The Numbers

Let’s start with numbers. Out of everyone there at the 418th hoping to get their case finalized yesterday, the judge determined that half of them were not ready to be finalized for either procedural or substantive issues. And this was within the first ten minutes. Of the remaining cases, about half of those were ready to proceed and were finalized and the balance were left to make an appointment with the staff attorney to attempt to correct the errors. If you are keeping score at home, that is about 25% of the cases on the pro se divorce and family docket yesterday were completed. The rest were left to fix their mistakes and come back in up to six months later when the next opening on the docket is. And during that extra time you remain married each of you are still accumulating community property and community debt.

Are You A Gambler?

If you were at a casino and somebody offered you a game of chance where you only had a 25% chance of winning and a 75% chance of losing, how would you feel? Probably not a good bet to make in my opinion. That is basically what unfolded yesterday; a lot of people made a bad bet. Are you going to make the same bet?

The Alternative

If you don’t like to gamble or wait for many months until an opening on the pro se docket exists you can get your Montgomery County uncontested divorce done quickly with an experienced Woodlands Divorce Lawyer. Call me at (832) 592-7913 to get started.

In a recent case the Attorney General filed a suit to modify the child support obligation of a Harris County father for the benefit of his two disabled children who were each no longer under the age of 18. The father’s child support attorney reviewed the law and challenged the authority of the Attorney General to file the child support modification lawsuit.

The Texas Family Code specifically outlines which individuals have the authority to file a lawsuit for child support for adult disabled children. These individuals are:

1. a parent of the child or another person having physical custody or guardianship of the child under a court order;  or
2. the child if the child: (a) is 18 years of age or older; (b) does not have a mental disability;  and (c) is determined by the court to be capable of managing the child’s financial affairs.

The statute does not mention the Attorney General and after careful consideration the court found that the Attorney General does not have inherent authority to file a lawsuit concerning child support for an adult disabled child. The outcome may have been different if an individual who did have proper authority assigned their rights to the Attorney General.

This case is an important reminder that the Attorney General makes mistakes and even they are not above the law. If you want something done right then consider an experienced child support lawyer. Contact us today at (832) 592-7913 if you need legal help with your Montgomery County child support case.

If you would like additional information, check out our free Woodlands Divorce Guide.

We both wanted out of the marriage, but we didn’t want our children to “pay” for our mistakes. … The “process” allowed my ex and I to remain focused on this goal, rather than being focused on “getting” the other person. … Once we started working together to craft a solution we both thought was fair, we had incentive to work together – giving and taking – to reach a truly fair outcome.  Through the collaborative divorce process we learned many creative ways to divide and preserve assets that we never would have thought possible.  For instance, keeping the only home that the boys had ever known was extremely important to me and my children, but less important to my ex.  Neither of us would have guessed that I could “buy” him out of his share of the equity in the house by giving him other assets that appeared on the balance sheet – achieving both of our goals (mine to keep the house, his to get rid of it). …Through our realtor and mortgage expert we learned how we could refinance our current house to a lower interest rate, and still allow my ex to purchase another house.  I sincerely believe that we would not have known about or explored ANY of these options (and many more) unless we had used the collaborative divorce process….I was burdened by both personal health issues and family health issues during our divorce.  The collaborative process allowed us to craft our solution on our own timeline – around my chaotic and unpredictable schedule.  This took a horrible burden off of my shoulders at a time that I *really* needed that flexibility and understanding from the divorce process. … Neither of us felt that anyone was out to “get” us.  I never felt that my ex’s lawyer was looking for ways to exploit me:  she focused on both of our stated goals, as did my lawyer.  “Everyone” was looking for a win-win outcome for every topic we had to address.  I can’t emphasize enough how much this meant to me during what was a terribly difficult transition in my life!

