Divorce and child custody concerns outside of divorce are primary family law matters, but if you’re facing either, it’s unlikely that creative solutions are on your mind.
When your financial and parental rights are on the line, anxiety tends to mount, and the idea of resolving your differences with your soon-to-be ex amicably may not seem like a possibility. However, you can explore creative solutions to these and other family law concerns even if you and your partner don’t see eye-to-eye and even if the resentment you’re feeling is unlikely to lift.
Most people would prefer to make their own decisions about their finances and children, which can be very motivating when resolving divorce and child custody matters. Turn to an experienced Killeen family law attorney for the skilled legal guidance you need.
Why Keeping Your Family Law Concern out of Court Matters
Sometimes, heading to court is the only reasonable means of resolving family law issues like divorce and child custody, but when both parties recognize the value of keeping the case out of court, the likelihood of doing so becomes far more accessible.
This possibility is available even if you aren’t the best of friends. The fact is that you’re facing a legal battle, which means it’s unlikely that your hearts are bursting with love for one another.
When it comes to exploring creative family law solutions, keep all of the following considerations in mind:
Resolving your terms outside of court is very likely to be both less costly and less time-consuming.
Resolving your terms outside of court protects your privacy.
Resolving your terms outside of court can be far less traumatic for your children.
Resolving your terms outside of court can lessen the pressure that may be consuming you.
While finding creative solutions to the terms you need to resolve doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy, it can lighten your load and pave a smoother path toward your post-divorce future.
Divorce Terms
If you’re facing a divorce, you can expect the process to be unique to you, your partner, and your unique circumstances, even though the terms you’ll need to resolve are the same terms that every divorcing couple has to hammer out. While some terms may not present much of a problem, others can. If you’re inclined to gamble on the court’s ruling, you could be in for a rude awakening.
While the court must address your divorce terms fairly and in accordance with the law, it is under time constraints that make it difficult to consider the nuanced variables that apply to your situation. Even if the court could take all the time in the world, it can never understand your unique experience the way you and your divorcing spouse do.
The court’s shortcomings are reason enough to pull out all the stops and take exploring creative family law solutions seriously, which will likely serve your best interests when determining your divorce terms.
The Division of Marital Property
The assets that you and your spouse acquired during your marriage are considered marital assets, and who purchased what and whose name is on what has no bearing on this fact. Upon divorce, marital assets must be divided fairly, which may or may not mean equally, depending on the following wide-ranging variables like the following:
Each spouse’s separate assets, which refers to assets owned prior to marriage and kept separate throughout the marriage
The overall size of the marital estate
The contributions each spouse made to the marriage, including homemaking and caring for the children
Any wrongdoing by either spouse – even in no-fault divorces, or divorces that are based on insupportability
Any dissipation of marital funds in an effort to diminish the marital estate at the time of division
The tax considerations that apply to the proposed division
The division of marital property will likely have significant consequences for your future financials, which is a good reason to give the matter ample consideration before signing off on terms.
It’s important to note that separate assets are often not as cut-and-dried as they might seem. Any commingling of marital and separate assets can weaken the line of distinction, and any increase in the value of the separate asset over the course of the marriage is likely to be considered marital.
Child Custody Arrangements
Child custody arrangements in Texas are divided into physical custody and legal custody, which assigns the authority to make the following primary decisions on behalf of your children:
The medical care and attention your children receive
Where your children attend school or daycare
Your children’s religious upbringing
Your children’s participation in extracurricular activities and travel
Where your children make their primary home
Legal custody can be sole or joint, but when shared, one parent is sometimes awarded the right to break a tie when a consensus can’t be reached. Some parents also divide legal custody between themselves according to the category of decision that needs to be made. For instance, one parent may take on extracurriculars and religious education while the other tackles medical care and education.
Physical custody sets the parenting time schedule, which determines when the children are with one parent or the other. One parent may become the primary custodial parent, but the other is likely to receive generous parenting time. Texas courts consider the children’s best interests, which generally means maximizing the time the children spend with each parent.
