In order to be granted a modification of custody, you must be able to prove to the court that there has been a substantial change in circumstances which will significantly affect the child's stability. Things that qualify as substantial changes in circumstance include geographical moves that would impact a child's stability and changes in lifestyle (such as substance abuse or neglect). Either the custodial or the non custodial parentThe parent that retains physical custody of the child. can file for modification of custody if they can prove it is in the best interest of the childThis is the legal standard that the Texas court system uses to make decisions related to children. When a Texas judge is faced with a decision about a child, they are going to ask himself or herself, "Is this in the best interest of the child?" before he or she makes a decision.. read more »

Divorce is a fact of life for about half of all marriages. Couples facing divorce are often very concerned about the prospect of going to court and about the impact the court system can have on their family. Fortunately, there is an alternative.

Collaborative Divorce Seminar

We created a short 12 minute online seminar to give you a brief overview of this unique option for settling family law disputes. read more »

Occasionally, my client will tell me that their spouse's attorney is telling them that we can do their case collaboratively, but that they don't want to sign a Collaborative Law Participation Agreement. This is a very bad idea and you should tell your spouse to proceed carefully with that lawyer. Whenever I hear this, it tells me one of two things about that lawyer: read more »

Your children are likely going to experience sadness, fear and frustration because of your divorce.  As much as you love them, you can't fix that.  But there are things you can do to help them deal with those emotions and even minimize them to some extent.

Consider this post as a starter guide.  I'm a divorce lawyer, not a child psychologist, so if you need more advice, I recommend that you speak to a professional counselor. For now, I want to suggest some basic do's and don'ts. read more »

I've worked with a lot of divorce lawyers over the years and it's safe to say that not all are created equal.  In fact, there are probably just as many styles as there are attorneys.  Generally, I've learned that most of the lawyers fit into one of three categories. I describe each of these categories as a different animal. I call them the lamb, the pit bull and the fox. read more »

You may not legally divorce someone and then seek a legal annulment in Texas.  In Texas, a marriage is either dissolved by divorce or annulment, not both.