We’ve seen many changes in our courts over the past week including limiting in-person hearings to essential matters only. Over the past two days, many courts have issued Emergency Standing Orders regarding possession for both the “extended Spring Break” period and recent school closures.
The Supreme Court of Texas just issued
One thing we know about COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is that new information develops on a daily basis. The court system had to respond to the situation to resolve many issues that have arisen.
The Texas Supreme Court
Interesting article in Texas Lawyer this week about the effect of online impersonation having growing relevance in Texas family law. People are increasingly impersonating spouses, paramours, and others online out of spite or to gain leverage. In 2009, Texas made it illegal to pretend to be another person online to harass, stalk, or defraud someone. For example, it would be illegal to create a fake website in an ex’s name and provide personal details about sexual acts. The law says a person commits an offense if he or she, without obtaining the person’s consent, uses the name or persona of another person with the intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, or threaten by (1) creating a page on a website or other commercial social networking site, or (2) sending messages through an existing website or social networking site. This offense is a third degree felony, punishable by 2-10 years in prison.
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The Texas Legislature convenes every two years, with 2019 being one of those. Each session, proposed new laws get introduced that will affect family law in Texas. It is expected that a bill will be introduced to remove no fault divorce and require proof of fault grounds for all Texas divorce and extend the waiting period to finalize a divorce (currently 60 days). Neither of these proposals are expected to gain much traction. Reform of the child protective services system will, however, be a hot topic for the legislative session given all of the litigation there has been criticizing how CPS handles matters ineffectively.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed Congress last December and there is a lot of talk about how it will impact the tax situation for individuals. Few have considered the impact that the new law will have on divorce and child custody. (See How Will the New Tax Law Affect Your Divorce? )
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Reports surfaced today that pro-NBA player Blake Griffin has reached a settlement deal with his ex-girlfriend Brynn Cameron to pay child support of $258,000 PER MONTH for their two children. (See reports here from TotalProSports and here from TMZ.) The lawsuit, pending in California, alleges that Griffin ousted Cameron and the kids from his
In February, Senior Shareholder Michelle May O’Neil presented oral argument to the Supreme Court of Texas in Dalton v. Dalton, a case out of the Nacogdoches trial court and the Tyler Court of Appeals. Today we learned that she WON that case — the Texas Supreme Court in a unanimous decision reversed the judgment and
Joe and Sue are down on their luck. Joe just lost his job and Sue has health issues. Along with their four-year-old child, Betsy, they move in with Joe’s parents, who are retired. For months, Joe interviews all over town while working odd-jobs to try to supplement his family income and pay for Sue’s medical
ATTENTION PARENTS! The Texas Supreme Court recently delivered a split 5-4 opinion that is bound to raise eyebrows. The only issue presented is whether a nonparent, like a grandparent or step-parent, has standing under the Family Code to file a suit seeking custody of a child. But, the longstanding implications of this case might force
The Supreme Court recently issued an opinion parsing out the practical concerns at play in a post-divorce life insurance case. Specifically, in Sveen v. Melin, a former spouse designated as primary beneficiary in her ex-husband’s life-insurance policy urged the Court to dissect the constitutionality of a Minnesota statute that automatically revoked such designation upon
