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Child Support Overview for Texas families

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Child Support Overview for Texas families with the immense procedure!

Divorce Lawyer in Houston: Are you a parent who is about to embark on a divorce journey, yet have no real idea how to think about child support? It could be that you are the parent who stands to receive child support from an ex-spouse.

On the other hand, the shoe could be on the other foot- you may be the parent who is on the hook to pay child support during and after the divorce. This is a huge financial commitment that you either have the right to receive or to pay. As a result, your not knowing the fundamentals on this subject can make a big difference in the well being of your family.

The next few blog posts from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC will discuss this subject with parents like yourself. We will walk through the calculation of child support, what a “guidelines” level of support is and the steps to modify a child support order- either downwards or upwards.

If at any point during the process of reading this blog post you have questions about a topic that you’ve read please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC.

A free of charge consultation is yours in which one of our licensed family law attorneys can answer any questions you may have on this subject. We take pride in addressing the concerns of the people that live in our community and welcome the opportunity to do so for you and your family.

How does a court determine the level of support that a person has to pay in child support?

I will caution you at this stage that it is unlikely that your divorce or child custody case actually goes before a judge to have the issues of your case decided. The reason for this is that mediation is prescribed before trial and possibly even temporary orders in a case. Point being is that you are forced to attempt to settle your case before ever stepping foot in a courtroom.

With that being said, when we discuss what a court would “order” in terms of child support I don’t necessarily mean that the judge will be looking over your shoulder like some sort of omnipresent being. Rather, I mean what your attorney and the opposing party’s attorney would likely determine to be your child support liability based on your income. Make sense?

At its core, a family law court in Texas is charged with placing the best interests of your child first and foremost when determining a level of child support to order.

While our egos as adults can get in the way of a lot of things, make no mistake that a judge will primarily be concerned with what happens with your child until he or she turns 18 or graduates from high school. Your concerns and your opposing party’s concerns take a distant backseat to the well being and best interests of your child.

What does Net Resources mean exactly?

Divorce Attorney Houston: Child support in Texas is calculated based off of your net resources. Before you get worked up over the words “net” and “resources” I’ll warn you that this blog is not going to become a financial or in-depth math lesson, so breathe easy. I will let you know how a court would likely calculate your net resources.

First and foremost, any and all wages and salary from places of employment are included as well as self-employment income. From there “extras” like:

retirement income rental income capital gains and income from other sources are added together and counted as sources from which a court can determine net monthly income. For most of us, our wages and salaries are what will go into the calculation since the latter sources are not relevant for most parents with young children (based on my experiences).

What if you’re not working? How will your responsibility for child support be determined?

In the event that you are not currently working, you will not get off scot-free in terms of your responsibility to pay child support.

In the event that you are not able to settle your case and proceed to a trial, a judge would presume that you:

earn a salary that is equal to a forty hour work week

wherein you are paid minimum wage based on whatever the federal hourly rate for that wage is at the time of your trial. Unemployment or Underemployment Suppose that you are the party that is likely to have to pay child support as a result of your family law case. You know this and anticipate an order coming down from a court that could really restrict your flexibility in terms of spending money.

Being a quick thinker you purposely cut back on your working or take a job that pays you less- just to stick it to your soon to be ex-spouse. Aside from the fact that you are actually hurting your children the most- is this a move that you can pull without the threat of repercussion?

In a word- no. If your income is less than what you should be able to earn (based on education, work experience, wages of a typical worker in your field, etc.) due to your purposefully being unemployed or underemployed then your earning potential may be taken into consideration for a child support calculation, rather than your actual income.

More on underemployment as well as the levels of child support to be posted tomorrow

Houston Divorce Lawyers: In our blog post tomorrow we will continue to discuss the concept of underemployment and its impact on your child custody or divorce case. Finally, we will get into the meat and potatoes of the percentage of an owing parent (obligor’s) income that is subject to going towards child support.

We thank you for your time and consideration in reading today’s important blog post. We hope that you all will return tomorrow to do the same. If you have friends or family members who may be interested in this topic please be sure to let them know that we are here to help provide answers to questions and concerns ... Continue Reading

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A Child Custody Evaluator's Interaction with your children: Preparing for interviews

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, A Child Custody Evaluator's Interaction with your children: Preparing for interviews with the immense procedure!

Spring TX Divorce Lawyer: If your child custody or divorcecase has a child custody evaluator assigned to it then in nearly all circumstances interviews will take place between the evaluator and your family, including your children.

This is an opportunity for the evaluator to learn more about the children’s impressions of what is going on with their lives so that the judge may become aware of the circumstances a little better. Ultimately the judge is concerned with making decisions that are in the best interests of the children and not what is in your or your opposing party’s best interests.

A word of advice at the outset of this blog post would be to avoid coaching your children to provide certain responses to questions in order to attempt to sway the evaluator. For one the evaluator is an experienced interviewer and as a result is adept at keying in on a lie.

Secondly, children are not good at reciting stories or recalling information that you previously told them. They may be able to remember the three things you told them to say on a particular subject but it is unlikely that he or she will be able to understand why he or she should say those things or even the order to say them. Ultimately your attempts to coach may backfire against you.

I advise clients to approach these interviews with their children like they would anything else in life. Be truthful, don’t be worried about what is being asked, and always remember that you and their other parent will always love them no matter what is said. That’s about it. Ideally, your child should be as free of anxiety as possible prior to one of these interviews and confirm your love and put their fears to rest is a good way to start.

Children typically are not asked outcome determinative questions

One part of the interview process that I believe should be shared is that from my experience the custody evaluator does not typically ask children questions about where he or she wants to live.

Like most things in their lives, children have opinions and feelings about which parent they would care to live with. Depending on their age these feelings may have the backing of actual circumstances and facts that have shaped that opinion. For younger children, their opinion can change on a weekly basis based on which parent bought them McDonald's most recently.

However, evaluators can tell the feelings of a child towards a parent even in situations where seemingly harmless questions are asked. If the child is asked to draw a picture of their family and the picture shows you or the other parent at a distance away from the child that can be telling in and of itself.

This isn’t anything that you can prepare the child for necessarily. Helping your children to be as comfortable as possible is the best and essentially the only way to prepare a child to be interviewed under these circumstances.

Ensuring that the evaluator has all the information he/she needs to conduct interviews

Spring Divorce Lawyer: It is very possible to lose track of all of the items that you are responsible for in your divorce. Not only do you have a full-fledged legal case to help organize but your family responsibilities don’t just go away during this same time period. It may be the last item on your “to do” list to make sure that the child custody evaluator has all the information he or she needs to conduct interviews and complete their evaluation.

Just as your attorney asked you at the beginning of your case, he or she would be well served to remind you now that providing information to the people that are working on your case with you is one of the most important responsibilities that you have as a party.

There is only so many hours in the day and only so much of an opportunity to conduct in-depth interviews. The documentation that you provide to the evaluator should be fully complete and allow him or her to learn as much background about you and your family as possible.

The questionnaire will likely ask you to describe your children, their habits, their personalities and their interests. How well do they do in school? What do they struggle with?

Other questions will likely delve into what their routine is and who typically picks them up from school and helps them with homework and other responsibilities. If you or the other parent work during the day or have irregular hours the evaluator may like to know who will attend sporting events, dance recitals or other extracurricular activities. Essentially, you need to honestly state which parent is involved in certain areas of your children’s lives and to what degree.

Finally, the evaluator will ask “skeletons in the closet” type questions. It’s likely that your attorney has already asked you to answer these sort of questions so nothing should come as a surprise to your attorney.

If you have any sort of criminal record, or if your opposing party does, is a common question to ask. What’s more- if you have battled an addiction to drugs, alcohol or any other substance is a question that will need to be answered honestly.

It is no use to tell half-truths or outright lies. If it is discovered that you have attempted to hide information that will be worse than the consequences of fully admitting a chemical dependency when given the opportunity.

Child Custody Evaluations are not easy- finding strong representation can be

Houston Divorce Lawyer: Choosing to hire the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC to represent you in a divorce or child custody case can simplify, streamline and create peace of mind in your life. While no family law case is easy for you or your family, our office strives to provide the sort of advocacy that allows our clients to achieve their goals.

For a free of charge consultation with one of our licensed family law attorneys please do not hesitate to contact our office today. We represent clients across southeast Texas and would be honored to do the same for you and your family ... Continue Reading

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Facing a child custody evaluation? Here are tips to conducting yourself with the evaluator

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Facing a child custody evaluation? Here are tips to conducting yourself with the evaluator with the immense procedure!

The Woodlands Divorce Attorney: When it comes to a child custodyevaluation, there are so many factors in play that will affect your case vs. your next door neighbor’s that it is difficult for me to say with any amount of certainty that THIS piece of advice will make a difference and THIS piece of advice will not.

That’s not a unique point to make as to this specific topic but the importance of a child custody evaluation and the interview process causes me to make special note of it before we go on any further today.

We have written some tips and tricks already for you on these pages and I highly recommend that you go back over the past few days and read our other blog posts on this subject. With that said, I will reaffirm the most important piece of advice that I or any other attorney can give you when it comes to answering a question from someone in conjunction with a legal case- be honest. In fact, I could stop writing right now and leave it just with this one recommendation and you would be OK.

