The Wright Firm's Weblog

Texas Family Law: When a Divorce isn’t a Divorce

Across the country the debate about same-sex marriage has heated up and become a very recent focal point. This blog is neither against nor in support of such marriages.

A married couple moves to the Dallas area from New York, they have two children, two stable well paying careers, buy a home in a suburb of Dallas, blend in with two SUV’s, and generally live the idyllic Dallas area life. But at some point, somehow the marriage breaks, it’s irreparable and the couple starts down the road to divorce. Each obtain legal counsel and explain the marriage, the children, the assets and how they each feel the divorce should proceed.  While this couple fit a general picture of a Dallas area divorce case, they are not. This is a same-sex couple.

Texas does not recognize their marriage in New York State. Regardless of political views, personal and moral views, the discrepancy between New York law and Texas law creates a huge legal problem when a same-sex couple decides to divorce.  In Texas, marriage is specifically defined as between a man and a woman no less than five times in the State Constitution and Family Code.

So why, if the couple isn’t actually married in Texas must they divorce?

The importance of being allowed a legal divorce is primarily an issue of property and assets. In a divorce the community property which is jointly held and the separate property which is individually held is divided fairly. Each spouse walks away with what a court or their agreement dictate is theirs. The theoretical same-sex couple has both community and separate property but no way to divide and legally end the marriage.

There are some states that will allow a same-sex couple to divorce in that state even if the state does not recognize the marriage to begin with. Currently in Texas, The Texas Supreme Court has two cases for review that address whether Texas should allow same-sex divorce. The Texas Supreme Court may decide that District Courts across Texas can grant divorces to same-sex couples even though same-sex marriages are unconstitutional under the Texas Constitution. However, since the Supreme Court of the United States has recently heard arguments on California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act, the Texas Supreme Court may wait to accept the cases for review until after the decision of the US Supreme Court is released.

For right now the theoretical couple in Dallas can use mediation and collaborative law to attempt to divide property and assets. In some cases same-sex couples designate their property and assets under a business partnership or joint venture. The business designation allows the Texas Business Code to rule the dissolution of the business. A practical if unfeeling way to end a relationship.

Do you have questions about obtaining a divorce in Dallas County or Collin County? Are you considering what steps to take to begin the divorce process? Give the lawyers at The Wright Firm a call. We practice family law throughout the Dallas area and are here to help! Call us at (972) 353-4600 or visit our website at thewrightlawyers.com.

Self-Help Legal Websites?

More and more companies are offering cut rate legal services over the internet.  If you’ve ever heard the old adage, “you get what you pay for”, it definitely applies here.  A recent article in Consumer Reports did an evaluation of a few websites.  For a glimpse at the article click here: Consumer Reports.  To create the report, the magazine drafted four legal forms using the sites.  Three professors were then asked to evaluate the drafted documents.  The professors all came to the same conclusion, the documents just weren’t up to par. 

 

            Generally, an attorney will sit down with the client and go over several details in drafting a will, divorce decree, or estate plan, where legal websites only touch on the bare bones minimum amount of information in drafting.  The forms produced by legal websites are generally fill in the blank types of documents.  When you have such a general legal document, many problems arise.  Your needs may not be fully met.  Most of the time, for example in a divorce decree, there needs to be very specific provisions.  There is no “general” case.  Every client has a different work schedule, or the property varies.  General terms can raise questions as to interpretation when it comes time to actually use the document.  If you have a document that is very general, you will probably end up spending more money litigating in the interpretation of the document than it would have cost to just draft it right the first time.  A recent article was written about the Consumer Report and it can be found here: Article.  The article summed it up nicely, you are best off consulting an attorney, consult the websites at your own risk! 

 

To reach out to the firm, check us out on the web at www.thewrightlawyers.com or contact our office at 972-353-4600. 

Virgin Father says he’s “Donorsexual”

36-year-old Trent Arsenault is the father of 14 children.  Mr. Arsenault is also a virgin.  How did this happen?  Arsenault claims that he feels it is his duty to help childless couples by supplying them with sperm free of charge, and that he has devoted all of his sexual energy to this mission. He has coined the term “donorsexual” to describe his activities.  The Food and Drug Administration has ordered him to cease and desist.

                Does this mean that Mr. Arsenault is on the hook for child support for the 14 offspring he has helped create?  Under Texas law, that would turn on whether Arsenault falls within the definition of a “donor”.  Texas Family Code Sec. 160.702 says that a donor is not a parent of a child conceived by assisted reproduction.  A “donor” is a man who provides sperm to a licensed physician to be used for assisted reproduction.  If Mr. Arsenault provided his “donations” directly to the couples he is helping, then he may have a legal problem.

                Do you have questions about Texas Paternity issues?  The Wright Firm is here to help you!  Give our office a call at (972) 353-4600 or check us out on the web at www.thewrightlawyers.com.

Huffington Post article can be found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/03/trent-arsenault-donorsexual-sperm-donor-video_n_1251595.html?ref=weird-news

 

Can a divorce be bad for business?

