More often than not when it comes to a family suit involving children, who has primary custody of them is the most contested and important issue to my clients. Which makes sense as their property can be replaced but their children cannot. Sometimes parents can work together well after divorce and can take care of
It was May 29, 2008, a day I will never forget. I was representing Royce Sigler in his divorce action and two months prior we had obtained him temporary primary conservatorship of his two daughters, Tanya age 6, and Ksneya age 4. His Wife, Katya, was a Russian citizen and when the children were born here in Texas, she obtained dual citizenship for both girls.
Continue Reading A Journey for a Texas Father to Bring Home His Kidnapped Daughters from Russia
The Court first and foremost is going to examine which parent has been the primary caretaker of the child.
Continue Reading Necessary Custody Information for Temporary Orders Hearing in Dallas, Texas
The Fathers’ Rights movement is grounded in constitutional rights and imperatives. It has grown out of the very real changes in men’s traditional roles in Western society, and the current generation’s more egalitarian attitude towards shared parenting, which has resulted in gender neutral custody laws in virtually every state of the United States.
Continue Reading Fathers Really Do Have Rights
Dallas Family Law attorney Michelle May O’Neil discussed a few common misconceptions about Texas Family Law in her presentation at the Dallas Kids Expo featuring her book All About Texas Law and Kids.
Continue Reading Common Misconceptions about Texas Family Law
Last Friday, November 12, 2009, its opinion styled In re Cooper, No. 05-09-00995-CV, the Dallas Court of Appeals conditionally granted wife’s petition for mandamus relief, holding the trial judge abused her discretion by imposing a residency residency restriction pending final trial in a divorce case that required wife, temporary primary conservator of the parties two children, to relocate from North Carolina, where she had secured employment and owned a house, to Dallas and contiguous counties, where she had neither.
Continue Reading Dallas Court of Appeals grants mandamus: trial court imposed greater burden for relocation than law allows
In my previous two posts I defined the terms commonly used in custody determinations and the factors courts consider in determining custody. Now that we have these housekeeping issues taken care of, I’ll discuss the presumptions that apply in conservatorship determinations and the hurdles parents have to overcome in getting “sole custody.”
Continue Reading So you want sole custody?? Conclusion
In my previous post I talked about the various terms used in Texas courts regarding child custody. I also stated that the best interest of the child is the first priority for any Texas court presented in a conservatorship and/or possession determination. In this post, I’ll continue our discussion by looking at the factors courts consider in determining what is in the best interest of a child (i.e., the Holly Factors).
Continue Reading So you want sole custody?? Part Two
In a recent opinion by the Dallas Court of Appeals, the court held the trial judge did not err when he did not apply a domestic violence presumption in assessing child custody and did not record an interview with a child in the office outside the court room. In the Interest of S.E.K. & H.A.K., No. 05-08-00858-CV, — S.W.3d — (Tex. App. – Dallas, Aug. 28, 2009).
Continue Reading Standards to modify custody.
In a recent decision by the Dallas Court of Appeals, the rights of a biological father were vindicated. In the case of In the Matter of B.B.M, a child’s biological father appealed the trial court’s determination appointing the child’s non-parents as joint managing conservators. In the Matter of B.B.M., — S.W.3d –, No. 05-08-00501-CV, 2009 WL 1801035 (Tex. App. – Dallas, June 24, 2009).
Continue Reading Dallas Lawyer Upholds Rights of Natural Parent