Additional tips, tricks and words of wisdom when it comes to being interviewed

I’m not telling you to feel so good about the truth that you volunteer answers to questions that were never asked. If you have to tell the interviewer something that does not speak well you as a parent or person, well then so be it.

However, that is a lot different than allowing some extraneous information come to the attention of the interviewed that need not have left your mouth. Listen closely to the question asked. If you don’t know the answer say so. If you don’t understand the question ask for it to be asked again. Finally, if you understand the question and know the answer- give a complete thought sufficient to provide an answer and then close your mouth.

Be as fair as possible when providing answers to the questions being asked of you

Spring Divorce Lawyers: Fairness and objectivity are hard to come by during a tough child custody case. When you are engaged in a battle it is tough to look at your opponent and see any good in them or their cause. I get that. I see it all the time with our clients and their opposing parties. It is easy to want to tear them down and build yourself up.

Here is where I counsel against that. There are obviously problems in your life, your child’s life and the life of your opposing party. That much is self-evident. You all wouldn’t be in this case if that were not true. It is fine to tell the evaluator what you perceive the problems to be and how they are affecting your child.

Be careful when you begin to place blame for this or that on your opposing party. Remember- this case is not about either of you- it’s about your child. When responding to questions about why you all are involved in this case relate each answer you provide to your child. This can help to show the evaluator that you are able to think about your current legal battle as a means to better the life of your child.

You being a good parent does not mean the other parent is a bad one

We see in politics that with regularity the major political parties in our country don’t so much as come up with solutions to problems but rather they will denigrate the opposing party for having created them.

If you aren’t careful it is easy to wander into the same muck inside of your child custody case. If you honestly feel like your actions contributed to a negative consequence for your child it is appropriate to say as much.

If all you do is report problems caused by the opposing party and nothing about your own problems, your responses will come off as self-serving, incomplete and possibly untruthful. We all need to work on a daily basis to improve ourselves. If you share the problems with the evaluator it is more than appropriate to share the solutions that you are attempting to come up with as well.

You believe that you are a good parent and that you can offer your child a better life by living with you primarily. If you didn’t believe those things you wouldn’t be in this position. It is perfectly fine to tell the adjuster, when appropriate, what makes you a great parent and how you have improved the lives of your children or positively impacted them.

You do not have to tear down your opposing party when you are building yourself up. Although the judge has to compare you and your opposing party as parents, neither you or the evaluator have to do this.

Eventually, recommendations will be made to the judge but not on the basis of a direct comparison. You may believe your opponent to be a bad mom or dad that doesn’t offer much as far as a future for your child. Be that as it may, it is up to the evaluator to draw his or her own conclusion about each of you. At the end of the day, it is possible to speak about yourself and your parenting from a position of strength based on your own accomplishments and attributes.

More tips, tricks and preparation methods for helping your child meet with an evaluator to be posted tomorrow

Divorce Lawyer in Spring TX: In our final blog post on the subject of child custody evaluations, we will discuss what you can do to help yourself and your child interact with a child custody evaluator.

Any and all questions about this topic can be directed to the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. A free of charge consultation is only a phone call away. Our licensed family law attorneys would be honored to meet with you to answer those questions and to discuss the services that we can provide you and your family with as clients ... Continue Reading

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Methods to help when working with a child custody evaluator

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Methods to help when working with a child custody evaluator with the immense procedure!

Houston Family Law Lawyers: It doesn’t take a lawyer to be familiar with the rights that are read to a person when he or she is being arrested. Known now as your Miranda rights, a police officer will tell you that you have the right to remain silent and that anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. My wife loves the television show Law and Order and that line is recited probably three times every single episode.

The point I’m trying to make here is that most of you have probably heard that line in some format before you just read it here. That warning is applicable even in child custody cases that involve an evaluation of you, your family and your home.

When interacting with your child custody evaluator it is important to remember that he or she, while nice and pie and sweeter than honey, is not your friend and is not an advocate for you. As a human being, he or she probably sympathizes with what you and your family are going through.

In conversation, he or she may even tell you as much. However, be wary when discussing any subjects with the evaluator. The reason being is that what you tell him or her is never “off the record”. Those discussions are available to the judge and will likely be used to create a custody report and make recommendations regarding conservatorship, possession, and access in your case.

You will likely have an attorney in your child custody case and this is advisable. Certainly, a child custody evaluation is not done in every divorce or child custody case. When they are done it is usually due to a fairly substantial dispute or difference in opinion on a subject in connection with your case. Having an attorney to advocate for you and communicate your rights and responsibilities is crucial.

Speak to your attorney if you have any doubt whatsoever in what you should and should not discuss with a child care evaluator. I do not mean to make this sound any more intimidating or imposing than it ought to be but it is an important process and can impact your case in a dramatic way. Always use your best judgment when saying anything to a child custody evaluator.

Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork

Family Law Lawyer Houston: At the outset of an evaluation, the evaluator will likely have you and the other parent to your child fill out some paperwork for him or her. Your attorney will likely have done the same with you but the way you approach each should be different.

Your attorney’s paperwork is for the lawyer’s eyes only and can be done in a more “off the cuff” fashion. The evaluator’s paperwork is going to be one of the first ways that he or she is able to judge you and as a result, you should put some thought into how you respond to questions.

For instance, when responding to a question it is smart to not completely dismantle the other parent in your answers. You may have the fire of a thousand suns ready to leap off your fingertips and onto that piece of paper, but I would recommend you hold back. If the other parent is the reason why your case was filed, if their actions have led to financial and emotional difficulties or anything in between this is not the place to fight that battle.

You have an attorney to advocate for you. Let him or her do their job. Answer the questions as they are asked and do not provide superfluous information.

When answering questions remember that if you attempt to exaggerate something or minimize something in your favor that it is likely that this will come back to haunt you. You may eventually be asked to provide evidence of what you are saying in the paperwork answers. If the answers you provide cannot be substantiated it looks like either you:

are neglectful when it comes to answering questions or that you are not being truthful (otherwise known as lying). Neither is a good look for you, though I suppose it is better to be the former than the latter. Be truthful above all else. Do not provide extraneous information. Even if your answers make you look not so favorable answer honestly.

The last thing you want to do is have to fight a battle against your opposing party and the child custody evaluator.

When it comes to the evaluation, act like a grownup

Kingwood Divorce Attorney: For most of us, acting like a grownup isn’t too difficult because, well, we are grown-ups. Ostensibly you have:

a child an income sufficient to litigate a family lawcase and some common sense to have read this blog. If you are going to be interviewed by the evaluator at 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening at your home make sure you are there at 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening. If you will be getting home from work at 5:55 sweaty from a full day of doing (insert tough, physical labor type job) maybe don’t schedule your appointment for 6:00 and instead suggest 7:00 to the evaluator so you can take a shower and clean yourself up before their arrival.

Overall, speak plainly and calmly. No need to dress up your language or speed up what you have to say so you can pack more words into an answer. If you don’t understand a question, ask him or her to ask it a different way.

Remember that the evaluator is not on anyone’s side so there is no need to react defensively to a question being asked. These simple behaviors can greatly assist your “performance” in an interview setting.

Additional information on the actual evaluation conducted- tomorrow’s blog topic

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC represents clients across southeast Texas and would be honored to speak to you about doing the same. A free of charge consultation with one of our licensed family law attorneys is only a phone call away. Please contact us to learn more about our attorneys, staff and the services we can provide to you and your family ... Continue Reading

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Preparing for a Child Custody Evaluation

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Preparing for a Child Custody Evaluation with the immense procedure!

Houston Family Law Lawyer: As the old saying goes: “In failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” There is no doubt that a child custody evaluation is intrusive, disruptive and all around not a good time for you and your family. There is no two ways about this and I am not going to try to dissuade you from holding that opinion if in fact, you do think that way.

However, there is also no two ways about the idea that the child custody evaluation will have a dramatic effect on how the outcome of your case is determined. If you and your child’s other parent are spiraling towards a trial, a child custody evaluation can sometimes cause you all to come together and settle your case. This avoids the spending a considerable amount of money in attorney’s fees- not to mention the time and stress that do have to be expended

Likewise, if a trial does become necessary in your case then a child custody evaluation in which you are well prepared could have a positive impact on how you are viewed by the judge and ultimately the decisions that he or she arrives at. There are no guarantees in a family lawcase but if you come into your child custody evaluation with a good attitude and know some tips on how to succeed in one you will surely be better off.

Complete any paperwork that your attorney requests of you

Your attorney may have paperwork that he or she needs you to complete in addition to any basic client questionnaires from the beginning of your case. These forms may ask you to detail specific information that pertains to a child custody evaluation. Your history with CPS (if any), work hours, issues with your home that your attorney should be aware of as well as a breakdown of how you and your opposing party divide parenting responsibilities are just a few of the areas that may be asked of you by your attorney.

I realize that you are already stressed and busy at this point in your case. It’s likely that the last thing you will want to do is sit down and fill out some paperwork while your child’s well being hangs in the balance. However, I will caution you before you blow this off as just another step in the process.