Social media outlets have been ablaze with news of Kim Kardashian filing for divorce after a mere 72 days of wedded “bliss”.  Many are now questioning whether the $10 million wedding-turned-immediate-divorce will generate backlash that will hurt the Kardashian brand.  Though there is much hate mail flying around the Twitter-verse and wedding vendors are furious, USA today reports that Kim K’s brand is safe.  The experts interviewed all came to the same conclusion – Kim’s divorce will just be a blip on her business radar, and the publicity surrounding it could actually be good for revenues.

For those of us without our own reality show, divorce can have a bigger impact on business.  In a Texas divorce if you own an interest in a business, that ownership interest can be considered a community asset; meaning, it could go into the “pot” of assets that the court divides in your divorce.  Divorce can affect your business in other ways as well.  If you and your spouse worked together, divorce obviously will put a huge strain on that working relationship.  If your business depends on “goodwill” in the community, the mud-slinging involved in a contentious divorce can be damaging to both your business and personal reputation.

Are you worried about how a divorce will affect your business?  The Wright Firm is here to help answer your questions!  Give us a call at (972) 353-4600 or check us out on the web at www.thewrightlawyers.com.

Original USA Today story can be found here:  http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/story/2011-11-01/kim-kardashian-kris-humphries-divorce/51020246/1

In case you’re curious where Kim Kardashian falls in the ranks of shortest celebrity marriage, check out this info graphic from the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/31/shortest-celebrity-marriages_n_1068180.html?1320097823

 

L.A. Confidential!

In a story that sounds a bit like old Hollywood film noir:  A Los Angeles private detective faces accusations of using showgirls to lure divorcing men into drunk driving charges.  Allegedly at the behest of a divorcing wife, Christopher Butler set up a “sting” operation wherein he hired a former Las Vegas dancer to connect with the husband on a dating website.  After that the showgirl just had to get the husband to meet her, take a few shots of tequila, and convince him to get behind the wheel.  The cops took it from there.

Butler, a former police detective, is also facing federal indictment for selling drugs and operating a brothel – both in conjunction with California police agencies doing undercover work.

The Wright Firm would never use illegal means to trap an opposing party.  However, there ARE legal ways of using private investigators in a divorce case.  Word to the wise – if you are going through a divorce, behave yourself as if you are being watched.  You never know when it might be happening!

Do you need help with your divorce case?  Are you curious what options are available to investigate your spouse? Give The Wright Firm a call at (972) 353-4600, or check us out on the web at www.thewrightlawyers.com.

For the full American Bar Association article, click here:  http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/private_detective_accused_of_setting_up_divorcing_men_for_duis_with_help_of/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_email

 

Gettin’ the Loot!

After London was rocked by four days of rioting, looting and fires, police have now charged the 1000^th person for participation in the mayhem.  The acting police chief is urging citizens to turn in anyone they believe to be associated with the rioting and not to, “…let them get away with it.”  Can it ever be legal to loot?

 

Well, the short answer is surprisingly “Yes” but only under very limited circumstances.  Most jurisdictions recognize the defense of “necessity” to a criminal charge; in this instance, looting is criminally considered theft.  The basic premise of a necessity defense is that the accused had no choice but to break the law in order to protect himself and others from death or serious bodily harm.

 

So, if a looter took a baseball bat to save his life from being ending by a gang of rioters, necessity may be a plausible defense.  On the other hand, if a looter takes a 50-inch plasma TV because he thinks he’ll die if he misses an episode of The Real Housewives… not so much.

 

The Texas Penal Code does recognize the defense of necessity if three conditions are met (see TPC §9.22):

1) you reasonably believe your conduct is immediately necessary to avoid imminent harm;

2) the urgency of avoiding the harm clearly outweighs the damage caused by breaking the law; and

3) the actual law you broke doesn’t specifically exclude using the necessity defense.

 

Bottom line, unless you are stealing a shotgun to protect your family from the Zombie Apocalypse (link 1) (link 2), better not go looting.

 

For more on this, see original article on Necessity here: http://criminallawnewsnow.com/2011/08/is-it-ever-legal-to-loot/

 

Article on arrests in the London riots here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44172456

 

For more information on Texas law contact The Wright Firm, L.L.P. at 972-353-4600 or visit our website at www.thewrightlawyers.com . 

 

How The Wright Firm spent the 4th of July, 2011!

With the July 4th holiday behind us,  we thought it would be fun to show how some of us spent our 4^th of July vacations. The Wright Firm recognizes that the July 4^th holiday is a special summer time for our employees to take a break from working on legal cases and spend time with their family and friends. Here is some of what we did during our time off:

 We all saw our share of fireworks!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of us spent time with family and friends. 

Attorney Brad Michelsen  with his three brothers during the 4^th of July weekend.

 

 

 

Cynthia Palmer’s daughter has fun hanging out at friend’s pool for a cookout and fireworks.

