Your divorce will be unique to you, and it will follow its own unique path. While the divorce terms that every couple must resolve don’t vary, the manner in which they are resolved and the decisions reached are distinct. In other words, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to divorce.
Having the professional legal guidance of an experienced Round Rock divorce attorney in your corner from the start can provide you with a more accurate picture of what you’re facing and can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case.
The Legal Process Is Challenging
The divorce process in Texas is legally challenging to begin with, and the emotional impact of divorce makes it that much more difficult for those going through it to get a handle on things. If you approach your divorce from the perspective of simply dealing with whatever your divorcing spouse sends your way, you can quickly find yourself in over your head.
Your seasoned divorce lawyer will help you see the big picture when it comes to your divorce, which includes all the following:
Gathering all the financial documentation necessary to establish your full range of marital assets and to support your position in relation to the division of marital property, child support, and alimony
Ensuring that you stay on the right side of all deadlines
Establishing your divorce priorities, which will guide your negotiations
Fleshing out a legal strategy that supports your divorce priorities
Helping you navigate the path forward with your rights intact
Avoiding the mistakes that too many people facing divorce make
With your savvy Round Rock divorce attorney backing you up, you can proceed with the confidence that comes from knowing you’re in good hands.
You Have Options
Many people approach divorce from a black-and-white perspective. While you may feel as if things will either go your way or they won’t, that isn’t a fair assessment of the divorce process.
The bottom line is that you do have options, and if you and your divorcing spouse can find a way to work together, you’ll keep decision-making authority between yourselves, which is generally considered optimal.
Few people would choose to have a complete stranger make primary decisions that will affect their finances and their parenting rights well into the future, and if you and your soon-to-be ex are both committed to avoiding this, you can remain the architects of your own divorce terms.
Negotiating terms between yourselves doesn’t necessarily mean sitting down at the kitchen table and magically coming to agreements that work for the whole family, which is more of an urban legend than anything else.
Instead, your negotiations will include whatever amount of involvement from outside sources you need to hammer out fair terms that you’re both willing to sign off on.
Options include:
Negotiating between yourselves with the focused legal counsel of your respective divorce attorneys backing you up, which is always advised
Turning to your respective divorce lawyers to negotiate on behalf of each of you
Heading to mediation – where a professional mediator, in their role as a neutral third party, will help you explore your best options
Keeping an open mind about the course your divorce will take can set the stage for a less contentious case, which tends to benefit everyone involved, including your shared children.
Keeping Your Emotions in Check
You are going through one of life’s most challenging transitions, and if you’re not plagued by cascading emotions, you are the exception rather than the rule. The flip side of this, however, is that you are also at a crossroads in which you must protect your parental and financial rights moving forward, which means you need to be on top of your game.
Your dedicated Round Rock divorce attorney will ensure that you understand what’s at stake in your case, that you are well acquainted with your options, that your priorities are established, and that you make well-informed decisions that support your rights and your goals throughout the legal process.
While there is no surefire means of separating your emotions from your negotiations, having a formidable divorce lawyer guiding you skillfully forward toward divorce terms that work for you can make all the difference.
Making key decisions about your children or your finances based on emotions can lead to consequences that are difficult to overcome. A much better approach is taking the time that you need to grieve the loss of your marriage while working closely with your accomplished divorce attorney to address your unresolved terms head-on.
Your Divorcing Spouse May Not Be on the Up-and-Up
If you were blindsided by your divorce, processing the information may be about as much as you can handle at this point. It’s not unusual to be devastated by the circumstances of divorce, and the last thing most people expect is for the person they married to turn on them in the face of hard times.
Divorce is such a stressful process, however, that it can bring out the worst in people and can lead them to do things that they otherwise might not, which can include engaging in financial shenanigans in order to keep more assets for themselves.
The more property that is involved in your divorce, the more opportunity there is for your spouse to engage in fraud on the marital estate. And if they are more closely involved in your family’s finances, the easier it will be for them to do so.
Signs that your spouse may be engaged in financial funny business include all the following:
Undervaluing assets that you thought were worth more
Overestimating expenses beyond what you consider reasonable
Becoming secretive about your finances
Claiming diminished assets when the evidence doesn’t back the claim up
Being cagey with the financial documentation in your divorce
Your resourceful Round Rock lawyer knows the warning signs of financial infidelity – which is also known as the other kind of cheating – and will know which steps to take in order to protect your financial rights.