You have hired your attorney to represent you in your family law case, and part of the responsibility in representing a client is understanding the particular circumstances of your case. While your attorney can make assumptions about you based on other cases he or she has handled, but your individual situation is important to understand. My advice would be to keep this in mind when you are filling out any paperwork out.

Complete any paperwork that your attorney requests of you

Family Lawyers in Houston: When an evaluator begins their investigation not only will he or she be viewing your family in light of your present circumstances, but the history of your family will be important to them as well.

If you discuss subject matter with your evaluator that you believe can be backed up with documentary evidence it is important to have those documents available to the evaluator. Consider this- if you are making an assertion that your child does better in school when he or she is with you- and you have the documents/report cards/etc. to prove that- wouldn’t that assertion make a bigger impact, then?

Keep original documents for yourself if necessary and make copies for the child custody evaluator. Make sure to discuss them first with your attorney before handing them over to the evaluator. Your attorney will be able to help you review the documents and ensure that their contents are appropriate to share with someone at this stage in your case. If there are any other documents that may be helpful to share your attorney can help you brainstorm in this area as well.

When we discuss hard copy/documentary evidence I am thinking about report cards, calendars, journal entries you made to memorialize the occurrence of individual events, photos, text messages or e-mails as well as medical records. Again, I understand that these can be very personal pieces of information that you may be sharing but if they are important and appropriate to share your attorney would likely request that they are made available for the child custody evaluator to review.

What are your goals in this evaluation? Consider this at the outset of your case.

Often times once a divorce or child custody case gets started, there is so much to do and to think about what we lose track of why exactly we filed the case in the first place or what we are trying to accomplish. Don’t let this happen to you during the middle of a child custody evaluation.

Remember that the evaluator is concerned with the best interest of your child and that any goals you have should be formed around this central concept. Why should you be named a sole managing conservator? If all you have to present to an evaluator, and therefore the judge, is that you think your ex-spouse is being neglectful or that you don’t think he’s being a nice guy, you will not accomplish your goal.

Sit down with your attorney and write out your goals and how you are going to accomplish them. By doing so you will see the strength of your positions and if any of your goals are likely to not be achievable then you can always amend and modify them. Heading into your child custody evaluation with a firm grasp of the issues of your case as well as what you seek to accomplish is a winning combination.

How you should conduct yourself with the child custody evaluator- tomorrow’s blog post subject

Family Law Attorneys Houston: If you have questions as to how to act around and towards your child custody evaluator then tomorrow’s blog post will be for you. In the meantime, any questions about the subject of child custody evaluations can be directed towards one of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC’s licensed family law attorneys. A free of charge consultation is only a phone call away ... Continue Reading

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The effect of a child custody evaluation on your family law case

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, The effect of a child custody evaluation on your family law case with the immense procedure!

Divorce Houston: If a judge has approved your or the opposing party’s request to have a child custody evaluation conducted, or has ordered one done on their own, it is logical that he or she would place a great amount of weight on this evidence.

This means that the results of the evaluation will be seriously considered by the judge and will likely have a tremendous impact on your child custody or divorce case. Whatever the evaluator has to say as far as recommendations are concerned will almost surely be followed by your judge.

Whatever evidence that you or your opposing party have to provide in a trial if your case makes it that far, may not have much impact at all in how the judge will ultimately rule. That is how critical a child custody evaluation becomes to your case.

Best Interests of the Child

Just as your judge will be tasked with making decisions that are in the best interests of your child, so too will the child custody evaluator. While you and the opposing party may have your own concerns and circumstances that a court should be concerned with, at the end of the day it is primarily what is best for your child that will be considered by a judge.

With that said, if you and your opposing party are able to negotiate on your final orders and come together to resolve your issues prior to trial it will be in everyone’s best interests.

No parents are going to create final orders that do not suit their children first and foremost. Even if you feel that your opposing party is out for their own self-interest first and foremost you would not agree to a settlement plan that did not place your child’s interests ahead of either parent’s.

Furthermore, you and the other parent are better equipped to arrive at a settlement that takes into consideration all of the particular circumstances that distinguish your case from any other that goes before the judge.

Judges are more apt to create cookie cutter orders based on their inability to know exactly what your family needs due to a lack of time and resources to be able to fully understand your situation. This is not a criticism of judges, this is just human nature.

Breaking down what Best Interests of the Child means

Family Lawyers Houston: We all have a pretty decent idea, I think, as to what is in the Best Interests of a Child. Certainly what is in the best interest of my children may not be in the best interests of your children and vice versa. However, there are some overarching and common themes that should apply to all children who have a family law case in Texas.

Abuse and Neglect

Being protected against abuse and neglect is probably foremost in terms of what is in the best interest of a child. If we start our discussion here we can build up into other concepts that are a little more aspirational. No child should have to deal with abuse or neglect.

No excuses and no qualifications on that. A judge and child custody evaluator will look at your situation and identify is abuse or neglect has occurred. If so, recommendations and orders from the court will be set forth that do what it takes to protect your child.

Relationship with Both Parents

Secondly, the emphasis in court these days is to make sure that every child has an opportunity to have a relationship with both of their parents.

This isn’t to say that some children won’t gravitate towards one parent or the other, but overall the evaluator and judge will want to ensure that your child can have a good relationship, or an opportunity for one, with both you and the opposing party. If it appears that one or both of you are not doing what it takes to help further this goal then the court will have to make orders to remedy this situation.

Parental Alienation

Parental alienation is a topic that family law attorneys, unfortunately, encounter with some regularity and is something that will be watched for by a child custody evaluator. Part of both you and your child’s other parent is given an equal chance to develop a meaningful relationship with your child is both of you encouraging your child to spend time with each of you. It is very easy for your child to become influenced by you or the other parent in a negative fashion if you are speaking poorly of him or her or otherwise attempting to influence their opinion.

Your child will view you and their other parent through the eyes of a child, not those of an adult. If you are sharing your adult perspective with them about how and why you and your ex-spouse are divorcing then that will be information that not only can your child probably not understand but will surely have an effect on how he or she views each of you. This is a recipe for disaster and is not behavior that is going to benefit your child.

Taking the Time

If you do not take some time and effort to support the relationship your child has with both of their parents then a court may view this as behavior that is not conducive to acting in your child’s best interests.

Even if it is not something that you relish or get excited about, reminding your child that both of their parents do love him or her is good for your child and for your family law case.

How to prepare for a child custody evaluation- the topic of tomorrow’s blog post

Family Lawyer in Houston: Some steps that you can take to prepare for your own child custody evaluation will be the subject of tomorrow’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC.

If you have any questions about today’s post or any subject in family law please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. A free of charge consultation is available to you six days a week in which your questions and concerns can be answered by one of our licensed family law attorneys ... Continue Reading

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Types of child custody evaluations and the details associated with an investigation

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Types of child custody evaluations and the details associated with an investigation with the immense procedure!

Divorce Attorney in Houston: Essentially there are two types of evaluations that you may be involved with in conjunction with your child custody or divorce case- a home study or a social study. In somewhat more rare instances a full-fledged child custody evaluation will include an assessment done of you, your ex-spouse and your children by a psychologist.

An example that I will provide to clients is if your situation involves allegations of abuse or neglect made against you or your ex-spouse psychological testing may be ordered by the judge. Substance abuse issues or mental health deficiencies round out the other two most common reasons as to why a psychological examination may be conducted.

Most typically the court on its own motion or one of the parties to your lawsuit can request that an evaluation be done and the type and scale of the evaluation. Of course once the evaluator begins to do their job he or she can let the court know that based on their study of the situation a psychological examination of you, the opposing party and your children is warranted based on any number of circumstances, the sort of which we discussed in the opening paragraph to this blog post.

The cost associated with a child custody evaluation

This is a subject that even the initial requestor of the child custody evaluation may not have fully considered prior to filing the motion. It is a bad look, first of all, to request an evaluation and then not be able to pony up the money to pay for your share of the study.

Supposing that the judge grants the motion, he or she will have held a hearing on the motion, taken the time to appoint an evaluator and the evaluator will have had to reach out to your attorney and opposing counsel to get the logistics of the study started up.

For you to later try and back out of the study due to finances could be a huge hindrance to your case and will likely cause your opposing party, the judge and the evaluator to become a little upset.

Your attorney should go over with you the range of costs that you can expect to incur associated with the child custody evaluation. Fortunately for you, the evaluator does not work like an attorney, i.e. by the hour. A set cost will be provided to you and the opposing party at the outset of the investigation.

It is not uncommon for a child custody evaluation to cost $2,000 for one party’s share of the cost. If it seems like you’re having to pay for another attorney in terms of cost you would not be far off. If a psychologist gets involved then a retainer payment is often made to the doctor and then additional costs may be incurred if the retainer does not cover all the doctor’s costs in conducting the evaluation.

What actually happens during the evaluation?

Houston Family Attorney: We’ve finally made it to the point where we can discuss the actual evaluation. It is a fairly detailed and complex process and there are a few parts that we can single out and discuss individually.