 

 

 

 

 

Diana Rodriguez sets up a slip and slide for her grandkiddos.

 

 

 

Allison Martin’s daughter spends some family time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of us used the time to travel:

 Danya Fuller and Will floating and relaxing on the Guadalupe River.

 

 

 

Patrick and Sheri Wright and family spent time on the Texas Coast.

 

 

 

Paul and Rachael Wright spent time on the Alabama Coast.

 

 

 

Along the way we explored some interesting American History:

The Wright Girls standing next to the immense Saturn V Rocket. 

The Saturn V remains the most powerful rockets ever built, and it was launched 13 times from 1967 to 1973, carrying 27 Apollo astronauts into space.  Nine of the missions it launched traveled to the moon, and six landed there. 

 

 

Paul Wright’s family explored the historic civil war battleground of Vicksburg, Mississippi.  The Confederate surrender following the siege at Vicksburg is sometimes considered, when combined with Gen. Robert E. Lee’s defeat at Gettysburg the previous day, the turning point of the war.  The City of Vicksburg would not celebrate Independence Day for about eighty years as a result of the siege and surrender.  The total casualties and loses for both sides totaled almost 8,000 killed or wounded.  29,495 Confederate troops were captured.  

 

We hope you all had a safe and happy 4th of July.  We thank our clients for letting us all have a little family time.  

 

Wacky Marriage Laws

Clients complain to me all the time about how strange Texas Family Law is.  Well, to all of those critics, I say take a look at the following weird marriage laws from other U.S. States:

1. Montana is the only state in America where BOTH the bride and the groom can use a “proxy” to stand in for them if they cannot be present at their own wedding.  (Okay, to be fair – Texas does permit ONE prospective spouse to appear by proxy.  See Texas Family Code Section 2.203)
2. For a few months, Arkansas law permitted ANYONE under 18 (even infants) to marry if they had parental consent.  The state legislators forgot to put in an age minimum! This goof was corrected in April 2008, and we will assume all toddler marriages have since been annulled.
3. I double-dare you to divorce me!  In Delaware an official legal ground for annulment is that you got married “because of a jest or dare.”
4. In Kentucky it is illegal to marry the same person 4 times.  You can get married to and divorced from different people, however, as many times as you want.
5. Massachusetts has a 2 unusual marriage laws to its credit:
   1. A married couple may not sleep in the nude in a rented room (what pervy innkeeper keeps an eye on this?); and
   2. In Truro, MA - A groom-to-be must prove his manliness by hunting and killing either 6 blackbirds or 3 crows.  Nothing more manly than a bird hunter!
   3. In South Carolina, it is a misdemeanor for a man over the age of 16 to propose marriage and not “mean it.”  But, I suppose if someone dared the guy to propose, he could always run to Delaware for an annulment…
   4. In Wichita, Kansas, a woman cannot use her husband’s mistreatment of her mother as a ground for divorce.  Good news for guys who hate their mother-in-law.
   5. Keep those lips to yourself!  In Hartford, Connecticut, it is illegal for married couples to kiss on Sunday.
   6. In New Orleans, Louisiana, it is against the law for a palm reader, fortune teller, or other “mystic” to perform a wedding ceremony.  Are they afraid the medium is going to tip off the couple about their future marital problems?

Have questions about our (much more normal!) Texas laws on marriage and divorce?  Give The Wright Firm a call at (972) 353-4600 or check us out on the web at www.thewrightlawyers.com!

Original MSN story can be found here: http://glo.msn.com/relationships/10-obscure-marriage-laws-5450.gallery?gt1=49006

 

Big Screen Televisions, The Super Bowl Party, and Nachos!

Since The Wright Firm, LLP is a Metroplex based Texas law firm, we have the great fortune of having a front row seat to all that Super Bowl XLV has to offer, from the NFL Experience to the amazing light and graphic displays in both Dallas and Ft. Worth and then of course watching both The Green Bay Packers and Steelers traverse the North Texas ice to attend Media Day this morning.

Since our board certified family law partner, Patrick Wright normally hosts the family Super Bowl party, and thus gives us the front row seat to the Big Game, it made me wonder this morning what law could he be violating in the process and that lead to a January 31, 2010 article written by Nate Anderson regarding big-screen televisions and copyright law.  See http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/01/will-your-big-screen-super-bowl-party-violate-copyright-law.ars.  It’s an interesting comment on how the NFL protects its intellectual property rights, particularly it’s trademarks and well worth the read.

The take away for me (Paul Wright, Partner) and that I find somewhat upsetting is the fact that  although he has not charged friends and family in the past, “apparently” Patrick can ask friends and family to cover the cost of food and drink of the Big Event and it does not violate Title 17 of the US Code. The lawyer in me likes the word “apparently” in this instance.  Who knows what he would charge for nachos!

If you have questions on Texas law, give The Wright Firm, L.L.P. at call at 972-353-4600 or visit our web site at www.thewrightlawyers.com.