No.
Not ever. If you withhold visitation because a spouse will
not pay his or her child support, you are taking the law
into your own hands and may be held in contempt of court.
No. Not
ever. For the same reasons as in question one above, if you
withhold child support because a spouse will not allow you
to exercise your visitation you are taking the law into your
own hands and may be held in contempt of court.
An action
for dissolution of marriage, or a divorce, is a lawsuit
brought by one spouse against the other.It starts by filing a Original Petition for Divorce.
A petition is nothing more than a letter drafted and couched
in legal terms written to the court telling the court what
that person wants.A
petition is answered by either Original Answer or Answer and
Counter-Petition.Similar
to the Original Petition, the Answer or Counter-Petition is
a document which tells the Court what that person wants.
See
Divorce Process.
The person
who brings the case first gets to talk first. Some lawyers
swear that there is an advantage to being first. Others say
it doesn’t really matter. There is no negative connotation
attributable to the spouse who brings the action or to the
person who responds to the action. However, as one lawyer
said,"first
impression are lasting impressions."
If family
violence has been a part of your life, you need to take
action. It is more credible for a victim of family violence
to bring the action first.
Nearly all
of them.It is
the policy of the State of Texas that parties are to try and
resolve their conflicts without court intervention other
than granting the divorce.The Texas Family Code requires that each party sign
an Alternative Dispute Resolution clause attached to their
initial pleading.
The
problem with settlement is that it usually takes significant
legal action to bring the parties to a mutually agreeable
resolution. It is like two boys in the school yard. After
they both knock each other down, one says to the other
“have you had enough.” The other replies, “if you
have.”It is
unfortunate that it has to be this way, but it is very often
true.
An
uncontested divorce, also known as an
agreed
divorce, means that the parties will resolve all issues
between them without significant court or lawyer
participation.The lawyer’s role in this type of case is limited to filing
the petition and drafting a final decree of divorce.
In the most basic of divorces (no property and no children),
the following documents are required: Original Petition for
Divorce, Alternative Dispute Statements, Waiver of Citation,
Final Decree of Divorce, State Information Sheet. If you own
a home, add Special Warranty Deed to the list. If you have
IRAs or 401(k)s, add Qualified Domestic Relationship Order
for each retirement account to the list. If you have
children, add visitation provisions, insurance provisions,
and child support provisions to the divorce decree. In
addition, with children add Wage Withholding Order, and
Medical Support Order to the document list.
Yes. Only
the judge can grant the divorce. Once all the documents are
in order, one of the parties will sign off on the divorce
decree and the other party will go before the judge to
“prove up” the divorce. The lawyer will ask you a number
of questions which mostly require only a yes or no answer.
The actual hearing takes only about 4 minutes. The time
spent waiting for your turn, can be as long as 2 hours
(usually about an hour, however).
A minimum
of 60 days. Texas law requires that the couple wait 60 days
before the Court can grant a divorce. This is known as the
cooling off period. It is the policy of the State of Texas
that parties are to remain married. The 60 day period is
about giving the parties an opportunity to reconcile.
No. Texas
is a no-fault divorce state. We simply plead, “conflict of
personalities that destroy the legitimate ends of the
marital relationship.”No spouse has to “give” the other spouse a
divorce anymore. There is some discussion in the legislature
about doing away with the no fault divorce.
All
property is community property unless proven to be separate
property by clear and convincing evidence. The division is
that which is just and right in accordance with the courts
ruling. Generally, you are looking at ½ each absent some
circumstance that indicates otherwise. For example, a number
of different factors such as unequal earning power, extent
of separate property, and fault in the marital relationship
can effect the division. There is a reported case where a 90
–10% split was deemed a just and right division. This case
was upheld at the appellate level.
Texas
disapproves of alimony. Yes, you can get alimony if you
qualify. There are a number of factors involved and it is
only awarded for a limited amount of time.
The Texas Rules of Lawyer Discipline Rule
1.04 outlines the factors involved with attorney's fees.
Fees are be based upon the time and labor expended, the
complexities of the issues involved, the degree of
difficulty of the matter, the results achieved, the County
of venue for the divorce, and any extraordinary time or
demands placed upon an attorney which would prevent an
attorney from representing other clients.
Not a chance. Frankly,
the question seems silly at first glance. However, the
question is often insinuated in a roundabout manner by our
clients. They ask questions or take actions that indicate
that they want the court to make their spouse a better
person. The only thing a court can do is enforce its orders.
The court is not going to change your spouse.
Yes. Then again, that's
like getting a medical book and performing surgery from the to
do list. It can be done. By another analogy, its like the home
handy man putting on the home addition from the Time Life Home
Improvement Library. Yes, it can be done.
Quite frankly, however,
it is bad advice. In the first instance, divorce decrees and
closing documents are complex documents. Unless you are
familiar and have worked extensively with them, the chances
of a nonprofessional drafting one successfully is low. We
have had a number of clients who started out "doing
their own divorce" in order to save money. After
spending a lot of time in the library finding out how to do
it and even more time typing in what they believed to be a
correct divorce decree, they requested our assistance after
having their divorce decree disapproved by the Court.
The Court said to them, "this divorce decree is
insufficient, go back and try again . . . no, I can't give
you advice."
Secondly, the
"prove-up" of the divorce, requires that one of
the spouse put on testimony that addresses specific
evidentiary issues. If you fail to testify to a specific
requirement, the divorce will be disapproved.
Third, the Courts and
Court staff hates "pro-se litigants." It is just a
fact that pro-se (by yourself) litigants do not know the
procedures and requirements of the law. They cause the Court
process to slow down. The Courts are overbooked with tons of
cases vying for their attention. Any slowdown of the process
is disapproved of. In short, pro-se litigants do not know
the ropes and the Courts can't teach it to them.
Save yourself some time,
frustration, and heart ache, hire a lawyer, any lawyer to assist
you with this matter.
Short
answer, to make sure that they are compensated for their work.
Rhetorically, why do doctors have a nurse at the door? Why do
mechanics require payment before giving you the keys to your
car? Why do contractors, painters, plumbers, etc. place material
men's liens on your property for the work that they do? To make
sure that they get paid.
Lawyers
practice law because they enjoy it, because they like the
challenge, and to make their living. Like you, they have bills
to pay. They have office overhead, dreams to fulfill, and little
ones at home with their needs. Like you, they go to work to
trade their time and expertise for compensation. The retainer
insures that the attorney is compensated for his or her efforts.
