Posted by Mary E. Ramos | Divorce
Texas has a mandatory sixty-day waiting period from the date a person files an Original Petition for Divorce before they are eligible to formally receive a divorce from the Court. This is outlined in Section 6.702 of the Texas Family Code. In almost all circumstances, you will be required to wait the statutorily-required sixty days before you are able to finalize your divorce.
Posted by Mary E. Ramos | Divorce
The reality of any family law matter is that the costs associated can be very high. This is problematic for low income parties who still need competent representation. If you are in need of legal representation but can’t afford a retainer and attorney’s fees, the Houston area has several organizations which offer pro bono or reduced cost legal representation.
Posted by Mary E. Ramos | Divorce, Top 5 Divorce Articles
Marriage can be confusing enough on its own, but several states still have laws on the books that may make you scratch your head.
Posted by Mary E. Ramos | Divorce
If a court has determined that you have met the burden of proof for needing spousal maintenance, the next step is determining for what period of time you may be eligible to receive spousal maintenance. The Texas Family Code previously stated that a party could only receive spousal maintenance for a maximum of three years. The Code was recently amended and now states that a person is eligible to receive spousal maintenance for the maximum of:
Posted by Mary E. Ramos | Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce, Visitation and Access
Under the Texas Family Code, the right to receive child support and the right to visitation are two independent rights that do not have any weight on the other right. The ability to visit with your children is not dependent on your ability to pay child support. The obligation to pay child support does not disappear if the responsible parent is denied visitation or chooses to no longer possess the child during their periods of visitation.
Posted by Mary E. Ramos | Divorce, Top 5 Divorce Articles, Uncontested Divorce
Transfer of property
Your Final Decree of Divorce will include language awarding property to you and your ex, however that is not the final step in the process of awarding property. Make sure that, if relevant to your case, documents such as Special Warranty Deeds, Deeds of Trust or Powers of Attorneys are signed, notarized and filed with the proper entities. Don’t wait until an issue pops up down the road to discover that you never transferred the title to a piece of property, make sure it’s all handled quickly after your divorce is finalized.
Posted by Mary E. Ramos | Divorce, Top 5 Divorce Articles
Just don’t. Divorce is hard enough on children without added pressure or emotional blackmail coming from the parents. Don’t use your kids as pawns, don’t disparage your ex and don’t involve them in any pending litigation. It reflects poorly on you, your judge won’t appreciate it and it will have harmful effects on your children.
Posted by Mary E. Ramos | General, Top 5 Divorce Articles
Your family law attorney is there to guide you through the process of a divorce or family law dispute and understands that you are going to have questions about the process. But every communication with your attorney will result in being billed, so save your small questions for a weekly status email with your attorney. This does not mean you should avoid communicating important information to your attorney, just think twice before you send off a quick email asking for information that could be found elsewhere or saved for another time.
Posted by Mary E. Ramos | Consultations, Divorce, Hiring a Divorce Lawyer
The primary reason we charge for attorney consultations is customer service. Our goal is to provide the highest level of service possible while keeping attorney fees under control. Years after opening our doors, we found that free consultations were negatively affecting the level of service we were able to provide to our clients. During this time we unable to timely respond to client inquiries and in some cases had to start setting trial dates further out to allow the firm to better prepare for each case. While a short delay is the better option than going to trial unprepared, we felt that to provide better service we needed to expedite all cases whenever possible.
Posted by Mary E. Ramos | Divorce
Under Texas Law and the Texas Family Code, a child born during a marriage is presumed to be the child of the husband and wife. This means that the husband of the marriage is presumed to legally be the father, not the biological father. So if a woman gives birth to a child whose father is not her husband, her husband is still presumed to be the father unless additional steps are taken to adjudicate the paternity of the biological father. Dads if you have a divorce where you are not the father call today!
