesson for everyone out there. Divorce is confusing, difficult, and overwhelming. It is also a lawsuit in which you must act to protect yourself or you risk losing a lot. Contact a Woodlands Divorce Lawyer today at (832) 592-7913 if you have been served with a divorce petition and need to protect your rights. Hope is not a strategy.

Not everyone gets divorced right away. All too often the husband and wife go their separate ways and never bother to end the legal marriage relationship. It is usually never a good idea to maintain a legal relationship that could result in liability to you, but it also can create special problems when the husband and wife end up in different states and then one decides to pursue a divorce. Can you get a divorce in Texas when your spouse lives in another state?

Yes, and no. If your spouse cooperates you can get divorced and property divided in Texas. However, if your spouse does not cooperate you may be in for a difficult time.

Recently the Houston Court of Appeals confirmed that if the out of state spouse has no contacts at all with Texas then the Texas divorce court does not have authority to divide property and debt. A Texas court does have authority to grant the spouse that lives in Texas a divorce to determine their legal status, but does not always have the authority to divide property and debt. Contact a Woodlands Divorce Lawyer today if you need to get divorced from a spouse that does not live in Texas.

More and more people make use of student loans to help pay for their education. As recently as 2009 almost 60% of Texas students graduated college with student loan debt. If you add on graduate school student loan debt can easily exceed $100,000. If your soon to be ex-spouse has student loans with a significant balance you may be very concerned about how the student loan debt can be allocated as part of a Woodlands Divorce. With the great amount of discretion given to judges, you are right to be concerned. Fortunately, a recent case sheds some light on how the courts are examining student loan debt and divorce.

Background

Albert and Sophia began living together in 1987. One year later, Sophia gave birth to their only child. To help cover living expenses, Sophia’s educational expenses, and the expenses of Albert’s asbestos consulting business, Sophia applied for and received student loans totaling over $90,000. In February 1994, Albert and Sophia married, and in 2002, Sophia filed a petition for divorce.

The Trial

In a surprise ruling, the trial court ordered Read more…

Wasting community property is one valid reason a judge may order a disproportionate division of community property in a Montgomery County Divorce. A common example of wasting community property in a divorce would be if one spouse makes substantial gifts to a new girlfriend, boyfriend, or anyone outside the marriage using community property. If you take money or property that is community property and transfer it outside of the community estate then you may have a “waste” situation which opens the door for a disproportionate division of community property. One court recently ruled that a husband who used community property while the divorce was pending to purchase a new home and car for himself was guilty of waste. The appeals court disagreed. Let’s see why.

Background

Wife and husband married in 1990. In 2006, wife and children fled the family home alleging family violence by husband. The couple filed for divorce in 2007. During divorce proceedings, husband sold community property and used those assets to pay community debts and to purchase a home and an automobile for his personal use. Following trial, trial court awarded wife a disproportionate share of the community estate due to husband’s “wasting of community assets” in violation of a court order.

Husband appealed on multiple grounds including that trial court abused its discretion in finding that he wasted community assets and making a disproportionate property division and money damages award based on that finding.

Waste and Community Property Division

Under the family code, a trial court in a divorce proceeding is charged with ordering a division of the community estate in a manner that the court deems “just and right,” having due regard for the rights of each. In dividing the community estate, the trial court can consider several nonexclusive factors including whether one party wastes community property. Waste occurs when Read more…

It happens a lot in the divorce process. Feelings of mistrust, betrayal, anxiety and more that start out small and manageable end up growing. They continue to grow as your case goes on and eventually grow out of control. This is how your Woodlands Divorce case can end up transforming from everyone sitting at a table working to resolve ongoing problems to everyone in the metaphorical boxing ring trying to knock each other’s lights out. It happens more often than you might think. The Downward Spiral.

Parents with children usually have the most to lose if they let their divorce slide down that out of control path. Property can be replaced, but restoring Read more…

Curious about what a Collaborative Divorce can mean to you and your kids? Don’t take my word for it, listen to two couples who went through the Collaborative Divorce process themselves and discover how they preserved their irreplaceable relationship with their children and moved forward with their lives rather than digging endlessly through the past. It is only 6 minutes long and I strongly recommend anyone considering divorce with children involved take a moment to consider the choice you are about to make concerning what kind of divorce you will go through.

Read more…

The Standard Possession Order is the default schedule for visitation with children after a Woodlands divorce. There is one large category that the Standard Possession Order does not apply to. That category is children less than 3 years old. If you leave visitation up to the judge when you have a child younger than 3 you will likely not receive the Standard Possession Order.

What Will the Judge Do?

The legal responsibility of the judge in setting visitation for a child younger than 3 is to render an “appropriate order” under the circumstances that is in the best interest of the child. The judge has a lot of discretion to determine exactly what he or she thinks is appropriate, but there are some specific criteria the judge may also consider: Read more…