This past week I helped a fellow attorney select a jury in a case where the children when they were with mom had a large number of tardies and absences for no apparent reason. We lucked out with the jury panel. One of the members of the panel was a principal. I got to ask her about a dozen questions about the effect of tardies and absences on children. While she was not selected for the jury, she got the point across to the jury — parents who cannot get their children to school on time or allow their children to stay home for no real reason are damaging their children’s education.

When children are involved in a divorce settlement, the situation can easily get out of control if not managed properly. If you and your spouse can agree on custody, the Court will almost always approve your written agreement. If you and your spouse cannot work out an agreement, the Court will decide custody. A custody battle is extremely expensive and destructive. John K. Grubb and Associates is dedicated to settling custody disputes in the most efficient and least destructive means possible.

When child custody is being decided, it is also necessary to discuss child support. The State of Texas has established guidelines to determine child support based upon the parent’s net resources. The definition of net resources is quite long — for most people, it means all wage and salary income and other compensation for personal services, interest, dividends, royalty income, self-employment income and net rental income, less social security taxes and federal income tax withholding for a single person claiming one personal exemption and the standard deduction. We have experience in calculating this figure and presenting it to the Court in a manner that will produce the best possible results.