Much like when you hired your attorney, you will likely fill out some paperwork with the evaluator so that he or she can learn some basic information about your family. Both you and the opposing party will complete this step before the evaluator beings to actually conduct the evaluation. All of the relevant parties to the case- you, the opposing party, your children and any friends/family members/etc. type of people may be interviewed as well.

The next step is to actually have the evaluator sit in on some parenting time between you and your children. The evaluator will be interested in seeing how you all relate to one another and who you are as a parent.

We spoke in yesterday’s blog post about how frequently the evaluator will actually come out to your home and that of your opposing party to look at the living conditions of your house and see you all on your “home turf”.

Reason being is that we all act differently at home as opposed to when we’re out in public and the judge will want to know if your conduct is the same in court as it is in your home environment.

Personal information is not so personal in a child custody evaluation

If you thought it was a little much for people outside your immediate family to be interviewed in a child custody evaluation then you should consider the following while sitting down. In addition to these sort of interviews, you and the opposing party will be asked to turn over documents that may be related to the evaluation of school paperwork and other things related to your children.

In addition, like in a CPS investigation, collateral persons will be interviewed like teachers, day care employees, and doctors. If information, like medical or psychological records, are otherwise privileged the evaluator will ask for you to sign releases in order to obtain them.

I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that this may be a little over the top for the evaluator to do things like this, but then again, if you want the evaluation to be thorough, complete and fair then these documents can go a long way towards achieving that goal. What’s more- the other side has to be imposed upon just as much as you.

How will the evaluation affect your case? Come back tomorrow to read more

Houston Family Law Attorneys: The impact of a child custody evaluation on your case, in general, will be discussed in tomorrow’s blog post. If any of today’s subject matter piqued your interest please give the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC a call to discuss them.

A free of charge consultation is a phone call away and is always free of charge. Our experienced attorneys have handled child custody cases across our state and would be honored to speak to you about doing the same for you and your family ... Continue Reading

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Getting yourself ready for a home study

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Getting yourself ready for a home study with the immense procedure!

Divorce Attorneys in Houston: If you are involved in a contentious divorce or child custodycase or anticipate being involved in one, then you should be aware that home studies are conducted with regularity depending on the specific circumstances of your case.

While it can be overwhelming to consider the possibility of a stranger coming into your home, “studying” you, and then making determinations that can affect the outcome of your case, the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC would like to help you understand and plan for this stage of your case.

From my experience, I can relate to you that one of the most, if not the most, important factors that a judge will use to decide a child custody matter on behalf of two parents is the utilization of a home study.

Depending on the results of the study and how you and your home are evaluated, you could end up having very different outcomes. During the heat of a divorce or child custody case, you may not have time to prepare thoroughly for the day that a social worker or amicus attorney comes to pay you a visit. Therefore, now is the best time to begin to prepare for this important event.

A Child Custody Evaluation in Detail

In child custody cases that are highly contested a court may order a child custody evaluation to be conducted. This is done in order so that the judge may look into the specific circumstances of both you and your opposing party’s home lives. If you and your spouse are unable to agree to a possessionschedule, conservatorship rights/duties or any other issue related to your children a child custody evaluation may be in your future.

Since a judge only has a limited view of you and your spouse as parents from what is seen in a courtroom, the child custody evaluation is a more comprehensive look at your home life.

How you relate to your children, how you relate to your spouse and the specific needs of your child will be evaluated. If there are specific events that occurred in the past that the judge believes to be relevant those can be looked into as well by the evaluator and interviews conducted by appropriate parties.

Before all is said and done, the evaluator will have looked into every nook and cranny, literally and figuratively, in your life to help the judge determine what living situation is in the best interests of your children to reside in primarily.

Who is the child custody evaluator?

The evaluator in your child custody or divorce case will be an unbiased party who has no prior relationship to either you or your opposing party. The contents of his or her evaluation will be compiled into a document known as a report which your judge will rely heavily upon when making a determination about custody.

That is if your case makes it all the way to a trial. Often times the results of an evaluation will convince one side or the other (or sometimes both sides) in a child custody case to settle prior to even reaching the courthouse steps.

I should point out that the evaluator does not act as the ultimate decider of anything. While he or she will likely be a professional therapist, counselor or even an attorney, their recommendations are just that- recommendations. Ultimately it is the judge in your case who will be charged with making any final determinations.

There is no advocating that is done by the evaluator on behalf of either you or your opposing party. It can sometimes feel that way, based on what prior clients have told me, but from my experience, these evaluators are very straightforward and objective most of the time.

The child custody evaluator’s Report

Houston Divorce Attorneys: Once the evaluation of both your and your opposing party’s home has been completed, the child custody evaluator will create a report that discusses both their findings and their recommendations to the judge.

Conservatorship, possession, access and other issues will be detailed. This is a heavy burden for the evaluator to bear. The contents of the report will be admitted into evidence should your case make it all the way to a trial. Judges place a lot of weight and emphasis on the evaluations contained in the report.

How in depth does an evaluation get?

If there are issues raised in your child custody case that merit further investigation it is likely that a judge will ask the evaluator to focus on those. For example, if there are allegations made against you that you were abusive or neglectful of your child then it is probable that an evaluator will focus on how you interact with your child and look at your home to determine if there are any conditions in existence that could harm your child or put him or her in danger.

Your parenting will obviously be evaluated, as will that of your opposing party. Independent judgments will be made about each but comparisons between you and your opposing party will not be made.

Before you consider putting on a “show” for the evaluator to show him or her how you and your children interact be aware that this will likely not be the evaluator’s first experience in a home environment. As a result, your actions may come through loud and clear and hollow and façade-like. I would recommend that you conduct yourself in a typical manner for you. You will feel better about the study as will your children.

The different types of child custody evaluations will be discussed in tomorrow’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

Divorce Attorneys Houston: If you are interested in learning more about the subject of child custody evaluations then I would certainly recommend that you return to our blog tomorrow to read more on this subject.

In the event that you have questions about custody evaluations or any other subject in family law please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today. Our licensed family law attorneys handle divorce and child custody cases that involve evaluations on a regular basis and would be happy to share additional knowledge with you. A consultation is free of charge and is available six days a week ... Continue Reading

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Balancing life, work and your children after a divorce

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Balancing life, work and your children after a divorce with the immense procedure!

Family Lawyer Houston: In today’s world, it is common for both parents to work. Gone are the days where mom stayed home to raise the kids and tend to the home while dad went out into the world to earn a living for his family. Some say this is a good thing. Women are just as capable of working after all and their ability to contribute to producing income is a net positive for the family.

On the other hand, people will argue that when one parent remains in the home, mom or dad, and one goes and works, the dynamic of the family is better off and leads to greater cohesion and overall happiness. Divorce rates are higher in our world today than they were during the time our grandparents were raising children. Maybe there’s some correlation there?

However you feel about gender, work, and family the fact is that if you are going through a divorce and are a working parent you will need to learn the skills necessary to be able to effectively parent your child and attend to your responsibilities at work. Given that your household income will have decreased due to your having lost a spouse’s pay you may need to adjust how you approach your role as mom or dad.

When your divorce concludes there will be a parenting plan put into place that lays out in detail the possession schedule for both you and your ex-spouse.

This will be your roadmap for the foreseeable future. Of course, you are able to deviate from that roadmap with the agreement of your ex-spouse if alterations or variations need to be made. For the most part, however, your possession schedule as laid out in the Final Decree of Divorce will act as a default for you both to rely upon.

The question remains- how best can you tackle your parenting responsibilities within the context of a possession schedule and work schedule? Before your divorce concludes it is important to consider a number of issues. Read on to find out what the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC have to say on this subject.

The Geographic Restriction

Is it appropriate or beneficial for your family to have a geographic restriction in place as to where your children are able to reside? If your children live in Harris County a common geographic restriction would be to have them remain in Harris or any county that touches Harris County.

This applies no matter if you or your spouse end up being named the parent with the right to designate the primary residence of the children. I have had clients who in the past have split custody 50/50 and decided upon a school district as their geographic restriction.

The bottom line is that distance for travel is one the biggest determining factors in not only your quality of life with your children but in your ability to utilize effectively the time you do have with them. If you spend all of your time picking your children up and lugging them home, or to school or to an extracurricular activity you are not getting in sort of relationship building time that you and they need.

The stories that you hear from other parents that they enjoy the car rides home with their children because they are able to talk? They’re missing the point. Being at home, together, is where you are able to stop the pace of the world from infiltrating your family even if it’s just for a moment.

Electronic possession

Divorce Lawyers Houston: I know there is a push in parenting circles to restrict our children’s access to electronics like phones and computers. However, I would argue that for divorced parents electronic periods of possession can be great to tide you and the kids over until you actually can physically be with them.

If the use of electronics is reasonable in terms of time length, is not disruptive of their activities and encourages communication I say it is a positive for divorced families. You as a parent need to understand that having electronic periods of possession with your children is not appropriate for long lengths of time while your kids are with their other parent. As long as both parents can play nice I believe it can be a positive for working, divorced parents.

Go with the flow

I touched earlier on an important topic that I don’t think many people know when a divorce is first filed. Many people, of which you may be one, believe that their case will be decided by a judge and that he or she will be watching every move that their family makes after the divorce is finalized. This is not the truth, however.

