Guiding Your Family Through Tough Decisions
FAMILY LAW
Complicated Divorce
A contested divorce occurs when a couple cannot reach a mutual agreement on the terms of their divorce, leading to a need for court intervention to resolve the disputes. Due to attorney fees, expert witness fees, and court costs, contested divorces are generally more expensive than uncontested divorces. They can also take longer to resolve than uncontested divorces, and the process can be emotionally challenging for both parties involved.
VS
What works best for you?
Uncontested Divorce
It is natural that a divorce brings anger and resentment between spouses. A natural tendency is for spouses to stop talking to each other. They clam up and are unwilling to discuss things concerning child custody, child support, and property division. Instead, couples prefer to rely on expensive experts to solve their private issues.
The problem is that attorneys are not cheap, especially when the lawyer spends hours battling over issues that the spouses could have quickly resolved. I have seen lawyer fees decimate a family's community estate and savings because they could not get along.
For this reason, my law office offers special rates for uncontested divorces. When a couple comes in after having resolved all of the major issues in the divorce, J.R. Garza will immediately file an uncontested divorce.
Complicated Divorce
A contested divorce occurs when a couple cannot reach a mutual agreement on the terms of their divorce, leading to a need for court intervention to resolve the disputes. Due to attorney fees, expert witness fees, and court costs, contested divorces are generally more expensive than uncontested divorces. They can also take longer to resolve than uncontested divorces, and the process can be emotionally challenging for both parties involved.
VS
What works best for you?
Uncontested Divorce
It is natural that a divorce brings anger and resentment between spouses. A natural tendency is for spouses to stop talking to each other. They clam up and are unwilling to discuss things concerning child custody, child support, and property division. Instead, couples prefer to rely on expensive experts to solve their private issues.
The problem is that attorneys are not cheap, especially when the lawyer spends hours battling over issues that the spouses could have quickly resolved. I have seen lawyer fees decimate a family's community estate and savings because they could not get along.
For this reason, my law office offers special rates for uncontested divorces. When a couple comes in after having resolved all of the major issues in the divorce, J.R. Garza will immediately file an uncontested divorce.
Divorce
What to Expect
It is normal to experience stress and anxiety when dealing with a divorce. Knowing what to expect can help. Here is a brief overview of the divorce process in Texas.
Residency
One or both spouses must have been a Texas resident for the last 6 months before the divorce filing date and a resident of the county where the divorce was filed 90 days before the divorce filing date.
Pregnancy
If the wife is pregnant, the divorce may not be granted until after the baby is born. This is true even if the husband is not the father. This is because, legally, the husband is the presumed father until the parentage is proven otherwise.
Filing Process
The spouse filing for divorce must file the petition with the local court and give legal notice to the other spouse. The spouse responding to the divorce has 21 days to file an Answer after receiving the notice. Otherwise, the petitioner may be awarded a default judgment. With some exceptions, usually, there is a waiting period of 60 days before a court can grant a divorce.
Spouses Name
It is a common practice for people to take the last name of their spouses upon marriage. During a divorce, however, some may request for their name to be reverted to the one they used before the marriage. The court may approve this request in a divorce decree unless there is a specific reason for rejecting the name change.
Legal ground for divorce
The court may grant a divorce on the following grounds:
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Adultery
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Cruelty treatment
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Marriage has become insupportable
Divorce is not an easy decision, but it’s much harder when a person needs to deal with the emotional turmoil and the specific legal issues that will arise in a divorce.
The law office of J.R. Garza is here to help.
custody
What to Expect
The "best interest of the child" standard in the Texas Family Code is a fundamental legal principle in Texas family law. Here, you will discover why the child's best interest matters, explore the factors and presumptions involved in the standard, understand how and when to apply it and learn how it can impact your case.
What does
“best interest
of the child" mean?
In many family law cases involving children, courts must consider “the best interest of the child.” The law states that the child’s best interest is "the primary consideration of the court" on issues like conservatorship, possession, and support.
This means that a judge must consider the child’s best interest when making decisions about custody, visitation, and child support. The child’s best interest is important in most cases involving children, including divorces, modifications of existing custody agreements, termination of parental rights, and CPS cases.
What does the court consider when deciding what is in the best interest of the child?
Courts can consider any relevant facts to determine what is in the child’s best interest. The Texas Supreme Court has provided a list of factors (called “Holley factors”) to consider in cases about child custody, visitation, and support: 1.The desires of the child 2.The emotional and physical needs of the child now and in the future 3.The emotional and physical danger to the child now and in the future 4.The parental abilities of the person seeking custody 5.The programs available to assist the parties to promote the best interest of the child 6.The plans for the child made by the person seeking custody or the agency 7.The stability of the home or proposed placement 8.The acts or omissions of the parent that indicate that the existing parent-child relationship is not a proper one 9.Any excuse for the parent’s acts or omissions These factors come from the Texas Supreme Court case Holley v. Adams. Courts have the discretion to look at other factors outside of the Holley factors to help decide what is in a child’s best interest. For example, a court might look at a parent’s past decisions for the child, if they follow court orders, or how each parent has met the child’s needs in the past.
support
What to Expect
In Texas, the courts take child support very seriously because the state recognizes the importance of both parents contributing to the financial needs of the child. What courts also take seriously is the violation of their child support order.
Legal Options for
Enforcing Child Support in Texas
Parents who are struggling to receive child support have several legal options they can pursue in Texas to enforce payment. One of the most common methods is to file a motion for enforcement with the court. This motion notifies the court that the other parent is not complying with the child support order, and it requests the court’s intervention. After reviewing the motion, the court may hold a hearing to determine the best course of action to ensure payments are made. If the parent has missed multiple payments, the court may issue a judgment for the amount of unpaid support, known as arrears. Once the court issues this judgment, the custodial parent can take additional steps to collect the unpaid child support, including requesting wage garnishment or seizing the non-paying parent’s assets.
Legal Consequences for Non-Payment of Child Support
A parent who does not abide by a child support order can face a series of serious consequences designed by Texas law to make them comply with their obligation to the court and, more importantly, their financial obligation to the child. Some of the consequences for nonpayment of child support include wage garnishment, interception of tax refunds, seizure of property, or placing a lien on certain assets. The judge may even suspend state-issued licenses such as driver’s licenses, hunting licenses, or occupational licenses. As a last resort, a court can find the non-paying parent in contempt of court, issue a fine, and even punish him with jail time.