Dallas Family Law Blog

Everyone wants to get through a divorce as quickly as possible due to costly court fees, emotional turmoil and the additional stress of dividing assets. However, a “quickie divorce” may cause more problems in the future.

For example, it takes a significant amount of time to divide assets between spouses. If the process is rushed, a spouse may lose or give up assets they wanted to protect. Luckily, there are ways to ensure your asset division is done efficiently and accurately.

The legal custody of a child is an important responsibility for a person to accept. In Texas, parents generally have legal custody of their kids but when those parents go through divorces the status of their parental rights may be put into question. Generally, divorces will address two forms of child custody and will give parents certain rights based on what will serve the best interests of the children subject to the custody determinations.

Although physical custody involves deciding where a child will live and which parent will be responsible for their day-to-day needs, legal custody has to do with making important choices about a child's upbringing. A parent who has the right to exercise legal custody may be a part of discussions over where the child should go to school or where the child should attend religious services. A parent with legal custody can interject their opinions on whether their child should undergo certain medical procedures or receive care from certain individuals.

Child custody cases can arrive in Dallas courts pursuant to active divorces and on their own when parents separate or need to make changes to their existing parenting plans. Although parents can work together to prepare parenting plans that courts can approve for custodial matters, in is not unusual for courts to be tasked with creating custody schedules for families.

When a court must make decisions about the physical and legal custody of kids, it should first and foremost identify the best interests of the kids whose lives will be affected by the new custodial plan. The court can look at the needs of the children and their relationships with their parents. The court can evaluate if the parents will be able to work together to make a shared custody plan work or if the family may benefit from one parent having custody and the other visitation time with the kids.

A divorce is a legal process that undoes the legal union that two people create when they get married. In Texas, individuals have options for how they can choose to bring about their divorces. They may elect to pursue traditional methods of divorce through the courts, or they may choose to use the services of divorce mediators to find common ground with their soon-to-be ex-spouse and create their own divorce resolutions.

In a mediated divorce the parties work with a qualified third-party who counsels them on their options for divorce, but who does not make any decisions for them regarding their divorce outcomes. A mediator may explain how custody in Texas works, but the mediator may not tell the parties how they should divide their time with their shared children.