Family Law Blog

A Standing Order typically governs the conduct of parties in a divorce or a Suit Affecting the Parent Child Relationship (SAPCR). Standing Orders are usually orders by county, and many counties in Texas do not have standing Orders. If the county in which the lawsuit is filed has Standing Orders, the become effective on the party as soon as the lawsuit is filed, and they become effective on the other party as soon as the citation paperwork is served on the other party to the lawsuit.

Standing Orders do not have to be requested. They automatically apply to every divorce or SAPCR filed in the ...

The Texas Family Code provides a list of twenty-seven rights and duties that a person may have to a child. Of those, most child custody disputes focus on only four of these rights:

1. The right to establish the primary residence of the child;
2. The right to consent to non-emergency medical, dental, psychiatric, psychological and surgical treatment involving invasive procedures;
3. The right to make education decisions; and
4. The right to receive, or the duty to pay, child support.

Being a parent or guardian is much more than just having possession of a child. These rights and duties will ...

Texas law provides several fault-based grounds for granting a divorce. This means that one of the spouses is directly at fault for the break-up of the marriage. These include: cruelty, adultery, conviction of a felony, abandonment, living apart, and confinement in a mental hospital. Cruelty and adultery are the most commonly used fault-based grounds for divorce.

Pursuing a divorce based upon fault-based grounds has many strategic benefits; however, it is not the best thing to do in every case. Often times, a fault-based divorce may become more contested, drawn-out, and costly ...