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spousal
maintenance (alimony) and special needs; and
identification, classification, and equitable
division of property for high-worth estates.
Divorce:
When starting your
divorce, it is first best to perform your own
personal divorce case evaluation. This divorce
evaluation will help you determine what exactly
is at stake legally, emotionally and
financially. Too often, people put the "cart in
front of the horse" and begin the divorce
process without a proper plan and true
perspective of what is to come in the future for
them and/or their children.
We recommend to contact our law office to help
you with your divorce and related matters. A
divorce lawyer will not only be able to provide
you with sound legal advice, but he or she will
also prepare all the paperwork to be filed with
the court. This option is always best if your
case is contested, you can afford to hire a
lawyer, and your matters to settle are rather
complicated.
Child
Custody: In Texas,
the court will do everything it can to promote a
mutual agreement between the parents regarding
custody and visitation. The parties are
encourage to enter into a written agreement
containing provisions for conservator ship and
possession of the child and for modification of
the agreement, including variations from the
standard possession order. The court will review
the agreement and if it believes what is set
forth is in the best interest of the children,
the court will order custody according to the
agreement. If the court finds the agreement is
not in the child’s best interest, the court may
request the parties to submit a revised
agreement or the court may render an order for
the conservator ship and possession of the child.
If a child is 12 years or older, the court may
consider his or her wishes. (Texas Code - Family
Code - Chapters: 5-153.004-153.434)
Child
Support: Texas
child support is typically calculated by using a
Child Support Worksheet. The worksheet will
generate an appropriate Texas child support
obligation according to each spouse’s income and
other relative numeric factors such as taxes
paid and retirement contributions, etc.. Once
this amount is determined it is essential to
take a look at any appropriate Texas child
support deviation factors that may be applicable
to the situation.
Property
Division: In
Texas, the property and debt issues are
typically settled between the parties by a
signed Marital Settlement Agreement or the
property award is actually order and decreed by
the District Court within the Decree of Divorce.
The court shall order a division
of the following real and personal property,
wherever situated, in a manner that the court
deems just and right, having due regard for the
rights of each party and any children of the
marriage:
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1)
property that was acquired by either
spouse while domiciled in another
state and that would have been
community property if the spouse who
acquired the property had been
domiciled in this state at the time
of the acquisition; or
(2) property that was acquired by
either spouse in exchange for real
or personal property and that would
have been community property if the
spouse who acquired the property so
exchanged had been domiciled in this
state at the time of its
acquisition.
Since Texas is a "Community
Property" state, all marital
property will be divided in a 50-50
fashion according to the court
unless agreed to otherwise by the
divorcing spouses. This means that
everything that is considered "up
for grabs" in the divorce will be
distributed equally to each spouse.
Obviously this does not entail
splitting a car in half so to speak,
but rather each spouse will be
rewarded with assets of equal value. |
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