Family law handles cases that directly affect families, which makes this area of the law of significant importance. If you are facing a divorce, have a child custody case, or need a post-decree term modification, you will turn to family law. Matters related to adoption, paternity, and issues handled by Child Protection Services are also addressed by family law. Tackle your legal concerns head-on by consulting with an experienced Valley Mills family lawyer today.   

Cases Involving Children

In cases involving children, Texas courts are always guided by their best interests, which directly affect how related cases are resolved. 

Child Custody Arrangements

Prevailing wisdom holds that when both parents are directly involved in their children’s lives, the children are better off for it. This means that couples can generally expect to share both physical and legal custody – unless there is a specific and serious reason for putting significant limits in place. 

Legal Custody

Legal custody is called conservatorship in Texas, and it determines decision-making authority about big picture parenting decisions like the following:

• The children’s health care
• The children’s schooling
• The children’s religious education
• The children’s participation in extracurriculars and travel

Physical Custody

Physical custody is called possession and access in Texas, and it determines the parenting time schedule. Parenting time can be shared relatively equally. However, the unique circumstances involved may support one parent taking on the primary custodial role while the other has a visitation schedule. 

Child Support 

The State of Texas uses careful guidelines to calculate child support obligations. The basics include the following:

• When one parent is in the primary custodial role, the noncustodial parent generally makes the child support payments.
• When parenting time is shared more equally, the parent with higher earnings generally has the child support obligation.
• The child support amount is based on the number of children addressed by the order and the paying parent’s income. 

Adoption 

The adoption process in Texas can address adoption by family members, fostering that leads to adoptions, and the adoption of newborn children. Adoption is a beautiful option that supports families and children, but the legalities are complex. Having skilled legal counsel backing you up is always advised. 

Paternity

When the parents are not married at the time of a child’s birth, paternity must be established. This can be accomplished through an acknowledgement of paternity (AOP) in the hospital, which is a streamlined process, or at a later date, which requires filing with the state. To file an AOP, both parents must be in voluntary agreement on the matter. 

When the parents are not in agreement, paternal rights are generally established through court-ordered DNA testing. Either parent or the court itself can initiate testing.

Child Protective Services 

Child Protective Services gets involved with family law cases that address alleged child abuse or neglect. They not only investigate reports but also collaborate with the court regarding services and interventions. Their involvement can also initiate family law cases.

Divorce Terms

In addition to parental rights, family law addresses important financial rights that relate to divorce. 

The Division of Marital Assets

The assets a married couple acquires during their marriage are considered marital property that must be distributed between them fairly on divorce. This just and right distribution can amount to a 50/50 split, but it is not a guaranteed outcome. 

The kinds of factors that can play a role include the following:

• The length of the marriage
• Whether either party engaged in wrongdoing or committed fraud on the community, such as spending down marital assets prior to divorce
• The size of each spouse’s separate estate
• Each spouse’s income and overall earning power

Separate assets refer to those properties either spouse owned prior to marriage and kept separate during the marriage. Any intermingling of marital and separate property can blur the dividing line between them.

Spousal Maintenance

Spousal maintenance, or alimony, applies only in very specific cases. Generally, the marriage must have lasted at least 10 years before spousal maintenance is even considered. Additionally, the spouse seeking alimony must face the inability to cover their own minimal reasonable needs as a result of the divorce. Finally, the paying spouse must have the financial means to provide assistance.

Do Not Wait to Consult with an Experienced Valley Mills Family Attorney

Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a compassionate Valley Mills family lawyer who has dedicated his impressive practice to fiercely advocating for optimal case resolutions that honor our valued clients’ parental and financial rights. The outcome of your case is important to your future.

We ensure to protect your rights and pursue your best interests. Do not hesitate to reach out by contacting us online or calling us at 254-781-4222 to schedule a free consultation and learn more about what we can do to help you today.