Posted on January 07,2021 in Divorce

Couples divorcing in Texas must divide a lot of their assets, and it can be a headache to deal with. However, the most important and often most difficult task is the division of parental responsibilities. In this part of the divorce, you're likely to go through a long process of deciding how co-parenting will work and if the other parent is even suitable to take care of children. Fortunately, many couples do find some sort of agreement, but that is not the end of the process. The following includes a few tips on co-parenting after a divorce.

Work as a team

Remember, they may be your former spouse, but they are still your children's father/mother. Positive and effective communication should remain in order to provide your child with the best life possible. Some items that require good communication include:

• Educational choices
• Medical decisions

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 Posted on December 01,2020 in Child Custody

The holiday season can be a stressful time for Texas parents who have recently divorced. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to ensure that you and your former partner do what it takes to provide an enjoyable experience for your children.

Be prepared to compromise

There is a good chance that you might not be able to spend both Thanksgiving Day and Christmas morning with your child. Therefore, it may be a better idea to ask to spend either Thanksgiving Day or Christmas morning with your son or daughter when it comes time to create the holiday parenting plan. Ideally, the parenting plan will be created well in advance so that extended family members can include you in some or all of their festivities.

Focus on the events leading up to a holiday

You may be disappointed that you can't spend Christmas Day with your child. However, this doesn't mean that he or she can't come over to decorate the tree on a specific day or bake cookies for Santa before he makes his trip around the world. Furthermore, it's important to note that most kids don't really care when they get to open their presents. Therefore, you shouldn't feel like Christmas is ruined because your son or daughter opened a gift on the 18th or the 28th.

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 Posted on November 13,2020 in Military Divorce

Texas residents who have already experienced child custody issues know that these situations are difficult for everyone involved. The rules regarding child custody proceedings may present additional complications for military families.

In many ways, the procedures for handling family law issues like the creation of a custody agreement and disputing a custody order are the same for military personnel as for civilians. The goal in both situations is to make decisions that represent the best interests of all children involved.

Families that include one or more military parents must also consider the effect that a duty reassignment or deployment may have on their ability to co-parent a child. These changes in job status can happen quickly for military personnel and can include faraway travel. Military parents are aware of their unpredictable job situations and should account for them in any child custody agreement drafted.

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 Posted on October 19,2020 in Divorce

When a couple is married and one spouse is the primary earner, that spouse’s Social Security benefits are intended to help fund retirement for both people. A lot of older Texas couples are divorcing closer to their retirement years, but that does not remove Social Security benefits for one spouse. Instead, that spouse might be able to obtain benefits based on the other spouse’s lifetime earnings.

Half benefit available for longtime ex-spouses

When a marriage lasts for at least a decade and ends in divorce, the spouse who earned less among the two already met the first qualifier to obtain benefits. That is at least a decade of marriage prior to divorce. Age is another qualifier. The former spouse seeking benefits and the primary earner each must be at least 62 years of age or otherwise qualified to draw a Social Security benefit. When the ex-spouse seeking a benefit files based on a former spouse’s lifetime earnings, the ex-spouse could get a benefit equal to half the amount of the primary earner.

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 Posted on September 23,2020 in Child Custody

Like most other states, Texas law allows you to have an active role in your child's life after a divorce. You and your son or daughter's other parent may be allowed to create the terms of a parenting plan that will govern how your child is raised. Working in good faith to create this plan can help to show your son or daughter that meeting his or her needs is your top priority.

Make sure that the plan is reasonable

It is important that you can manage to transport your child to school, to the other parent's house and to extracurricular activities with relative ease. If your child is used to spending time with a babysitter, that person should remain a part of your son or daughter's life. Depending on how old your child is, it may be worthwhile to solicit his or her input when crafting a parenting plan.

Remember that your child's needs outweigh yours

When crafting a custody or visitation plan, you should always remember that your child's needs are more important than what you want. Therefore, you shouldn't insist on a particular arrangement just because it is convenient for you or because you want to win the negotiation. In most cases, your former partner is also making sacrifices for the good of your child whether you recognize them or not.

