Should You Represent Yourself in Your Divorce Case?
In recent years I have noticed an ever increasing number of pro se litigants (people who represent themselves) at the courthouse. I mentioned this to a judge who estimated that 50% of her docket was comprised of pro se cases. Most of these people are using divorce forms that they purchased online. They pay approximately $200 or so for the fill-in-the-blank divorce forms that are supposed to be acceptable in their jurisdiction.
Among the many problems of a divorce form website is Continue reading →
Relocation Cases
Here is an interesting post about relocation cases in the state of Nevada. The author is a college professor in Nevada who blogs about his divorce experience. He describes the relocation statute and how, in his opinion, it is usually applied in a way that allows the custodial parent to move the child away from the non-custodial parent.
The Nevada statute gives very specific guidance to the court making such a decision but Continue reading →
Marriage Counseling Before Divorce
It is surprising to me the number of people who file for divorce without having first attempted marriage counseling. In those cases where the marriage is particularly short and there are no children it is understandable, but when a marriage has lasted a decade or longer or the spouses are still raising children then marriage counseling is usually at least worth trying.
I have never advised a client to get divorced, as I feel that this is a very personal decision and Continue reading →
How to Break the News of Divorce to Your Kids
One of the trickiest parts of a divorce for parents is breaking the news of the separation to the kids. The issues are different depending on the ages of your children but it is always an important conversation. I wrote a very comprehensive guide to how to prepare for and handle this situation on our Lakeway divorce site, you can view the post here.
The guide covers general suggestions that apply to all situations regardless of age and has additional specific tips that are applicable to preschool age children, elementary school age children and teenagers. If you or someone close to you is in this position I really recommend you take a look at this guide for some tips on how to handle this discussion in a way that will best help your child deal with it. And if you are considering divorce and have not tried marriage counseling yet then it is worth the attempt before filing a divorce case.
Guest Post – Always Refuse a Police Search
Although the Morgan Law Firm focuses exclusively on divorce and family law, we also like to provide our readers with sound tips on how to handle common legal issues that arise. Today’s guest post is on what to do when the police ask to search your vehicle and it is by Virginia lawyer Andrew Flusche, who focuses on helping drivers fight their Virginia reckless driving tickets. He also wrote the highly-rated consumer book, Fight Your Virginia Reckless Driving Ticket. Find Andrew on Google+. Let’s hear from Andrew:
Even people who don’t Continue reading →
Key Property Division Valuation Issues in Texas Divorce
The typical procedure for Texas divorce lawyers to analyze property division in a divorce case is to put all the assets and liabilities on a spreadsheet and fill in the values. At that point the division usually starts to make sense as you assign certain assets and liabilities to each of the parties. Often these assignments are relatively simple and agreed to. For example, everyone may agree that the wife should get the house and be responsible for the mortgage so you automatically fill in your spreadsheet that way on that particular asset and debt.
Sometimes the parties may have a dispute over how the overall split should be done. Continue reading →
Your Income Tax Return and the Child Dependency Exemption
Since April 15th is approaching I thought it might be a good idea to address a common family law/tax question. The question is as follows: post-divorce which party is entitled to take the dependency exemption for the children, the person paying child support or the person receiving child support. People are frequently confused about this, in no small part because most divorce decrees are silent on the issue. Continue reading →
Child Support Modification in Texas – What is the Standard?
This article will outline the current Texas law on child support modification and explain when it makes sense to pursue a child support modification.
Child support modification is addressed in Texas Family Code Section 156.401 through Section 156.409. Whether you are the payor who is seeking a reduction or the payee seeking an increase, the standard is the same. There are two possible avenues to seek a modification: Continue reading →
Information on Travis County Divorce
Austin is located in Travis County, Texas. Where to file for divorce in Texas is determined by county, specifically it must be a county where one of the parties has resided for at least the past 90 days at the time of filing. This is in addition to the requirement that one of the parties must be a domiciliary of the State of Texas for the past six months at the time of filing.
Location and Phone Number for Travis County District Clerk
For residents of Travis County, Texas, a divorce petition (this is the document that begins a divorce case) is filed with the Travis County District Clerk’s office. Their office is located at 1000 Guadalupe Street, Austin, Texas 78701. Their phone number is (512) 854-9457. Continue reading →
Austin Divorce Lawyer Reviews
Everyone plans on it being forever when they say “I do” but the reality is that it doesn’t always work out that way. When it becomes apparent to you that this is your situation, then you want to make sure your divorce is handled appropriately. The disintegration of something that you thought was permanent is always disappointing but that does not mean that you have to allow yourself to be treated unfairly as you go your separate ways.
Make Sure Your Rights Are Protected
The best way to ensure that you get a fair result and that your rights are protected is to Continue reading →