The more complicated your finances are, the more wiggle room there is to engage in financial fraud, and often the answer is to bring in a financial forensic specialist who is well prepared to assess your marital estate accurately in its entirety.
Paying Attention to Social Media
It’s gotten to the point that many of us bare it all on social media – whether that means a glammed-up version of the truth or the stark reality of things. While the merits and drawbacks of social media are often debated, the fact is that social media can play a serious role in how your divorce is resolved.
The impact of social media can work both ways. Social media can reveal secrets that your spouse would prefer to stay hidden in relation to your divorce, but you could also reveal more than you intended to and more than you should, which could come back to haunt your case. Consider the following primary considerations when it comes to social media and divorce:
If your spouse is claiming few assets in your divorce, but there is photographic proof of their lavish lifestyle, expensive hobbies, or elaborate purchases recorded for all to see on social media, it can speak to financial wrongdoing.
If your spouse highlights their promotion at work on a professional social media platform, it can make it far more difficult for them to claim lower earnings or a diminished financial capacity in relation to your divorce.
If your spouse shares a steady stream of posts about their party lifestyle, it can send a message that they’re not well suited to filling the primary custodial role in your shared children’s lives. The courts are invested in your children’s best interests, and a parent who is focused on their own fun and good times may not be up to the task of meeting your shared children’s needs.
Ranting and raving on social media about your divorce is another bad look. Texas courts are looking for mature parents who are able to control their emotions appropriately – for their children’s sake, if nothing else. In other words, you shouldn’t turn to social media to fill the role that a trusted family member or confidante is better suited to.
At the point that divorce and social media intersect, you should have no expectation of privacy – regardless of how careful you are with your privacy settings. All it takes is a screenshot for one lapse in judgment to be permanently captured.
The best policy when it comes to social media and divorce is backing away until your case is finalized but paying attention to your spouse’s activity, which could work in your favor.
Understanding the Terms of Your Divorce
The building blocks of every divorce are the terms that make it up, and the better you understand divorce terms in Texas, the better prepared you’ll be to work together with your determined divorce attorney in focused defense of your parental and financial rights.
The Division of Marital Property
The assets that you, your spouse, or you and your spouse came to own during your marriage are classified as marital property, and in Texas, these must be divided between you in a just and right manner in divorce. This means that property division must be fair in relation to a wide range of relevant circumstances.
While marital property is often split evenly, there are unique situations in which it isn’t.
Separate property refers to those assets that either of you owned before you were married and that you kept separate while you were married. Texas begins with the presumption that all assets are marital, which means that, if either of you is claiming separate property, the burden of proof rests with that spouse.
It’s also important to note that, when a separate asset increases in value during a marriage, the increase is likely to be treated as marital property.
Child Custody Arrangements
Child custody in Texas breaks down into physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody establishes the parenting time schedule, while legal custody determines parental decision-making authority.
The State of Texas is always guided by the involved children’s best interests, and – unless there is a specific problem that interferes – this means ensuring that children continue to spend a significant amount of time with each parent, although one parent may take on the primary custodial role, which comes with additional parenting time.
Child Support
Child support is calculated in response to state guidelines. Generally, the parent who earns more pays child support to the other parent even when parenting time is evenly divided. The amount of child support paid is calculated in accordance with the number of minor children covered in the case.
The obligor typically pays 20 percent of their net income for one child, which increases by 5 percent per child up to the fifth child. For 6 or more children, the obligor pays at least 40 percent of their net income.
Alimony
In Texas, alimony is called spousal maintenance, and it only applies when the divorce leaves one spouse without the ability to support themself financially while their ex has the means to help.
Texas sets strict guidelines regarding alimony, which include implementing a cap of $5,000 per month or 20 percent of the obligor’s gross earnings – whichever is less. Further, eligibility for alimony generally doesn’t attach unless the marriage lasted at least 10 years, and for marriages that lasted from 10 to 20 years, alimony’s duration is usually limited to 5 years.
Discuss Your Case with an Experienced Round Rock Divorce Lawyer Today
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a capable Round Rock divorce attorney who will bring the full force of his imposing experience and legal skill in defense of your parental and financial rights and who welcomes the opportunity to help. Learn more by contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 and scheduling a free consultation today.