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 Posted on August 22,2020 in Divorce

When couples in Texas decide to get divorced, they are frequently focused on dividing their marital assets equally. To make sure that the property division is equal, divorcing spouses should consider the potential tax consequences. Some assets may be subject to higher taxes, which may make them worth less than taking other assets instead.

Taxes and different types of retirement accounts

Many divorcing couples have retirement accounts that will need to be divided. However, the types of retirement accounts need to be considered when deciding how to divide them. For example, if a couple has both a Roth and a traditional IRA that are equal in account values, choosing to let each spouse keep one might seem to be equal. However, Roth IRAs are funded with post-tax dollars while traditional IRAs are funded with pre-tax dollars. This means that the spouse who takes the Roth IRA will receive the account's full value at the time that distributions are taken while the person receiving the traditional IRA will have to pay taxes on the amounts that are withdrawn.

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 Posted on August 07,2020 in Divorce

If you are married and considering divorce in Texas, you are not alone. There are several reasons why a marriage can fall apart, and divorce has lost the taboo that it had among older generations. Nearly half of first-time marriages, 42%, end in divorce, and that percentage increases with each subsequent marriage.

What is no-fault divorce?

Several decades ago, states did not allow married couples to get a divorce without a substantial reason, such as adultery or domestic abuse. Though these laws were presumably intended to protect the sanctity of marriage, they resulted in some fabricated stories from individuals stuck in a bad marriage. The rise in divorce rates in recent years is likely due in part to the advent of no-fault divorce, which allows individuals to get a divorce without proving that the other spouse committed a major transgression. Now, you can file for a divorce and simply claim that you and your spouse have irreconcilable differences.

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 Posted on July 25,2020 in Divorce

Your children's ability to thrive after a divorce depends in part on whether you and the other parent are able to successfully co-parent together in Texas, or anywhere else in the country. Starting with the custody agreement and continuing through every communication that you have, both parents will need to put the children's interests first and put their own ego and sensitivities aside.

The custody agreement can help co-parenting

Your co-parenting begins with the custody agreement. It is important to make sure that the custody agreement considers the children's own circumstances as opposed to imposing something on them for the parents' convenience. You will need to decide how to rotate the children between the parents' homes in a way that accommodates their schedules. You should avoid overcommitting to a schedule that you cannot uphold.

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 Posted on June 25,2020 in Child Custody

In a worst-case scenario, a divorced parent in Texas may resort to parental alienation to try to get revenge against the other parent. The practice is very destructive and can do long-term damage to the children. As a result, courts will act very strongly when they learn that one parent is engaging in this behavior. It is vital to learn when this is happening and act quickly.

What is parental alienation?

Parental alienation occurs when one parent badmouths the other to the children, feeding them falsehoods meant to destroy their relationship with the other parent. The parent does this because they feel that it is their way of getting back at the other parent for the divorce. The alienating parent is usually an angry individual who has a certain need that the children fulfill with validating that parent's behavior. Thus, you can see how parental alienation actually becomes a symbiotic relationship between the alienator and the children.

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 Posted on May 28,2020 in Child Custody

Shared custody arrangements in Texas truly requires that the two parents be able to partner for the good of their children. Co-parenting with someone with whom you may have had an unsuccessful relationship is not always easy. However, putting the past aside and incorporating sound and sensible rules can help you form a lasting and productive relationship that can support shared custody.

Be careful how you talk

In a shared custody situation, your words matter. This encompasses both what you speak about your ex and what you say to him or her. It is critical to never say anything negative about the other parent to or around your children. You must also learn how to communicate respectfully. Even if you were unable to communicate during your relationship with your ex, it is vital to set aside the past and learn how to talk now.

The children come first

Your parenting arrangement must also be focused on the children. First and foremost, everything that you do should be mindful of what is best for them. Since you want to create a childhood that will enable your kids to become well-adjusted adults, make sure that their needs come first. Children need to know that their opinions matter and that they are listened to by both parents. To the extent that any co-parenting arrangement needs to be adjusted, you should periodically reevaluate the plan and make changes as necessary.

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