Most divorces are settled outside of court through negotiation and mutual agreement. On top of that, the terms of the Decree which you decide upon need not be followed exactly as long as you and your ex-spouse agree to any variation made. If no agreement “on the fly” can be arrived at then your Decree should be relied upon.

However, in the event that “life happens” and you need to change a pickup/drop off schedule it is great to be able to directly communicate with your ex-spouse and arrange that alteration between the two of you.

This encourages communication, co-parenting and general civil behavior. If you and your ex-spouse can show this level of respect towards one another, even given busy work and life schedules, you can bet that your children will notice and mimic your behavior. On top of that, each of your parenting time will be that much more productive.

Questions about parenting after a divorce? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today

Family Attorney Houston: If you are a working parent with questions about managing your time after a divorce please contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. One of our licensed family lawattorneys will be available to meet with you six days a week to discuss your case in a free of charge consultation. We represent clients across southeast Texas and would be honored to do the same for you and your family ... Continue Reading

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Managing your family law case (and your emotions) when the opposing party is mentally incompetent

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Managing your family law case (and your emotions) when the opposing party is mentally incompetent with the immense procedure!

Houston Family Lawyers: In yesterday’s blog post we introduced the idea that if you have been served with divorce or child custody papers that were filed by your child’s other parent your brief thoughts regarding their mental stability may not be so far-fetched after all. Many family lawcases that end up turning into time and money nightmares were filed by mentally incompetent persons or those with personality disorders.

Once the case has been filed how can you and your attorney manage your case and keep you from feeling like your life is being taken for a ride by a person that may or may not be mentally equipped to understand the full effect of their actions. Today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC will discuss that subject.

Setting your expectations when your opposing party is not mentally stable

While you, your attorney and even the opposing attorney may see a situation in a certain light it is unlikely that your opposing party will agree with your assessment. Remember- reality does not apply to the person with extremely harsh and black/white views of the world and your family law case. It is a fool’s errand to attempt to convey messages appealing to their rational side.

When the truth and the real world are not applicable to a person, you and your attorney will need to figure out ways to communicate ideas that do not rely upon a person’s understanding or acceptance of reality.

The best way to do this is to constantly keep the focus of the case on your child. This goes for any family law case that involves child custody, but I believe it is especially true in a situation where the opposing party has a mental illness or personality disorder. It is unlikely that you will ever get him or her to see things from your vantage point or to see you as an equal or as deserving a parent as he or she. It is likely that on some level he or she wants what is best for your child and loves your child in whatever ways he or she is capable of expressing love.

This can mean that while negotiating with your opposing party your attorney can utilize language that does not draw a distinction between you and the other party, but rather brings everything back to the child. This is literally the only common ground that each of you share.

Your sense of reality is different, your sense of each other is different and your feelings about why you are involved in the case are different. Take the one thing that you share common ground on and base your negotiations on that.

Taking the case to court: How a family law judge can impact a case involving a mentally ill party

Houston Family Law Attorney: While you may not relish the opportunity to bring your family law case in front of a judge, unfortunately, your opposing party will probably not share in that feeling. While you have done “something” in the eyes of the opposing party to wrong him or her, the judge in your case is the person that can hand out justice and cause you to harm due to your “bad actions”. If you think that a judge will be able to see through all this nonsense and give you the relief that you are seeking then you may be in for a rude awakening.

I say this because a judge often lacks the ability to perceive and identify a person with a mental illness or personality disorder and a result your case can be prolonged unless you attempt to call these conditions to the attention of the judge. Filing a motion to have the opposing party examined for a mental illness can be effective to at least bring to the judge’s attention the difficulties that he or she have been causing you.

However, when mental health professionals become involved in a case we often see their opinions not going far enough to isolate the specific characteristics and personality traits that identify a person as having a mental illness or being wholly mentally incompetent to engage in litigation involving a child. With that said, your case can continue despite having other professional persons become involved that had an opportunity to nip in the bud the desire of your opposing party to prolong the case.

Many times the allegations that you make against your opposing party will be met with allegations against you. While the allegations made against you may be baseless and untrue, a judge will need to give equal weight to them until proven otherwise.

If this seems unbelievable or downright stupid then you can join the club of attorneys and litigants have experienced those same thoughts. The fact remains that persons with personality disorders or mental illness can be master manipulators. A judge does not have the time to be able to perform individual assessments of your character and relies on the facts and circumstances presented to him or her to make decisions.

The bottom line is that unless you and your attorney are consistent in your petitions to the court to have the mental health of an opposing party evaluated mental illness or disorders may go undiagnosed. This is bad for your child, bad for you and bad for your case. A situation that could have been resolved with relative quickness can be drawn out due to unacknowledged mental issues with the opposing party in your case.

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC: Experienced advocates for southeast Texas families

Divorce Lawyers in Houston: The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC represent clients from all walks of life. In doing so we have encountered opposing parties who have offered challenges that we meet in order to best represent our clients and their families.

To schedule a free of charge consultation with one of our licensed family lawattorneys please do not hesitate to contact our office today. A consultation is free of charge and can go a long way towards answering your questions and providing you with peace of mind ... Continue Reading

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Family Law Cases where a party is mentally incompetent

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Family Law Cases where a party is mentally incompetent with the immense procedure!

Houston Family Lawyer: If you have been through a divorce or child custody case involving your child’s other parent you may have stopped to ask yourself at various points in the case whether the opposing party has something “wrong” with him or her.

You may have even commented to your attorney that he or she seems to be acting strangely in filing the lawsuit in the first place. It may surprise you to learn that many people involved in family law cases suffer either from mental illness or personalities disorders. While I couldn’t say that you experienced this type of situation it is not uncommon.

What is a personality disorder?

A personality disorder is a medical term that describes people who have exaggerated personality characteristics- to the point where those characteristics begin to dominate who he or she is. Their ability to function on a day to day basis will have become extremely limited as a result.

This is opposed to a mental illness which encompasses not only a person’s mental state but also their mood, relations to other people as well as their activities of daily living.

The most important aspect of a personality disorder or mental illness is how each of these conditions impacts the lives of the people in the immediate vicinity of the suffering individual. Considering that coming into contact with a mentally ill person on the street can be a challenge, your ability to parent and possibly engage in litigation with one can be extremely taxing.

Characteristics of a person with mental illness or a personality disorder

Divorce Lawyer Houston: If you have just been served with a divorce or child custody modification suit seemingly out of nowhere then you may have a mentally ill person or at least an opposing party with a personality disorder as an opposing party. Unfortunately, if you identify the traits of a personality disorder sufferer in your child’s other parent you may be in for a long and drawn out case. These folks do not live their lives based on reality or objective fact. Their own sense of right and wrong is shaped by a reality that is only apparent in their own minds.

What kind of behavior can you identify to have a good idea as to whether or not a person has a personality disorder? For starters, if your opposing party has an extremely unbending view of the case and is unwilling to negotiate or move off of his or her previously held opinions that are a strong sign of a person suffering from a personality disorder.

While I am not saying that every person who holds strong opinions has a personality disorder, I would say that if you are willing to compromise on a certain issue but have never seen your opposing party be willing to do so that may be time to speak to your attorney.

Another characteristic that I have seen in opposing parties that have mental stability issues is deflection towards their own shortcomings. If your opposing party is volleying accusations at you of being unhinged mentally or dangerous or anything in between this is a deflection method to keep you from identifying their own personality disorders and possible mental illness.

If he or she believes they are under attack or threat from you, your attorney or anyone else they can become extremely angry and will say or do anything to protect themselves and their worldview.

Finally, in the world of a person with a mental illness or personality disorder, everything is either black or white. As an attorney, we operate in the “grey” in almost every case that we are involved in. So you can see from an attorney’s perspective how a person who lives in an all or nothing world can really complicate a divorce or child custody case.

Their position is completely right and your position is completely wrong. Your child would be provided with the greatest life known to mankind if allowed to live with him or her. Your child would be doomed to live a life of squalor and difficulty is allowed to live with you primarily. There is nothing in between either extreme with people like this.

Once a case gets moving identifying mental illness in a client or opposing party can be difficult

From an attorney’s perspective, it can often be difficult to pinpoint when something is wrong with a client. Certainly, we represent people from all walks of life and backgrounds so it would not be fair, or frankly in our area of expertise, to pick out individuals as being mentally incompetent. As a result, a case is filed and the litigation process begins and the sort of characteristics that we would normally associate with a person who is suffering mentally are not observed in time.

As a result, a mentally incompetent person can file a child custody modification based on perceptions or thoughts that are not based in reality. This is what I meant earlier when I noted that if you’ve been involved in child custody case before you may have stopped and pondered whether or not your opposing party was living in the same world that you were.

Judges are not exposed to either you or the other party to a sufficient degree to identify mental incompetency. With all this said a long, drawn out and expensive case can result due to the unchecked behavior of a person who is not healthy from a mental standpoint.

