You have to prove your case. At the end of the day no matter how many horrible accusations are traded between you and your ex it is your Woodlands Divorce Attorney’s job to prove your case with the evidence. If a certain piece of evidence is not legally admissible then it cannot be used to prove your case or used against you. Hearsay evidence is generally not allowed, even in a Woodlands divorce case and even if the evidence is offered by the Attorney General. In a recent child support case a trial court allowed hearsay evidence from the Attorney General’s office, but did not exclude it under a narrow exception to the hearsay rules. Let’s take a closer look at what happened.

The Arguments on Appeal

The father in this was is A.J. A.J. argues that the trial court admitted inadmissible hearsay to prove his 2004–2007 earnings for the purpose of calculating child support. The Attorney General argues that Hardy can testify on the basis of hearsay sources because she qualifies as an expert per the Texas Rules of Evidence.

The Court’s Analysis

The trial court found where the parties have adequately complied with their discovery obligations, experts can generally testify regarding their opinions and give the reasons they hold their opinions without prior disclosure of facts or underlying data, unless the court orders otherwise. Trial courts are Read more…

Deadlines are very important in the legal field. Simply missing a deadline can destroy your case even if you should win on all of the substantive issues. One of the most important deadlines I encounter as a Woodlands Divorce Attorney is the statute of limitations to enforce a division of property contained in a divorce decree.

It happens all too often that after a divorce is finalized by the parties reaching an agreement on paper or a judge issuing an order that one party drags their feet in dividing or turning over property. What can you do? Enforce your rights before you lose them.

The Family Code provides that a lawsuit to enforce the division of tangible personal property in existence at the time of the decree of divorce or annulment must be filed before Read more…

A contested divorce case has many stages which you may be aware of. There can be temporary orders, discovery, court hearings, depositions, court hearings, arguing, personal attacks, and more court hearings. If you are looking for a less destructive way to move on from your marriage then Collaborative Divorce may be right for you.

The Collaborative Divorce process in The Woodlands and Montgomery County has several stages, but you might notice they are quite different from the stages of a contested divorce. The stages of a Collaborative Divorce are: Read more…

If you are considering taking advantage of the benefits of the Collaborative Divorce process in The Woodlands it is important to understand the foundation for the process. After you and your spouse have decided to use collaborative divorce, you, your attorney, your spouse, and your spouse’s attorney will enter into a collaborative divorce agreement. The collaborative divorce agreement establishes an important framework for the process.

Texas law states a collaborative divorce agreement must include provisions for: Read more…

The end of a marriage can be difficult enough on its own. Often, the process of divorce only adds to the pain. You and your spouse may come to see each other as adversaries and the divorce court is the battleground while your lawyers trade shots at each other and your children suffer. You may experience feelings of confusion, anger, loss and conflict. Under these circumstances, you might find it difficult to see an end to divorce, much less imagine a hopeful future afterwards.

Collaborative divorce is a new concept to many families confronted with going through a divorce, but it has been creating successful resolutions to divorce cases for many years. Collaborative divorce may be appropriate where both spouses are committed to reaching an agreement outside of the courtroom and can communicate openly and honestly. If either spouse is determined to Read more…

In addition to the laws of Texas, the Montgomery County Courts involved in divorce matters have their own rules. These rules are called local rules and for the most part are procedural to help all cases move through the Conroe courthouse in a timely manner. One important local rule for divorce in Montgomery County, Texas concerns parental counseling.

When you or your spouse file for divorce the Conroe Court will require both of you to attend a brief counseling program. This rule applies in all suits affecting the parent-child relationship and virtually every divorce case that involved children. The Court will only consider waiving the counseling requirement if your Conroe Divorce Lawyer can show good cause.

One important note is the Conroe Divorce Courts may also require counseling as part of modification or enforcement litigation after the divorce is final.

The Woodlands Divorce Resource is here to help you with your divorce, child custody, or other family law issue in Montgomery County or Harris County. Many of our visitors come from the areas of Conroe, Oak Ridge North, Cut and Shoot, and other communities in the Montgomery County area or Houston and North Harris County. If you need legal assistance with your family law issue speak with a The Woodlands Divorce Attorney today.

We previously reviewed the discovery requirements for divorce cases in the Montgomery County Divorce and Family Courts. Today we will look at the required disclosures in the Harris County Divorce Courts in Houston.

The Harris County Divorce Courts require that each party to a suit for divorce or annulment shall, without waiting for a discovery request, provide to the other party the following information about property in which the party claims an interest:

1. all documents pertaining to Read more…