The Wright Firm's Weblog

Happy Campers or Texas Family Law?

You want your child to go to basketball camp this summer, but your ex wants to enroll the kid in advanced basket-weaving instead.  Who wins? 

The odds are that unless you have a very unique Divorce Decree or Child Custody Order, NEITHER parent is expressly granted the right to decide what camps the kiddies can attend.  This means that two predominant factors are going to go into the determination of whether your child will be enrolled in the camp you want:

1)      Whose possession time is it?  If the camp is during YOUR visitation time, you can sign your child up.  If the camp is during the other parent’s time, better let it go.  If you book activities for the child during the other parent’s time, you put yourself at risk of a Judge viewing your actions as denying that other parent his/her visitation time. 

2)      Who is going to pay for it?   If you want to enroll your child in a camp over the protest of the other parent, be prepared to pay every penny of costs associated with the camp.  If you’re ok with paying for it, go for it.  If you can’t afford the camp without the other parent contributing financially – better start sweet-talking them.

 

For information about Texas Family Law contact The Wright Firm, L.L.P. at 972-353-4600 or visit our website at www.thewrightlawyers.com. 

 

Point of Law: Texas Divorce Waiting Period

The Court may not grant a divorce in Texas before the 60th day after the date the suit was filed.  The waiting period is not required before a court may grant an annulment or declare a marriage void.  

A waiting period is not required if the court finds that: 

The opposing spouse has been finally convicted of or received deferred adjudication for an offense involving family violence against their spouse or a member of the spouse's household; or their is an active protective order against the other spouse because of family violence committed during the marriage.

The 60-waiting period is required based on the rationale that the parties ought not rush into divorce when there might still be a genuine prospect for reconciliation.  

This point of law has been brought to you by The Wright Firm, L.L.P.  If you have questions about the Texas divorce waiting period, contact our office at 972-353-4600 or reach us by the web at www.thewrightlawyers.com.

 

You’ve been served!

There are those individuals out there who receive a huge rush when tracking others down to serve them with lawsuits. We call these people process servers or servers. Sometimes they are individuals who are privately licensed by the State of Texas and sometimes they are Constables who are actually work for the government.  These individuals can be a great help to you and your attorney when they are working to serve a lawsuit for you and they can be a pain in your behind when you are the one they are looking for.  Ultimately, it is my opinion, that you can’t outrun, outsmart, or hide from service for too long.  These people simply have a job to do.  They will likely have information about where you live, where you work, what flight you’re coming in on, and even the make, model and plate numbers on your vehicle.  In fact, they can even have access to serve you in your own home,  wake you up from a dead sleep or catch you cooking breakfast if your spouse allows them into the home.

                It is important to know, that when you are served, your audition just started.  How you react will most certainly be forwarded onto the other party and his/her attorney.  Your reaction and behavior is a gauge of what you may act like in the future and how the opposing party and their attorney may decide to proceed forward.  That being said, don’t yell and scream at the server. It only will make you look unstable. They are doing there job.  Don’t refuse to sign the paperwork because guess what you don’t have too.  Don’t throw your car in reverse and fly down your driveway threatening to take out everyone behind you including the server. And don’t refuse to accept the paperwork because likely the process server will leave it on the ground where they said the magic words, “Mr. Doe, you’ve been served.”  That is all that is required. And from that point forward no one is too touch those papers but you. Which means you run the potential to have others know your business because they will likely just be left on the ground or under a rock. 

                Another important thing to remember, is that avoiding a process server will only go so far.  There are rules within the Code that allow a process server or constable to leave the documents with another individual and or affixed to your front door, your work front door, or any other place you are likely to be found.  From this point forward you are deemed served.  If you get served, you need to contact a lawyer for a consultation right away. Most of the time the documents are time sensitive and you can really damage yourself and your case if you do not respond timely.  

This post has been brought to you by The Wright Firm, L.L.P.  If you have questions, contact our office at 972-353-4600 or reach us by the web at www.thewrightlawyers.com.

 

What is a Managing Conservator in Texas?

A “managing conservator” in a divorce or family law context is generally given every one of the rights, privileges, duties and powers associated with a parent, to the exclusion of all other people, including the other parent, other than as otherwise ordered from the court. In a nutshell, the managing conservator is the primary custodian of the children, and (1) has the right to make most of the major decisions governing the children’s lives, (2) has got the primary physical possession of the children (custody) and (3) has the right to receive child support on behalf of the children. There are two kinds of managing conservators, “sole managing conservatorship” and “joint managing conservatorship”.