Tomorrow’s blog post: Managing a case with an opposing party who has a mental illness

Houston Divorce: While being involved in a child custody case where the opposing party has a mental illness is not easy, it can be managed with planning. If you understand how he or she approaches the case then you can set your own expectations appropriately. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC will continue to discuss this subject with you in tomorrow’s blog post.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about opposing parties with mental illness or personality disorders please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. Our licensed family law attorneys are available six days a week to speak to you about your case and to answer any questions you have in a free of charge consultation ... Continue Reading

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How much will your child support enforcement case cost?

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, How much will your child support enforcement case cost? with the immense procedure!

Houston Divorce Lawyers: If you ask a lawyer a question about your legal situation, their response may well be, “It depends.” Years of seeing a number of different scenarios play out for different sorts of clients results in a lawyer understanding that there is no perfect answer to give any one client. This is true whether the question is about an aspect of their case or what a specific sort of family law case will end up costing.

If you have been through a divorce or child custody case in which you had child support set up, you know what your prior case ended up costing you. I remind clients that whatever the cost of a case, it is an investment in your and your child’s future.

This can seem like lawyer-speak sometimes, especially when a case enters its middle stages and time starts to slow down and it feels like it will never end. The question remains though- what will a child support enforcement case cost if you need to go back and address missed payments by your ex-spouse?

Attorneys want to an earn a living, but don’t want to drag a case out

Movies and television have done a great job of portraying attorneys as money hungry. If it were left up to Hollywood, attorneys would be in business primarily to help themselves and line their pockets along the way. Your simple, open and shut family law matter? A “typical” attorney will do whatever he or she can to string the case out and charge you for the pleasure of doing so. Is this how it is in real life?

Again, since you have been through a family law case before, hopefully, your experience does not match up with this one. Lawyers do want to earn an income, as do you, but there is one thing that movies and television don’t tell you that I will.

Lawyers are also busy just like you are. While we want to earn an income, we also want to move a case along the process efficiently so that you can reach your goals. Doing so ensures a happier client and a less stressed out attorney.

Factors to take into consideration when hiring a family law attorney

From what I can tell after having met with many potential clients of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, people in your position will typically look for experience, proximity to their home and cost when hiring an attorney.

These are all great attributes to look for in an attorney, by the way. I also recommend meeting with an attorney face to face to allow you an idea of how you and the attorney relate to one another.

This is not a business transaction, contract dispute or personal injury case that you are about to undertake. This is a family law matter that is near and dear to your heart. You want to be able to trust that your attorney understands this and is willing to do what it takes to help you achieve your goals.

Costs of a family law case in Texas

Family Law Attorney Houston: When you are trying to figure out costs of your potential child support enforcement case it is necessary to consider that you are about to incur costs that are beyond merely signing up with an attorney and paying a retainer fee. Filing your case in Harris, Montgomery, Ft. Bend or any other county in southeast Texas will cost a few hundred dollars at least. This is true whether it is our office that ends up working for you or another attorney across town.

Once your petition is filed in court your attorney will likely utilize a private process server to seek out your ex-spouse and provide notice that there is now a pending enforcement suit in familylaw court.

This too, while likely not as expensive as filing the suit, will cost money. You can ask your potential attorney in an interview what sort of plan he or she has for serving your ex-spouse so that your case does not endure any needless delays. It is extremely frustrating to hire an attorney, file your case only to find that your attorney is unable to serve your ex-spouse.

From my experience, there is little need in a child support enforcement case for mediation. Mediation is the process that you likely went through for your divorce where you and your ex-spouse met with your attorneys at an independent attorney’s office to attempt to settle your disputes prior to a trial.

This means negotiating with the assistance of the mediator and ultimately signing what is known as a Mediated Settlement Agreement (MSA) once a settlement is hopefully reached. This process takes the place of a trial. Mediation costs typically between $300 and $500 (in the Houston area) for a half day mediation, but can save you thousands if you consider how much a trial would have cost in your divorce.

Child support enforcement cases don’t really function like a divorce case. There is less to negotiate upon because the issues are much more minute. Are you owed child support? Has your ex-spouse paid the support to as stated in your Final Decree of Divorce? What does the Attorney General’s ledger show as far as arrearages? These are much more matter of fact questions that need to be answered, and the opportunity to negotiate is not as great.

Initiating the Child Support Enforcement Lawsuit

In the beginning stages of a child support enforcement case, you are paying a down payment, also known as a retainer, to your attorney. This retainer fee can range from $2,000 on up to $10,000 depending on the attorney you are hiring.

As we stated earlier the filing fees in most Texas counties is approximately $300, not including copies for service and filing. Finally, a process server will likely cost roughly $100 for you and your attorney to utilize their services.

Preparing for Trial and Negotiating a Settlement

In an enforcement case, there is no true “middle” of a case. Once your enforcement is filed and your ex-spouse responds with an Answer you and he/she are either going to each prepare for Trial or work towards a settlement of your case.

I had a child support enforcement case about eighteen months ago in which our client and the opposing party were able to work out a settlement rather quickly where preparation for trial was not even needed. It ended up that the opposing client had simply misinterpreted the final decree of divorce and stopped paying child support too early. The misunderstanding was resolved, a payment plan was conceived for the back child support owed and no trial was had.

On the other hand, I have also represented a child support client where it took us until the day before a trial to settle the case and work out a plan that would avoid a costly lawsuit. Indeed, preparing for a full-fledged trial and then appearing in court will be the most costly aspect of your enforcement case if it comes to that. If you can avoid a trial it is typically for the best due to the costs and risks associated with this final step.

Additional questions about the costs of a child support enforcement case? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

Houston Divorce Attorney: If you are in need of experienced, strong and effective advocates for your child support related enforcement case I would recommend that you contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. Our attorneys represent clients in enforcement cases regularly and have achieved successful results in doing so.

A free of charge consultation with one of our licensed family law attorneys is only a phone call away. We schedule consultations six days a week in our office and we would be honored to speak with you about the services that we can provide to you and your family ... Continue Reading

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Parenting a child with special needs: Considerations to take during a family law case

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Parenting a child with special needs: Considerations to take during a family law case with the immense procedure!

Houston Divorce Lawyer: If you are the parent of a child with special needs then you know the challenges and opportunities that are presented to a family in your situation. Whatever the special needs may be, physical or mental, your child will be loved and cared for just as much as any other child with some slight variations to account for his or her disabilities.

It may be that extra attention needs to be paid to his or her school work, or you may need to spend more time to get him or her ready in the mornings, but these are relatively small efforts to make in the grand scheme of life.

Having a child with special needs also presents an opportunity for you and your family to sacrifice your own “wants” and to instead focus on the “needs” of your child. We all would like to get a little extra sleep, or to be able to go out for the night on occasion, but if your child needs additional care or attention the reward for spending the time with him or her is greater than a nice meal or half an hour’s worth of shut-eye.

Not knowing the future makes parenting a child with special needs similar to but also different than raising a child without special needs. While none of us can see into the future, we can assume that the path of a non-special needs child will follow along a path similar to the ones that we all took. School, career, family, etc. is a tried and true method of succeeding in our country.

For special needs children, this path isn’t nearly as straight and may not be possible. Working with educators, doctors, and other professionals means that more attention will likely be paid to your special needs child’s life course.

Be aware of your emotions and how you expose them to your special needs to child

Divorce Lawyer in Houston: Being a parent is emotional in and of itself. If you are not emotionally invested in your child and their well being then I don’t know how you would parent at all. Helping your child establish a strong sense of self-worth in order to succeed in life can be difficult in even the best circumstances. It is your job as a parent of a special needs child to establish a balance between accounting for the disabilities of your child while allowing him or her to flourish in whatever setting he or she finds themselves.

Feeling sorry for your special needs child is probably not a strong method to parent the child. If your instinct is to constantly feel bad for your child this may lead to you preparing the “path” for your child rather than your child for the path. What I mean by this is that I’ve seen parents, good-natured and caring parents, attempt to micro-manage every aspect of their child’s life.

School, friends, family, no matter what their child was involved in the world would need to be tailored to their child. While I understand the motivation I would argue that preparing your child for the path is a more efficient and effective manner of parenting.

Prepare your child for experiencing the “real world” in a way that is appropriate for him or her based on their specific special need(s). Making sure that he or she is aware that you understand the struggles that they face on a daily basis, but showing him or her that there are ways to overcome their disabilities and succeed in spite of them can be empowering and liberating for a child with special needs.

Sometimes as a parent you need to remind yourself as well as no matter what you as a family are facing, there are people in your community that can relate to you and your special needs child. Why not become as involved as possible with support groups, associations and charities that assist children with the same special needs as your child? Fostering a sense of giving back in your child can allow him or her to understand that is important for all of us to give of ourselves and our time no matter what circumstances we may be facing personally.

Medical care for special needs children is essential in many cases

Depending on the special need of your child, he or she may require fairly consistent medical treatment and care. This can mean a lot of different things for a family, specifically that the costs associated with such care can eat away at a family budget very quickly. One of the many important discussions that we as a nation are having right now concerns health insurance and access to care for American families. No matter where you fall on the spectrum of ideas associated with this subject, I think we can all agree that allowing the most vulnerable among us access to quality services is extremely important.

This need for specialized health care can be made even more difficult to achieve for families who are facing divorce. Taking away a parent’s income and replacing it with child support only can cost a child dearly if their special needs are not accounted for. Tomorrow’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC will discuss considerations to make if your child with special needs does require medical attention that is over and above a non-special needs child.

