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 divorce. … Continue Reading
Yes, family law appellate lawyers handle appeals to the Texas court of appeals or the Texas Supreme Court. We read records, write briefs, and make oral arguments. We research rules and analyze case opinions. But, adding an appellate lawyer to your trial team can be beneficial long before filing a notice of appeal. Pleadings Early … Continue Reading
Text messages are becoming a more frequent piece of evidence in Texas divorce cases. Dallas family lawyers and those around the state must offer a predicate to authenticate a text message before it will be accepted into evidence. This means the document must be shown to be the actual (or copy) document and not be … Continue Reading
I was fortunate enough to be asked to give a TED-style talk at a lawyer education seminar about preservation of error. Here’s the link to the podcast of the presentation: http://lunchwithlawyers.com/episode-004-preserve-error-and-dont-get-sued-with-michelle-may-oneil-2 I really enjoyed the TED-style talk and hope these catch on across the lawyer education forum.… Continue Reading
Yes, family law appellate lawyers handle appeals to the Texas court of appeals or the Texas Supreme Court. We read records, write briefs, and make oral arguments. We research rules and analyze case opinions. But, adding an appellate lawyer to your trial team can be beneficial long before filing a notice of appeal. Pleadings Early … Continue Reading
It is most often discouraged to have children serve as witnesses in a family law suit between the child's parents. However, the Amarillo court of appeals recent decided a case that discusses the standards for securing pretrial testimony of a child for admission during a family law trial.… Continue Reading
Whenever a trial court, after a nonjury trial, enters a possession schedule which deviates from the standard schedule, a party may request the trial court to enter special findings about the reasons for deviation from the standard order.… Continue Reading
There is a strong presumption in Texas law in favor of marriage. When a question arises as to the validity of a current marriage because of a prior marriage, the presumption says that the current marriage is the one that's presumed valid. You would think there wouldn't be very many cases on this issue, but I've actually seen a couple recently. Here's one of those:… Continue Reading
In an opinion delivered on October 25, 2013, City of Laredo v. Montano,the Supreme Court of Texas clarified an issue that is of importance across this State to clients and attorneys -- the proof required to support an award of attorney's fees.… Continue Reading
The Texas legislature has responded to the Texas Supreme Court's recent and controversial opinion in Tedder v. Gardner Aldrich LLP, by enacting House Bill 1366 to clarify a trial court's power to award attorney's fees in a suit for divorce.… Continue Reading
This ground breaking case out of the Texas Supreme Court could forever change the way attorney fees are requested, awarded, and recovered by law firms in Texas divorce proceedings by holding that legal fees incurred by a spouse in a divorce proceeding are not "necessaries" (food, clothing, essential medical care, habitation, etc.).… Continue Reading
What can you do if you lack an adequate remedy by appeal and the trial judge clearly misapplies the law in your case, violates your constitutional rights, or clearly abuses their discretion?… Continue Reading
Last week the Dallas Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Shilling v. Gough, holding that the trial court erred by awarding attorney's fees without a proper legal basis. Michelle May O'Neil and I represented Shilling in his successful appeal.… Continue Reading
The Dallas Court of Appeals yesterday GRANTED two writs of habeas corpus that I filed on behalf of a Dallas family law client in a contempt/enforcement case on temporary orders.… Continue Reading
As with other areas of law, the family law appellate lawyer can help get a case ready for trial. The family law appellate lawyer can handle disputes over legal issues so the trial lawyer can focus on the fact issues. The family law appellate lawyer can draft motions, briefs, or even the jury charge to fine-tune the really important legal issues. The family law appellate lawyer can advise the trial lawyer as to what parts of the case really matter, and what can be left on the editing room floor.… Continue Reading
A Wisconsin lawyer has been fined $100 for getting a citation wrong in a brief submitted to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. The appeals court expressed its frustration in a footnote to an unpublished opinion, Espitia v. Fouche, Legal Blog Watch reports. The court imposed the penalty and explained the reason for it in a footnote to a 2008 unpublished opinion, Espitia v. Fouche. Here is the entire footnote:… Continue Reading
Family Code requirement of filing a Statement of Points in a government termination case within 15-days of the signing of the final order is unconstitutional as applied when it bars parents from raising an ineffective assistance of counsel claim.… Continue Reading
Today I was interviewed by John Council with Texas Lawyer Magazine about the In re JOA opinion issued recently by the Texas Supreme Court for the Video Blog Reversed and Remanded. Seriously, you should go look at the video. (I wish I had worn a different shirt!) The Texas Supreme Court declared Texas Family Code section 263.405(b) unconstitutional… Continue Reading
