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…

The Attorney General has some enforcement authority to pursue assets to satisfy child support obligations. Sometimes they go too far.

In The Interest of R.C.T. 2009-TX-0408.559 gives us an example of when a Texas Attorney General goes too far to collect assets for child support. In the case, the husband and wife agreed to a figure of $9,024 that the husband owed in retroactive child support. The Court also approved an agreement for the husband to repay the retroactive support by monthly installments of $150. The Attorney General was not satisfied with this resolution.

The Attorney General did not want to wait for monthly installments of $150. After the Court approved the order, the Attorney General Read more…