Prevost and Shaff

Does gender make a difference in child custody cases?

The answer is no, gender is not a consideration by the Court. The Court determines the “best interests of the child.”

How long does it take to get a divorce?

The minimum amount of time, by law (Texas Family Code §6.702), is 60 days from the initial date in which you file for divorce. In other words, if you file for divorce on November 1, the earliest date that you can have a final hearing is December 31, which is the 61st day. One vital consideration to keep in mind is that a contested divorce can take much longer, and can involve temporary orders, pre-trial hearings, written discovery, depositions, drug testing, and psychologists’ reports.

How does the court distribute marital property?

Texas is a community property states; however, a 50-50 division of the marital estate is not required. The Court awards the marital property according to the standard, “just and right.”.

How does the Court determine child support?

There are statutory guidelines established by the Texas Legislature for the Court to follow when calculating child support. The Court considers such factors as income and earning potential of the parties, housing costs, age and needs of the children as well as marital property settlements.

Where would a divorce be filed?

There are 254 counties in the state of Texas. Your divorce must be filed in the county where you have been living for during the previous 90 days. If you and your spouse have lived in different counties during the past 90 days, you can file either in his county or in your county.

You should also keep in mind that if you and your spouse have been living 200 miles apart from each other for the past 90 days, he can file the divorce in his county, and you’ll have to drive 200 miles every time there’s a hearing.

The other venue requirement is that you must have lived in the state of Texas for at least six months.

Will I be required to pay alimony?

Technically, there’s no such thing as alimony in Texas. Texas uses the term “spousal maintenance” (The Family Code §§8.051 et seq.) to describe what most people refer to as alimony. Spousal maintenance is ordered only in limited circumstances, but may be available to some parties.

Maintenance is really set up for the “Dick Van Dyke” type of marriage, where Dad goes out and works, and Mom stays at home washing dishes, cooking, and raising children. After 15 years, one of them files for divorce; Mom has limited job skills. That’s why spousal maintenance (in Texas) lasts a maximum of three years, except in cases where the spouse or one of the children is physically disabled. The purpose of spousal maintenance is to give Mom a chance to get some schooling that will enable her to get a job. Its purpose is NOT to make Dad support her for the rest of her life.

Please note that the "maintenance" statute in Texas is gender-neutral, in spite of my reference to “Mom” in the above paragraphs.

How is child support calculated?

For illustration purposes only we are going to assume Dad is the one who will be paying. Child support is calculated based on the following factors:

1. The net income --- from all sources including a second job (if applicable), overtime, commissions, and bonuses of the person who is paying;

2. the number of children for whom he will be paying child support under that particular order; and

3. the number of “outside children” for hwom he is legally responsible. “Outside children” means children that aren’t “before the Court” in case No. 1; it includes (a) children for whom Dad is paying child support under another Court AND (b) minor children who are “his” (doesn’t include stepchildren) and who are living with him.

For instance, a man who has only one child will pay that ex-wife 20 percent of his net income(that’s AFTER taxes) for child support PLUS he will be required to provide health insurance for the child (unless the parties agree otherwise). For two children, it would be 25 percent. Three children would be 30 percent.

If he has two ex-wives, each with one child, he should be paying each ex-wife 17.5 percent of his net income (a total of 35 percent of his net income for two children).

Child support ends when the youngest child (in that particular family) turns 18 or finishes high school, whichever happens last. When they’re 18 and out of high school, they’r supposed to begin supporting themselves.

Child support also ends if a child gets married or dies.

The percentages apply only to the first $7,500 of your net monthly income, if you’re fortunate enough to be earning more than that.

Or feel free to call our office at:

(972) 239-6200