Child Support
Child support involves a more straightforward process than most divorce terms. While many factors are considered in child support calculations, the parent who earns more is likely to make the child support payments – even when parenting time is split evenly. When one spouse takes on the role of primary custodial parent, he or she generally becomes the obligee, or the parent receiving support.
While child support is generally owed until the covered child reaches the age of 18 or graduates from high school, whichever comes later, there are instances when the obligation is ongoing. For example, if a child has a disability that requires considerable care or develops one before aging out of child support, child support payments can be indefinite.
Alimony
Alimony only applies in limited situations. If divorce leaves one spouse without the means to provide for his or her reasonable needs and the other has the financial ability to help, alimony that is set for a limited duration may be awarded. The goal is to give the recipient time to gain the job skills, education, or job training necessary for greater financial independence.
Your seasoned Killeen family law attorney will help you better understand whether alimony is a possibility in your case and, if it is, what your best options are.
Getting Creative
While each of the terms outlined above is a critical matter based on legal intricacies, it doesn’t mean there isn’t room to get creative in terms of how they’re resolved. When you are facing a family law concern like divorce or child custody terms outside of divorce, remember that understanding your own motivations and priorities can save you a lot of heartache, back and forth, and animosity.
Assess Your Priorities
The stress of family law concerns often leaves the involved parties feeling like they need to fight for every scrap with a scattershot approach instead of taking the time to assess their goals reasonably and working methodically toward them.
Talk to your seasoned family law attorney about what’s most important to you and consider the possibilities within this context. If you’re very willing to compromise on Term X but are less so in relation to Term Y, let this be your guide.
Your Attorney Is an Excellent Resource
Your compassionate family law attorney is a great sounding board and resource with considerable experience facing challenges like yours. Your family law lawyer may introduce resolutions you hadn’t thought of that are worth considering. Having a strategy when it comes to family law matters can prove invaluable, and a savvy Killeen family law attorney can help you.
When It Comes to Your Children
When it comes to your shared children, you and their other parent both want what’s best for them, and when you’re able to focus on this fact, it can make finding common ground far less challenging. If it makes more sense for one of you to take on the role of the primary custodial parent, let that be your guide and work out a schedule based on this starting position.
If a visitation schedule won’t be a good fit for you, considering a more even division from the start can help. The court has standard parenting time schedules you can borrow that make splitting time with the kids less cumbersome, but you can also get creative by designing a schedule that works specifically for your family.
No matter how far apart you and your soon-to-be ex are in relation to child custody, recognizing that you share the same motivations can help you dig deeper.
The Help of Your Respective Family Law Attorneys
If negotiating parenting time terms between yourselves isn’t in the cards, it’s important to recognize that your respective family law attorneys are well equipped to do so on behalf of each of you – and can help you explore possibilities that you may not have considered.
Mediation
Mediation is also an option. Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution at which each party (along with their respective family law attorneys) meets with a professional mediator. This neutral third party helps them explore more creative solutions to their family law concerns.
Many parents find the mediation process far less jarring than court, and it has all the following benefits going for it:
It’s typically less time-consuming and less expensive.
It is a private matter.
It is only binding when mutually acceptable terms are reached and signed off on by both parties.
Writing Your Own Story
No two family law cases are ever the same, and considering that you have the opportunity to write your own ending may help you stay the course. By no means should you accept terms that don’t support your parental or financial rights in the name of finding a creative solution, but you should consider opening up your mind to possibility while keeping your sights trained on your rights.
It’s also important to make a final note about negotiations. If your spouse is fully committed to making your family law case as painful, acrimonious, and challenging as possible, it’s unlikely that your reasonable approach will change this position. In such cases, the surest path forward is generally heading directly to court to present your strongest case and cut your losses.
An Experienced Killeen Family Law Attorney Can Help
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard – proudly serving Killeen, Texas – is an accomplished family law lawyer with a wealth of experience helping clients like you find creative solutions to their pressing concerns – bypassing the need for the court’s intervention.
The outcome of your case is important, so please don’t put off contacting us online or calling us at (254) 781-4222 to schedule your FREE consultation and learn more about what we can do for you today.