If you’re a father who is facing divorce, you may feel especially vulnerable. If your wife has done the lion’s share of the parenting to date, you may have concerns about what your parenting time is going to look like, and your list of questions may go on and on.
Fortunately, the answers to some of the questions that divorce attorneys field most frequently from dads like you can help you gain a greater perspective regarding your own case. Reaching out for the trusted legal counsel of an experienced Round Rock divorce attorney early in the process is one of the most important steps you can take.
Will my ex become the primary custodial parent?
To begin, it’s important to point out that Texas courts don’t start with the presumption that mothers are better prepared to take on the primary custodial role than fathers are.
Instead, they base physical and legal custody decisions on the involved children’s best interests, and in marriages in which the spouses do take on traditional roles, factors like the following can support the mother being awarded primary custody:
The amount of active parenting each spouse has engaged in to date
The relationship each parent has forged with the children
How well the status quo – or the children’s current living situation in terms of home, education, and community – serves them
The children’s ages and developmental stages – very young children who are nursing, for example, generally need to spend the majority of their time with their mothers
If you and your children’s other parent didn’t divide your responsibilities according to traditional roles, your wife may not be better positioned for the role of primary custodial parent. Further, more and more ex’s are dividing parenting time evenly or nearly evenly, and you could be one of them.
Finally, when the circumstances support it, fathers are awarded the primary custodial role. In the end, every case is unique to the unique situation involved, and your skilled Round Rock divorce attorney will help to ensure that your case supports your parental rights.
What can I do to increase the amount of parenting time I receive?
As mentioned, Texas courts are motivated by the children’s best interests, and the more involved you are and the greater interest you take in their lives, the better positioned you’ll be to receive a generous parenting time schedule.
Texas courts begin with the presumption that children are better off when they are allowed to spend a significant amount of time with each parent, which helps establish your right to ample parenting time.
There are also steps you can take to help ensure that you will be awarded an advantageous child custody schedule:
Attend your children’s school functions and extracurricular activities.
Take your visitation schedule with your kids seriously, which includes being on time when you pick them up and drop them off and letting your ex know if something is holding you up, which is nearly inevitable at one point or another.
Be flexible and willing to chip in when your children’s mother needs you to.
Treat your ex with the same level of respect that you appreciate.
Commit to being the best co-parent you can be and fully support your ex’s relationship with your shared children, which includes not putting your children in the middle and not badmouthing their mother in front of them.
Mind your p’s and q’s on social media – this information can find its way into court.
Contribute in a meaningful way to the decision-making process regarding primary matters in your children’s lives, which is legal custody.
The bottom line is that Texas courts expect parents to support one another in relation to co-parenting for the sake of the children, and by demonstrating that you are all in, you greatly improve your chances of receiving a favorable parenting time schedule that will allow you to have your children for a considerable number of overnights.
Will I be allowed to continue making important decisions on behalf of my children?
In Texas, child custody is addressed in terms of parenting time, physical custody, and legal custody, which determines decision-making authority. Just as Texas courts begin with the presumption that children need both parents in their lives, they also begin with the presumption that both parents are equipped to make important decisions on behalf of their children.
Only if there is a significant reason for cutting a father out of the process will a Texas court take that step.
The kinds of decisions addressed by legal custody in Texas include all the following:
Where your children attend school and daycare
The medical attention your children receive
The religious upbringing your children receive
The extracurricular activities and travel that your children participate in
Generally, both parents contribute to the decision-making process, which can play out in all the following ways:
You and your children’s mother can continue making important decisions on behalf of your children together.
You and your children’s mother can continue making important decisions on behalf of your children together – while one of you is awarded the authority to break a tie if it’s necessary to do so.
You and your children’s mother can divide the decisions between you according to topic.
By actively participating in the decision-making process, you not only exercise your parental rights but also demonstrate your commitment to your children’s well-being, which can strengthen your bid for more expansive parenting time.
Protect your parental rights and secure your future. Speak with a trusted Round Rock divorce attorney for strategic legal support.
If we share parenting time evenly, will my child support payments be reduced?
To begin, it’s important to establish that Texas courts do not presume that child support is the father’s responsibility. Child support is calculated according to the children’s best interests, and as such, the higher earner generally makes child support payments to the other parent, who is often the primary custodial parent.
