The Texas Family Code sets out the circumstances under which Texas spousal maintenance may be ordered. The court may order maintenance to a spouse only if they will lack sufficient property after the divorce to provide for their minimum reasonable needs. The spouse must also meet one of three conditions,…
International marriages can lead to complex divorces, especially in regards to child custody. In a recent Texas divorce case, a mother appealed a decree that awarded the father the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence. According to the appeals court, the parties married while the father was stationed…
Texas has adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (“UCCJEA”), which identifies what state has jurisdiction over custody matters. The UCCJEA generally prioritizes the child’s home state for jurisdiction. The child’s home state is where they have lived with a parent for the six months before the custody…
Courts may modify a Texas custody order if doing so is in the best interest of the children and there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances of the child or a conservator since the order was rendered. Tex. Fam. Code § 156.101. In determining the children’s best…
Parental rights of same-sex couples can be complex. A Texas appeals court recently considered a case in which the mother’s spouse who had been named as a parent on the child’s birth certificate challenged a court order for genetic testing and a subsequent order adjudicating the child’s biological father as…
A party must establish standing to maintain a lawsuit. If the party does not have standing, the court does not have subject-matter jurisdiction. The parties cannot waive subject matter jurisdiction. The Texas Family Code sets forth when a non-parent has standing to pursue access or pursue to a child. A…
In some Texas custody cases, parents may not agree on the best medical treatment for a child, especially a child with complex special needs. Courts sometimes give each parent the authority to make decisions regarding medical treatment during their periods of possession, but this can become complicated when the parents…
The Fourteenth Court of Appeals recently reversed a trial court’s order imposing restrictions on international travel for a child whose mother had ties to Russia. In another recent case, however, the Third District Court of Appeals determined there was no error in a trial court’s imposition of travel restrictions for…
A trial court may modify a Texas conservatorship if modification is in the child’s best interest and the child is at least 12 years old and has told the court in chambers which parent they prefer to have the exclusive right to designate their primary residence. Tex . Fam .…
Sometimes when one parent has international ties, the other parent may have concerns about international abduction. There is a two-step statutory process to assess and mitigate risk of parental international abduction. The court must consider certain factors to determine if there is credible evidence of a potential risk. If the…