Family Law Archives

Supervised visitation in Texas is a court-ordered arrangement in which a non-custodial parent can spend time with their child only under the supervision of an approved third party. This structure may be implemented to protect the child's best interests if necessary. John Powell provides an in-depth guide to supervised visitation in Pearland, TX.

A divorce or separation can be challenging for parents. In Texas, the concept of “custody” is referred to as “conservatorship” and “Possession & Access,” and it can be either sole or joint, depending on the circumstances. Sole custody (sole managing conservatorship) means one parent has the exclusive right to make crucial decisions for the child.

An initial consultation with a family law attorney is an opportunity to learn more about your case, your rights, your options, and how a specific lawyer can help. Preparing for your first meeting with a family law attorney can enhance the value of your time together.

The Texas Advocacy Project explains that domestic abuse is “the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another.” Unfortunately, abuse remains a serious problem in our region.

Parents have a responsibility to provide proper care and supervision for their children. The failure to do so could potentially be child abandonment. Abandonment is a criminal offense and can have profound implications.

Are you a parent who is going through a complex custody dispute? You may feel stressed out and overwhelmed. This raises an important question: What if you and your co-parent cannot agree on custody?

Mediation is one of the most frequently used alternative dispute resolution (ADR) forms. Under Texas law (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Sec. 154.002), “it is the policy of this state to encourage the peaceable resolution of disputes”—especially true in family law cases.

Are you a part of a same-sex couple who is preparing for a divorce in Texas? You may have many questions about your rights, your options, and how the legal process works. From a legal perspective, same-sex divorce is no different than an opposite-sex divorce.

Are you a father in Texas who is preparing for or going through a difficult custody battle? Our state strongly favors some form of shared legal custody for parents. Our child custody attorney provides an overview of what fathers need to know about seeking sole custody in Texas.

When a couple splits up and there are children involved, you will need to deal with many contentious issues, including child custody. You want the best for your child, so what happens if you think your ex is an unfit parent?

The court will generally determine child custody. The main factor is defined under Texas Family Code 153.002, or the best interests of the child. A judge must consider the child’s best interest when making decisions about custody, visitation, and child support.

If you have children and are divorcing or otherwise splitting up with the child’s other parent, you will need to address the topic of child custody. This means you should be familiar with the terms and processes.

After a divorce, most people do not want to rush into another relationship, let alone another marriage. But there are some who get a boyfriend or girlfriend while married or shortly after the divorce filing and want to make things official with them as soon as possible.

Dealing with a loved one’s death can be devastating. Not only are you dealing with the grief of your family member’s passing, but also their estate.

When a couple with children splits up — whether or not they were ever married — one thing that needs to be decided is child custody. Many parents seem to think they can request sole custody and get it, but that is not often the case.

When a loved one dies without a will, their estate has to go through what is called the probate process. Probate refers to the process of validating a will and distributing assets.

After a divorce or breakup involving children, you and the other parent will likely have to co-parent. This can be hard to do following a divorce, as there will need to be solid communication between the parents.

Co-parenting after a divorce can be stressful. When your child was under your roof 24/7, and you had 100% child custody, you could monitor who they spent time with to a large degree.

When someone passes on in Texas, their property and assets must be identified and distributed to their heirs. As you likely already expect, this can be a complicated process.

Getting a divorce is invariably hard. If you are feeling the stress and the pressure that comes with the divorce process, please know that you are navigating a road that many other people have been down before.

Are you a divorced or separated parent in Texas who needs to relocate? If so, you probably have a lot of questions about how your move will impact child custody.

Child support is a financial payment made by one parent to another following a separation or divorce. The funds are designed to assist with the costs of raising the child.

A surrogate is a woman who becomes pregnant and carries a baby for someone else. A gestational surrogate—through in vitro fertilization (IVF)—means that the surrogate will not be biologically related to the child they will carry.

Unfortunately, not all parents are fit to provide care for children—especially for infants and toddlers. What happens when a parent is deemed unfit in Texas?

When it comes to certainties in life, like death and taxes, people are frightened of both. However, death is often the scarier of the two.

Having an estate plan helps in protecting you, your loved ones, and your assets. However, there are some situations in which problems can arise.

If you are a divorced or separated parent with young children or teenagers, you are certainly not alone.

For parents, going through a divorce or separation can be especially daunting. Your relationship with your child matters.

Are you the parent of a recent or soon-to-be high school graduate? A child becoming a legal adult can be stressful for parents.

You may have heard about sole custody, shared custody, legal custody, and physical custody, but do you know about split custody?

Adoption can be an exciting proposition for a person or couple who is ready to expand their family. For some people, it may be a necessity after a child’s parents have died or had their parental rights taken away.

Many people don’t have any plan in place because they wrongfully assume you need to be a millionaire to need a will or trust.

We may not want to think about it, but death is inevitable. We are all going to face it at some point, so you might as well plan for it.

Estate planning is not something everyone wants to think about or discuss with others.

Estate planning is essential. Every adult should have an estate plan that has been crafted to meet their unique needs.

There are few things more difficult than dealing with the loss of a spouse. Even when it is expected and planned for, there can be many legal and logistical challenges.

Who doesn’t like pay raises? Getting a higher-paying job is always exciting, since the cost of living seems to increase all the time.

Most Texas parents want to do what is best for their children. They feed them, provide them shelter, and care for their medical needs.

Child custody and support are common issues in Texas divorces. If you are a non-custodial parent, you may be concerned about child support and whether the amount will change years after the divorce.

When creating an estate plan, there is a lot to think about. For example, not only will you need to make decisions about how your assets and property should be distributed, but you will also need to name an executor/administrator of your estate and, if you are holding assets in a trust, you will need to name a trustee.

Your ex-husband picked up your daughter on Friday. Your custody agreement states that he gets her every other weekend. Usually, he brings her back on Sunday evening, but he called last night and said he would like to keep her one more night and he would take her to school on Monday. The request was not typical, but after you spoke with your daughter, you agreed to the extra night.