Even when parents split their parenting time right down the middle, however, the parent who earns more is very likely to have a child support obligation. In other words, if you’re the higher earner, increasing your parenting time schedule may not affect the child support amount you’re required to pay.
While men still earn more than women statistically in the United States, and women are more likely to stay home with the children than men are, many spouses earn at similar levels, and women are far more likely than they used to be to earn more than their husbands. As such, the father isn’t always the parent responsible for paying child support.
Another important point to keep in mind is that spending more time with your children benefits them and you at a level that paying less child support can never reach. Increased parenting time is a worthy pursuit – even though it may not decrease your child support payments at all.
The basic calculation used for child support payments in Texas is as follows:
For 1 child, the higher earner pays 20 percent of their net income.
For 2 children, the higher earner pays 25 percent of their net income.
For 3 children, the higher earner pays 30 percent of their net income.
For 4 children, the higher earner pays 35 percent of their net income.
For 5 children, the higher earner pays 40 percent of their net income.
For 6 or more children, the higher earner pays at least 40 percent of their net income.
Will I be required to pay alimony?
Many divorcing fathers have serious concerns about covering both child support and alimony, but these worries are generally overblown. Alimony – or spousal maintenance – is by no means the rule in Texas, and it’s awarded considerably less often than most people realize.
Only if your divorce leaves your ex-wife without the means to cover her own reasonable needs while you have the financial ability to assist will alimony play a role.
If your ex is awarded alimony, it will be set only for an amount and duration that allows her to become more financially independent through education or job training.
Additionally, Texas – unlike many other states –sets a maximum amount when it comes to alimony, which means even the highest earners can’t be required to pay more – unless the matter is addressed in a legally binding prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.
The kinds of factors that Texas courts turn to when making alimony determinations include all the following:
The length of your marriage
You and your wife’s ages, overall mental and physical health, employment histories, and earning power in relation to the current job market
Your contributions to one another’s careers throughout your marriage – For example, if your wife supported you while you earned a degree or if she stayed home with your children while you built your career, it could support an award of alimony
The size of you and your spouse’s separate estates – or those assets that either of you owned prior to your marriage and that you kept separate throughout
Whether either of you committed fraud on the community estate, such as by spending down, giving away, or hiding marital assets prior to your divorce
Texas doesn’t employ an alimony calculator, which means that the amount of alimony owed is left to the presiding judge’s discretion. The length of your marriage, however, will guide how long you’ll be required to pay alimony – if it’s awarded in your case. Consider the following basics:
If you were married for at least 10 years but fewer than 20, alimony will be awarded for a maximum duration of 5 years.
If you were married for from 20 to 30 years, alimony will be awarded for a maximum duration of 7 years.
If you were married for more than 30 years, alimony will be awarded for a maximum duration of 10 years.
I had an affair. Can it affect my divorce terms?
The vast majority of divorces in Texas are not based on fault, such as adultery. Fault-based divorces are contested divorces, which means they are resolved in court, and they are not only more expensive but also take longer to finalize, are harder on the kids, and tend to be more emotionally fraught.
If your wife chooses to ignore all these concerns, she could file for a divorce that’s based on your adultery, but she’ll face those obstacles listed in the process.
To begin, your wife will need to prove that you committed adultery, which generally isn’t an easy task. If your affair, however, was not a secret, the path forward toward a fault-based divorce should be less legally challenging, but it will almost certainly be more expensive and more time-consuming.
If your wife is interested in putting the matter behind her, going to court is unlikely to be an inviting option.
If your wife does pursue a fault-based divorce, the fact of your affair can directly affect your terms, including the division of your marital assets and alimony. It’s unlikely, however, to affect your parenting time schedule.
If you had an affair and are facing a divorce, protecting your rights from the start is key, which makes it time to reach out for the focused legal guidance of an accomplished Round Rock divorce attorney.
How will our marital assets be divided?
In Texas, all the assets that you, your wife, or you and your wife together came to own during your marriage are considered marital property. Upon divorce, these must be divided in a manner that is deemed just and right, and while this can mean equally, it doesn’t always. The circumstances of your marriage and divorce will guide the fair division of your assets.
Speak with an Experienced Round Rock Divorce Attorney Today
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a formidable Round Rock divorce attorney who understands the vulnerability you feel as a father facing divorce and will leave no stone unturned in his focused protection of your financial and parental rights. Learn more by contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 and scheduling a free consultation today.