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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Changes from 2018 and looking ahead to 2019 for Texas family law
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.
New tax laws impact divorce
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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Fault or no fault — that is the question
A client recently asked about divorcing her husband who was pending felony criminal charges. Texas is generally a no-fault divorce state. This means that one spouse may seek and be granted a divorce based solely on the irreparable breakdown in the marriage relationship without showing anything else. However, Texas allows for a fault-based divorce decreed
Beneficiary designation after divorce invalid — law upheld by US Supreme Court
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
Five Divorce Truths — featured on DMagazine
Shareholder Michelle O’Neil was featured on DMagazine with her article Five Divorce Truths
. Check it out!
Here’s a synopsis of her five points:
- The divorce will take twice as long as you think it will.
- It is going to cost twice as much as you think it will.
- There will be bad feelings between
International Women’s Day: Right to Divorce
Happy International Women’s Day!
Of the many big and small inequalities, we cannot overlook the right of a woman to end a difficult marriage. While divorce may be common place and social acceptable for women today, it has not been that way in history.
Throughout modern time, divorce could only be granted if one spouse
Income factors in evaluating financial life beyond divorce in an over-50 divorce
The sources of income for an older divorcing spouse can look very different from younger counterparts. Here are some considerations:
- Social security income: Social security is not a marital asset to be considered in the division of marital property. But, social security can be considered in examining a spouse’s cash flow for looking at property
Representing “seasoned” divorce clients – divorce at age 50 and beyond
Divorces among clients over the age of 50 are becoming more prevalent as baby boomers age. They balk at the terms “gray divorce” or “senior citizens”. The best term to use may be “seasoned”, according to an article by Paula G. Kirby in the latest issue of the Family Advocate by ABA Section of Family
Stages of grief in losing a relationship to divorce
Often I am reminded of the grief and loss that spouses must go through emotionally while I handle the legal aspects of the divorce. Sometimes, clients have already processed through the grief before they come to us and their point of acceptance makes handling the divorce from a logical, business standpoint much easier. However, frequently,