Questions about parenting a special needs child during a divorce or child custody case? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today

Divorce Attorney Houston: The attorneys and staff with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC stand ready to assist you and your family with whatever family law issue you are currently encountering. Our office has represented clients with special needs children on many occasions and are happy to discuss just how we can help you to manage your case in this type of situation. A free of charge consultation with one of our licensed family law attorneys is only a phone call away ... Continue Reading

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How much does it cost to adopt a child in Texas?

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, How much does it cost to adopt a child in Texas? with the immense procedure!

Divorce Lawyer in Spring TX: The decision to adopt a child is one that takes a lot of thought and consideration. If you and your spouse have tried to conceive a child together without success, or if you are incapable of doing so adoption is an option for you to undertake that benefits you, your spouse and a child who needs a loving home.

The emotional aspects of adoption are detailed in countless other online resources if you are interested in gaining a window into the lives of adoptive parents and children.

For today’s blog post I would like to focus on the procedures and costs associated with adopting a child in Texas. As with anything related to becoming a conservator of a child you should be aware that there are aspects of the adoption process that can be frustrating, including the procedures and costs of doing so.

The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC would like to share with you our thoughts on this subject in order to provide you with a base of knowledge from which you can make decisions that will be helpful to you and your family.

Requirements for adoption of a child through the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

In order to adopt a child through the State of Texas, you must be at least twenty-one years old. Your financial stability and background will be examined to determine if you are a suitable adoptive parent. This means that if you do not have a history of earning a consistent income sufficient to provide for the necessities of life for you and a child you will have a difficult time in attempting to become an adoptive parent.

References are also a part of the application process. Department of Family and Protective Services employees will contact your closest family and friends to verify your lifestyle, income and habits are conducive to providing a satisfactory lifestyle for a child.

A criminal background check is a part of the process that can catch some applicants by surprise. Crimes involving family violence, abuse, neglect or harm to children will be especially important for DFPS to look for. Also- if you or any member of your household-family has been involved in a Child Protective Services investigation that will be scrutinized as well by DFPS.

Home Study conducted by the Department of Family and Protective Services

The Department of Family and Protective Services will conduct a home study of your residence in order to verify the information provided to them in your application for adoption and by your references.

All members of your household will be interviewed by DFPS staff and all aspects of your home will be studied and inspected. You will be viewed in your home environment at least once.

Attend training that is held by DFPS employees

These training sessions will allow you as an applicant to learn about the harm that can be caused to children by abuse or neglect from parents. Whether you are applying to be a foster parent or an adoptive parent these sessions will usually determine what route is more appropriate for you.

This is typically a stage where families will bow out of the process if it becomes clear that now is not an appropriate time to adopt a child. The responsibility is obviously staggering and these training sessions are intended to allow families like yours an opportunity to come face to face with this realization in an effort to make sure your heart, mind, and wallet are ready and able to take on the responsibility.

The costs associated with adopting a baby in Texas

Spring TX Divorce Lawyer: Now that we have discussed one of the ways to adopt a child in Texas, and the process behind it, we can get into what the costs are associated with adoption. It is normal to wonder about the costs associated with adoption or to have to think long and hard about how you will be able to pay the expenses.

If you can know what to expect and not be caught off guard about this aspect of adoption you will be better off and can enter the process with a great deal of confidence.

For instance, if you want to adopt an older child then this type of adoption will be the least expensive. The DFPS or a private adoption agency can facilitate this sort of adoption. An adoption of an older child will cost you only a few hundred dollars in all likelihood when you go through a private agency.

The home study that we discussed above and background checks cost money and will represent the lion’s share of costs if you do not utilize an attorney to help you in the adoption process.

Older child adoption costs offset by assistance from DFPS

If you are interested in adopting an older child then the DFPS can offer assistance for up to $1,500 in costs associated with the adoption.

There are special conditions that are associated with this reimbursement of fees, however- one of which being that the child must not be older than six years old. Monthly support from the State is also available to these families once the adoption is complete.

Infant Domestic Adoption Costs and Expenses

If you and your spouse are interested in adopting an American infant then the costs of doing so increase. These sort of adoptions are done privately using the assistance of an attorney to locate a birth mother who is wanting to make her child available for adoption. Adoption agencies in the area of Texas that you live can also help you facilitate an infant adoption.

With that being said, the costs associated with an infant, domestic adoptions can cost as much as $30,000 in some cases if you find and locate a private mother who is willing to work with you on adopting her child. If you go through an adoption agency the costs increase closer to $40,000.

Where on earth is all the money going to, you may be asking? The same home studies, application fees, criminal and CPS background searches and attorney fees that applied to older child adoption still are relevant to infant adoption.

If you are working with a mother who has not yet given birth to the child you plan on adopting it is customary for you and your family to pay for her medical bills. A private agency’s employees that help you in your journey towards adopting a child will need to be paid, as well as counselors who will assist you and the adoptive mother both before and after the adoption occurs.

Infant-International Adoption Costs and Expenses

Finally, if you intend to adopt an infant from a county other than the United States can potentially cost upwards of $50,000 though costs do vary a great deal. A huge factor in determining the cost of the adoption is the country of origin for the child.

An international adoption will likely come with some delays which run up the costs as well. Any costs associated with home studies, background checks, etc. increase due to the nature of distance and the difference in laws between the U.S. and the adopted child’s country of origin. Keep in mind you will have to travel abroad so factor in these costs, also.

Questions regarding the costs of adoption? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

Spring Divorce Lawyer: Thank you for considering the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC in your search for resources on adoption. If you are interested in learning more about this process or have any questions for us please do not hesitate to give us a call today. A licensed family law attorney from our office can meet with you in a free consultation six days a week ... Continue Reading

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Filing a Suit Affecting Parent Child Relationship

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Filing a Suit Affecting Parent Child Relationship with the immense procedure!

Kingwood Divorce Attorney: Many times you will hear about divorce in connection with family law cases in Texas. I will say that the majority of people that walk through the door of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC are interested in discussing a divorce with us, but there are other sorts of family law cases that our attorneys represent clients in.

One of those sorts of cases is called a Suit Affecting Parent Child Relationships, or SAPCR cases for brevity’s sake. These cases involve a child whose parents were never married. If this describes the situation that you find yourself in then this blog post should be helpful for you.

SAPCR cases deal with the same sort of rights and duties for children that a divorce would. Conservatorship, possession, access, and support of a child are all covered in a SAPCR case. If you would like to file a case for your child you would file it with the same court that you would a divorce and would have to serve your child’s other parent just as you would a spouse if you wanted to divorce him or her.

It is even possible for a married person to file a SAPCR against their spouse just to have orders established for these issues with their children. The marriage would remain in place but there would be court orders that pertained to their children in the event that issues arose between them.

What happens, though, if you are not a parent to a child and want to file a SAPCR case to have your own rights and duties established as to a child? Can you even do this? The answer to those questions will be discussed in today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. To start off, we will need to determine if you can file and have a court hear your case.

Standing in a SAPCR case

The Texas Family Code contains the laws that are applicable in a family law case brought in our state. There are multiple different situations that you can qualify under in order to bring a SAPCR case. Obviously, if you are a parent to the child you can bring a SAPCR case. A governmental body like Child Protective Services (CPS) can file a SAPCR case on behalf of a child as well.

We see this with some frequency (unfortunately) when it comes to situations where CPS has received word of a child who may be the victim or abuse or neglect. In this situation, CPS would need to file a SAPCR case in order to get temporary conservatorship rights over the child in order to remove him or her from the home.

A key to having standing to file a SAPCR case in Texas is having had control and care of the child for six months preceding the filing of the SAPCR case- so long as the six months ended no more than ninety days before the day that the SAPCR was filed.

This is important if you are an aunt, uncle or grandparent that has had to shoulder the responsibility of caring for the child or a relative. Likewise, if you are a step-parent and the child and the child’s biological parent have resided with you for the same time period you also may bring a SAPCR suit under this standing requirement.

Mom vs. Dad

The Woodlands Divorce Attorney: By far the most common sort of SAPCR case involves you and the child’s other parent. If you are the mother of a child you may be interested in filing a SAPCR soon after the birth of your child in order to have the father legally recognized as the father of your child. This may take some genetic testing to be accomplished unless the father is willing to admit to paternity.

Once the father is established as a matter of law, you can have child support, possession, access and other rights and duties assigned within the final orders of your case. If you have friends or family members that have been through a divorce then their divorces likely covered the exact same areas for his or her children.

The only difference is that divorces cover aspects related to community property of spouses, as well as spousal support, while SAPCRs relate only to a child.

The Parental Presumption can hurt your chances to win conservatorship of a child

The actions of a parent are presumed to always be in the best interest of their child. With that said, if you are a relative like a grandparent then you have an uphill battle to fight in order to win conservatorship of a child in a SAPCR case. In that case, you must show that if a judge names the parent as a conservator of the child then the child’s health or emotional development will be significantly impaired.

