Texas Divorce and Prenuptial Agreement BLOG

In cases of domestic violence, protective orders are an effective tool to keep an offender away from a victim. Protective orders are also useful for a number of other matters that may be involved when a relationship involves domestic violence. Your judge has leeway to make other orders that can help you and your child get away from the violence. Victims of domestic violence should seek all of the help that they need. What are the benefits of a protective order? When domestic violence is involved, a protective order can put an end to the violence by alerting the offender to his or her wrongdoing and by threatening arrest if the offender violates the order (police in the area will receive a copy of the order) Protective orders are a quick legal process; they usually take up to 14 days at the most, but in cases involving an immediate danger to victims, the court can put in place an immediate order without holding a hearing Protective orders can forbid an offender from harassing or threatening victims in any way, even if no physical contact is involved; they can also forbid an offender from going near one of his or her…
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Parents who fear that a child’s non-custodial parent may take the child out of state or may pose harm to the child can take action to prevent this. For couples undergoing a divorce, a temporary custody order can be an effective legal tool. Courts will grant temporary custody orders pending a divorce based on the evidence that a parent can provide. Proof that the other parent appears to be preparing to move (for example, quitting a job and selling a house) may be able to persuade a judge to issue a legal order granting custody to the requesting parent until the divorce case becomes final. If the other parent violates that order, he or she could then face criminal charges. A temporary or emergency child custody order may also be appropriate when there is already a child custody order is in place if the child faces a new threat. Say that the child custody order grants custody to parent A. Ordinarily parent B could not do anything that violates the terms of that order, but perhaps parent A has been arrested or has begun abusing alcohol or drugs. Parent B should seek an emergency child custody order before taking the…
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While parental kidnapping laws vary from state to state, two main factors determine whether a parent’s act qualifies as parental kidnapping: The status of child custody A parent’s motives in taking a child away from the other parent Child custody status Texas law criminalizes anyone (including a parent) who takes a child knowing that he or she is violating a child custody order. If you are the parent with custody over your child, the child’s other parent cannot do anything that violates the terms of your custody order. Also a parent may not move a child out of the judicial district area if he or she knows that a custody case is currently pending without seeking the permission of the court. Finally, Texas law makes it illegal for non-custodial parents to entice or persuade their children to leave the custodial parent or anyone else acting in that capacity. For parents who would legitimately like to move, they have to petition the court with jurisdiction over the child custody case. This petition gives the non-custodial parent a chance to oppose the move. While the petition is pending, an act of the non-custodial parent to take the child away to avoid the…
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For non-biological parents and others who have had a close relationship with a child, adoption has been the most effective way for them to protect their rights when it comes to child custody. This is because a formal adoption procedure establishes them as the lawful parents of the child; in fact, usually once the adoption becomes final, the adoptive parents obtain a new birth certificate that lists them as the parents at the time of their child’s birth. As a result, non-biological parents who formally adopt a child are entitled to the same rights and protections under the law as if they had been the biological parents of the child. Depending on your family situation, the path to adoption may not be straightforward. Here are several circumstances that can make it more difficult for non-biological parents to adopt a child: Grandparents who seek to adopt after the death of a child’s parents – they can make their case to the court that the child’s best interests are with them, but the court may prefer to grant an adoption to a younger relative like the deceased’s brothers or sisters before considering grandparents. Same-sex couples who would like to adopt a child…
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