Remember, not every attorney is trained or appropriate to represent someone in a Collaborative Divorce. Contact The Shea Law Firm at (832) 592-7913 to speak with a Collaborative Divorce attorney in The Woodlands or locate a trained collaborative divorce attorney near you at http://www.collablawtexas.com/locate-a-collaborative-law-professional

Confused? Learn the differences between an uncontested divorce, a litigated divorce, and a collaborative divorce in my free Woodlands Divorce Guide

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.

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.

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.

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 a child’s feelings of confidence and security with their parent can be a lot more difficult and sometimes impossible. How do you protect yourself and your children from The Downward Spiral?

Surround yourself with professionals that are focused on your future relationship with your children and helping you move on with life after divorce rather than the cliché divorce lawyer that wants to re-live every wrong thing your spouse may have done during the marriage while you pay him hundreds of dollars per hour to do so. In a litigated divorce you are working without a net and when your case is at the brink of turning into an ugly divorce your only adviser may be the one who stands to profit most from it turning ugly. In a Collaborative Divorce all of the professionals are committed to keep your case from heading down The Downward Spiral.

Part 2 of the Collaborative Divorce videos is below. In this discussion the couples mention how important the Collaborative Divorce team was to keeping their divorce from getting ugly. If they had chosen to work with a non-Collaborative divorce lawyer their case probably would have taken a very different road and they probably would not want to sit next to each other today. Which outcome do you want to see in your divorce case?

About The Author

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 The Woodlands, 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 Montgomery County divorce lawyer in The Woodlands, TX today and protect your rights. Contact The Shea Law Firm at (832) 592-7913.

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 not automatically required to exclude the expert’s underlying facts or data, even if inadmissible, but instead must only do so when “the danger that they will be used for a purpose other than as explanation or support for the expert’s opinion outweighs their value as explanation or support or are unfairly prejudicial.”

In this case, the Attorney General’s calculation of A.J.’s child support obligation depended, in part, on his earned income for the 2004–2007 period. Although the Attorney General had obtained information on A.J.’s earned income through a subpoena, the underlying records that she apparently received were not properly proven up and thus, inadmissible hearsay. Thus, the court concluded that the Attorney General’s testimony about A.J.’s levels of income between 2004 and 2007 was inadmissible hearsay. Nevertheless, A.J. also testified about his income for the period 2004–2007. According to A.J., it was more likely than not that he had made more than $100,000 every year since 2004.

Hearsay Not Prejudicial

The court ruled that in light of A.J.’s testimony that his income exceeded $100,000 for each year at issue, the evidence supported the trial court’s use of the figure of $6,000 per month as A.J.’s net monthly income. On this record, other admissible testimony, consisting of A.J.’s testimony about his income, supports the figure the trial court used to calculate A.J.’s child support obligation. Therefore, the admission of the Attorney General’s testimony to explain the basis of her opinion was not unfairly prejudicial.

About the Author

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 The Woodlands, 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 divorce lawyer in The Woodlands, TX today and protect your rights. Contact The Shea Law Firm at (832) 592-7913.

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 the second anniversary of the date the decree was signed or becomes final after appeal, whichever date is later, or the suit is barred.

That is it, if your lawsuit falls within this section and you file it too late you may lose your case even if your ex-spouse is in clear violation of the decree. This specific statue of limitations for enforcing divorce decrees only applies to dividing tangible personal property. There are other rules that apply to lawsuits not concerning tangible personal property. Speak with a Woodlands Divorce Lawyer today if you need help resolving an property division issue with your divorce decree.

About the Author

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 The Woodlands, 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 divorce lawyer in The Woodlands, TX today and protect your rights.

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:

1. Determining your goals and interests;
2. Information gathering;
3. Development of settlement options to achieve your goals;
4. Evaluation of the options; and
5. Negotiation of the settlement.

Which Process Do You Prefer?

Collaborative Divorce is a valuable alternative if you want to avoid an unpredictable court fight with your ex-spouse. Speak with a Woodlands Collaborative Divorce Attorney today and learn about your options to achieve your goals.

About The Author

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 The Woodlands, Conroe, Spring, 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 divorce lawyer in The Woodlands, TX today and protect your rights.