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. … Continue Reading
The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that a court must consider time that a couple lives together prior to marriage as a factor in division of assets. The ruling, a landmark decision in New Hampshire, does not require a court to alter the division that the court seems fair in a divorce, but asks the … Continue Reading
Making the decision to divorce is one of the hardest, most emotional decisions in a person’s life. Dealing with the heartbreak and disappointment that comes along with divorce can be enough to overwhelm the strongest person. Then, dealing with the legal issues of the breakup can push a person beyond where they thought their limit … Continue Reading
Valentine’s Day should be the day of love and romance, roses and chocolate. Right? For some yes, but for divorce lawyers, February is well into the swing of Divorce Season. Studies conducted by AVVO cite to a 40% spike in new divorce filings in the days around Valentine’s Day. Cynically, many point to someone not … Continue Reading
During a Texas divorce, one major issue to deal with is the division of the spouses’ assets and debts. There are several steps that must occur during such a division. First, the assets must be identified. This is typically done by completing a sworn inventory and appraisal which lists all of the assets and debts … Continue Reading
We have all been reading and watching the account of the Arlington, Texas woman who killed her estranged husband this week. We are just learning that the mother filed for divorce in October and there was a hearing this week over custody of the children. (See: Domestic dispute led to 2 deaths in Arlington.) The … Continue Reading
The question often arises after a divorce in Texas — which parent gets to claim the child as a dependent for tax purposes? Often this issue is settled by the obvious split of parenting time greatly in favor of one parent, but as we have seen a rise in equal time splits for parents and … Continue Reading
In divorce cases in Dallas or, really anywhere in Texas, it is sometimes necessary to hire a professional to offer expert witness testimony on a subject. An expert is someone who is qualified through education or experience on a subject unknown to lay persons and whose opinion would be helpful to the factfinder (judge or … Continue Reading
Before the TRO expires, a judge will schedule a temporary orders hearing to determine if the TRO needs to be made permanent while the divorce goes forward. Often temporary orders are arrived at by agreement of the parties through negotiations. Occasionally, the agreements may be handled informally, without the entry of court orders. This usually only works when the parties are very agreeable.… Continue Reading
Tiger Woods recent marital problem highlights the need for premarital agreements sometimes called prenuptial agreements. There's been speculation that Tiger Woods and his wife may have reached an agreement to stay married and avoid divorce -- which in Texas is called a postnuptial agreement. The gritty details of actor Dennis Hopper's and golf aces Tiger Woods' and Greg Norman's prenups have all been hot topics on the internet.… Continue Reading
Divorce can be a trying time on your credit as well as your finances and emotions. A vindictive or spendthrift ex-spouse can incur debt on your joint accounts and destroy your credit rating during hte divorce process. I fyou are not able to pay a joint account in full, inquire as to whether you can maintain a balance on the account after it is closed to prevent the situation from gettng worse.… Continue Reading
In my previous post about spousal maintenance I discussed eligibility requirements. In this post, I'll address the various methods of collecting and enforcing spousal maintenance awards.
If the court grants an award for spousal maintenance, the judgment dissolving the marriage must reflect this. The spousal support order should state who will receive the payments and who will make the payments. Tex. Fam. Code Sect. 8.001(3)(4). The order must state how the spousal maintenance payments are to be made (i.e., by cash, check, and how frequently) and where they are to be sent. Tex. Fam. Code Sect. 8.052. Finally, the spousal maintenance order must state the duration of the maintenance. Tex. Fam. Code Sect. 8.052.… Continue Reading
I recently came across a blog written by an Alabama divorce attorney that covers one of the questions our firm is asked a lot: You look so nice, but can you be "mean"? Typically people come into our office looking not only for a way to move on with their lives, but also for some sort of revenge.… Continue Reading