The evidence that must be presented in court cannot be circumstantial or a “he said, she said” sort of thing, either. Rather, the evidence must be extremely specific and show a particular behavior in the parent that will cause harm to the child.

Basically, you cannot file your SAPCR and then expect to win conservatorship rights to a child based on a general idea that you would be the better parent to a child. That will not overcome the parental presumption and will cause you to have a negative outcome in your case.

Questions about SAPCR cases? Please contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today

Spring Divorce Lawyers: If you are in a situation where you need to have orders established for a child but are not now and never were married to the other parent, you will need to file a SAPCR. To do so it is best to speak to an attorney to learn about your rights under Texas law. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC stand ready to meet with you to discuss the services that our office is able to provide to you in a SAPCR case.

A consultation with one of our family law attorneys is always free of charge and we are available to meet with you six days a week. Across southeast Texas, our attorneys have represented clients to successful results in SAPCR cases and we would be honored to speak to you about doing the same for you and your family ... Continue Reading

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Parental Alienation: How to identify and avoid it in your Texas divorce

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Parental Alienation: How to identify and avoid it in your Texas divorce with the immense procedure!

Family Law Attorneys Houston: From speaking with and working with many parents who are going through a divorce, I can tell you that one of the biggest concerns each of them has is how their child will think of him or her after the divorce is completed.

Under the best of circumstances, your family’s life will be thrown into disarray for a period of time during and after the divorce, only to recover and hopefully be better than before. On the other hand, in situations where the divorce leads to further mistrust and bad-will between parents, the relationships that previously existed are completely destroyed.

The end result is often times that parents have accomplished a goal of divorcing their spouse but begin to encounter other hardships that involve their children that were not previously apparent.

Before you begin to assume that it is purely the result of how you as a parent reacts to the divorce and your children, it is important to know that how your spouse relates to you and speaks to you in front of your children can have just as dramatic effect on your relationship with your kids. I am speaking about the concept known as “parental alienation”. While the term parental alienation may sound foreign to you, the concept will sound familiar once we get into.

What exactly is parental alienation?

Parental alienation can take many forms, but at its root describes the behavior or words of your child’s other parent that can be utilized to harm your relationship with your child.

This typically means that if your spouse is speaking badly of you and is doing so in front of your children, he or she is engaged in alienating behavior. While no parent (including you) is perfect, you can do your best to limit the amount that you say in front of your child about your ex-spouse. It is reasonable to expect your spouse to do the same on your behalf.

It is when your ex-spouse repeatedly or habitually uses your name in a negative context that the occasional loss of temper bleeds over into parental alienation. Alienation is more than just anger or frustration boiling over every once in a while. Alienating behavior involves your spouse saying and doing things in order to deliberately harm your relationship with your children. This behavior is not only harmful to you, but it is to your children as well.

Your children are affected by your divorce more than anyone

Houston Family Law Lawyers: While you may have a semi-regular pity party for yourself, lamenting just how much your divorce is affecting your life in a negative manner, your children will ultimately be affected by your divorce more than you or your spouse in all likelihood.

The reason for this is because their entire lives are built around two people: you and your spouse. They rely on you for everything. This includes the stuff we think about commonly- food, clothing and shelter, but also for their emotional well being.

If your ex-spouse is making a habit out of degrading you or manipulating your children into thinking less of you then your children will suffer psychologically due to their sense of self and their sense of the world being eroded. If one of the two pillars that hold up their lives is suddenly made to appear weak or crumbling then you can only imagine what that can do to their psyche.

Children can come out of a divorce with a sense of reality that is severely off-base because a trusted parent is filling them with nonsensical and hurtful false information about the other parent.

Just don’t do it- Keep your ex-spouse’s name out of your conversations with the kids

If you and your spouse are engaged in a dispute during your divorce, or even after your divorce, it is easy enough to fall into the trap of discussing the events with your children. After all, it affects them more than anyone.

Be aware that not only will your court orders bar you from doing so, discussing these issues with your kids is a pathway towards potential alienating behavior. It is not a far leap from telling your children about the reason why a divorce happened to completely trashing and speaking poorly about your ex-spouse.

Children have impressionable minds and it is up to you and your spouse to ensure that their minds are molded to comprehend and evaluate information that is presented to them.

By speaking negatively about their other parent on a continual basis, their young minds can begin to assume bad things about them based on what you are telling them. Even if these issues are true, your children should not be made privy to the inner workings of your divorce or relationship difficulties.

If you want your child to come out of the divorce unscathed and with a strong sense of self, do your best to not only not speak poorly of your spouse but to speak reasonably of him or her.

It could be that you are as mad at him or her as you’ve ever been at any person ever in your life. That’s fine. In front of your children though, do your absolute best to affirm the love that both you and your soon to be ex-spouse have for your children. This will go a long way to building trust between you and your children and will increase their mental stability and fortitude as they too begin to transition to life post-divorce.

Questions about parental alienation? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC

Family Law Lawyer Houston: If you believe that your ex-spouse is attempting to alienate your children from you, please understand that you have the right to stop this behavior.

A free of charge consultation with one of the family law attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC can assist you in stopping this sort of behavior from occurring and can inform you of your rights if it does not. Our consultations are free of charge and are available six days per week ... Continue Reading

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Child Support in Focus: Retroactive Payments

On the off chance that you have require a best reasonable Texas Divorce Law encounter, Child Support in Focus: Retroactive Payments with the immense procedure!

Family Lawyer in Houston: In the event that you do not have a child support order from a Texas Family Law Court that has ordered the payment of child support from another person to you, it may be a question bouncing around in your mind whether or not you can go back and collect payments that would have been made if an order was in place.

If you are the party that would either be eligible to receive those payments or the party who would be on the hook for retroactive child support payments this is a blog that will hopefully be of some assistance to you.

How to go about seeking retroactive child support payments

A court must, if you are seeking to receive retroactive child support payments, do the following:

> Figure out whether it must order these payments to be made > Determine the actual time period that retroactive child support should be collected for > Determine what the paying spouse (obligor) earns in terms of net monthly resources for each year that retroactive child support is ordered > Take the Guideline levels of child support from the Texas Family Code and apply them to the income set forth from #3 and determine what is actually owed in retroactive child support > Take into consideration any circumstances/factors that are necessary in order to deviate from the guidelines levels of support

From the obligor’s standpoint, one of the first things that a court will consider is whether or not he or she has ever been ordered to pay child support on any previous occasion.

If you are the non custodial parent of a child and have never before been ordered to pay child support you can be ordered to pay retroactive child support by a court. On the other hand, if you have been previously ordered by a court to pay support for this child then a court can still order you to pay support in the event that:

>The earlier child support order terminated because you married or remarried the parent who has filed the petition to receive retroactive child support payments > You and the Petitioner then became separated after you married or remarried > Now that there is a separation ongoing the Petitioner is seeking a new order based on that separation

The key here is to understand that just because you have filed, or someone has filed against you, for retroactive child support that does not mean that a judge has to grant the petition. I have seen judges make rulings that have denied retroactive child support petitions on the grounds that the obligor had previously paid amounts towards the support of the child even if those amounts were less than the guideline amounts set forth in the Texas Family Code.

How is the time period that child support is to be collected determined?

Houston Family Law Lawyer: Based on the Family Code, if your court orders an amount of support that is what would have been ordered for the prior four year period before the retroactive child support suit had been filed will likely be considered reasonable.

Keep in mind that the standard a court uses when making any decisions regarding a child is whether or not an order is in the child’s best interests. If you are a parent who is worried that you may be on the hook for retroactive child support this may lift your spirits a tad. There are not that many circumstances that I can think of that will cause a court to award retroactive child support beyond four years.

In the event that you knew or should have known that you were the father of a child whose other parent was seeking the establishment of a child support order and you attempted to avoid the obligation it is possible that a judge could order retroactive child support back until the date you knew or should have known of your obligation to pay child support.

Net Resources- How is this calculated for a potential obligor parent? If you are a regular reader of this blog then you may recall that we have written pretty extensively in the past about this subject.

I’ll save you all the rehashing of the subject here and instead point you to search for this topic on our website. You will find all the information you could possibly want on the subject in our archives.

Obviously, for retroactive child support the court will need to rely on older information to impute a net resources figure on you, and then apply the guidelines as set forth in the Texas Family Code (unless it has reason to deviate from those standards).

A court may consider costs associated with:

> the health or education of your child > the frequency with which you have visitation with your child and also > the age of your child

when considering whether to deviate from the statutory standards for child support.

Additionally, as it pertains specifically to retroactive child support, a court will consider whether or not the petitioning party has attempted to notify you previously of the fact that you are the father of this child.

If it looks to the court that you knew of your paternity or should have known based on evidence made available to you then you may be on the hook for a greater than guidelines level of child support if such an order would not place an undue hardship upon you from a financial perspective.

Questions on retroactive child support? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today

Family Lawyers in Houston: Whether you are the parent who may be potentially liable to pay retroactive child support or are the parent who is seeking retroactive child support, the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC are here to help.

Our licensed family lawattorneys are available six days a week to meet with you to answer your questions in a free of charge consultation. We represent clients across southeast Texas and would be honored to discuss the services we can provide you and your family as well ... Continue Reading