If the mother of the child is married to a man who is not the biological father of the child in question, the husband must sign what is called a Denial of Paternity along with the father signing the Acknowledgment of Paternity. The signing of an AOP establishes that the signatory is the legal father of the child and establishes paternity.

If there is a pending court case establishing paternity of a child, the Court must either have a valid Acknowledgment of Paternity or a genetic test establishing paternity for the Court to adjudicate parentage as a matter of law.

Contact the Ramos Law Firm if you have additional questions about establishing the paternity of a child.

1. What is your attorney’s hourly rate? – An attorney with an hourly rate of $175 per hour will clearly result with lower attorney’s fees than an attorney who charges $475 per hour. Keep in mind that an attorney’s hourly rate is often reflective of their experience and skill level so it may be in your best interest to choose an experienced attorney at the cost of having higher attorney’s fees.
2. How litigious is your case? – if your divorce requires multiple hearings, mediation, depositions, discovery and final trial you are looking at a divorce costing thousands of dollars. The more time an attorney spends in court the more your end bill will be.
3. Contested or uncontested? If you and your spouse are able to come to an agreement on all issues, including children and property, you may be able to have an uncontested divorce. An uncontested divorce requires minimal litigation, very low cost due to the lack of discovery process and a quicker turnaround time, all of which result in lower fees.

Other factors include the use of expert witnesses, how much you communicate with your attorney and other expenses such as ordering copies transcripts of hearings or service fees. It is truly impossible to tell a client upfront how much a divorce will cost so it’s important to find an attorney who is willing to keep you apprised of your current invoice as well as be willing to assist in cost-cutting measures, such as agreeing to go to mediation in lieu of a full trial.

If you desire to marry a person who is not your previous spouse before the thirty day waiting period expires, you must make a special request that the court waive the waiting period. In an original petition for divorce, a party may request that the 30 day prohibition against marriage after a divorce is finalized be waived. This is stated in the Texas Family Code, section 6.802, as follows:

“WAIVER OF PROHIBITION AGAINST REMARRIAGE.  For good cause shown the court may waive the prohibition against remarriage provided by this subchapter as to either or both spouses if a record of the proceedings is made and preserved or if findings of fact and conclusions of law are filed by the court.”

If granted for good cause, you will receive a waiver from the court allowing you to remarry prior to the expiration of thirty days. What constitutes good cause depends on your specific facts and circumstances. A common example of good cause is that your new betrothed is active military and is set to be deployed prior to the expiration of the waiting period.

If you are contemplating a divorce and would like to request that the court waive the mandatory waiting period, please contact the Ramos Law Firm for a consultation with an attorney where you can discuss your case.

If you and your ex reside within 100 miles of one another, the non-custodial parent can possess the children for a period of thirty days during the summer. The default dates for this period of possession are July 1 – July 31 but if the parent desires a different schedule, they must give the other parent written notice by April 1 prior to summer how and when they desire to schedule their allotted thirty days.

If you and your ex reside more than 100 miles away from each other, the non-custodial parent may have visitation with the children for a period of forty-two days during the summer. The default dates for this period of possession are June 15 – July 27, but just like as stated above, a parent may give written notice by April 1 to elect a different schedule.

The non-custodial parent may elect to visit with the children for their allotted period of time during the default dates or may elect to break the visitation up into two blocks of time, for example fifteen days in June and fifteen days in July. Written notice must be served on the other parent by April 1 to express their planned visitation schedule.

Just because the other parent is granted a large period of time does not mean the primary parent has to go 30 or 42 days without seeing their children. The custodial parent may elect a weekend, via written notice to the other parent by April 15, to exercise a weekend visitation with the children during the block of time with the other parent. This weekend must be designated by the parent and cannot interfere with Father’s Day Weekend.

As with all other visitation under your child custody order, if you and your ex can come to an agreement on visitation schedules that is preferable and in the best interest of the parent and successful co-parenting. The Standard Possession Order and summer visitation language are there to dictate visitation only when the parents can’t agree.

If you have concerns about your current custody arrangement or would like to find out more information, please contact the Ramos Law Firm.

The party who is awarded a portion of retirement benefits will subsequently be responsible for paying related income taxes and fees associated with withdrawing the benefits.

A QDRO allows your ex-spouse to withdraw their share of the money or roll it over into another IRA as outlined by the terms in the QDRO. Rolling over the funds into an IRA allows your ex to postpone the payment of taxes on the money until it is actually withdrawn from the IRA. This aspect is important because it makes the party awarded the funds responsible for the taxes rather than the beneficiary of the retirement plan.

As QDROS can be very intricately drafted and have important tax repercussions, it is very important to have a family law attorney who understands the complexities of QDROs and does not just rely on an employer’s sample plans.

• The rights to property owned prior to being married;
• The right to spousal maintenance or the elimination of spousal maintenance should the marriage end;
• The characterization of property acquired during the marriage.

Prenuptial agreements can be useful for parties with significant assets. A prenuptial agreement must be signed by both parties as well as notarized by a notary prior to being filed in the couple’s county of residence. A prenuptial agreement may be amended or terminated by the parties after the marriage.

A prenuptial agreement may be invalidated for one of the following reasons:

• The agreement was not signed voluntarily;
• The agreement was unconscionable when signed;
• Prior to signing the agreement the party was not provided a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party; did not voluntarily and expressly waive, in writing, any right to disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party; and did not have or could not have had adequate knowledge of the property or financial obligations of the other party.

The parties may also agree to revoke the premarital agreement. This must be done by drafting a formal written revocation signed by both parties.

Premarital agreements can be difficult to draft and the intricacy of the drafting makes it very important that you retain a competent family law attorney that can assist you in drafting an enforceable premarital agreement.

The parties and their attorneys may agree to mutual injunctions at the onset of a divorce or the judge may order them at a temporary orders hearing. Once the judge has signed temporary mutual injunctions it is very important that the parties comply.

Temporary mutual injunctions are different from a temporary restraining order mostly in length. A temporary restraining order is submitted to the court and signed by a judge and usually includes the same provisions that temporary injunctions include. A temporary restraining order, however, only lasts for fourteen days from the date of signature by the judge. Temporary mutual injunctions can be in place for the entire pendency of a divorce proceeding.

If a party violates a temporary mutual injunction, for example selling off community assets or removing a party from an insurance policy, the court can take that behavior and actions into account when dividing the community estate or awarding custody of children.

Judges are more willing to consider the existence of adultery when one of the parents has engaged in the affair in front of the children. A divorce can be a difficult and confusing time for children. A parent who blatantly conducts an affair in the presence of the child is showing very poor judgment, which the judge could take into consideration when awarding custody.

A related issue to adultery is introducing your child to new romantic partners during the pendency of your divorce. While you may have begun divorce proceedings and are separated from your spouse, it can be very confusing for a child, no matter their age, to be introduced to a new boyfriend or girlfriend.

Having a new romantic partner living with the child is frowned upon by almost all family law judges. Some judges are so very much against the idea of prematurely introducing new romantic partners to children that if such an event occurs during the pendency of your divorce they may make a custody determination based on the fact you were so apathetic in considering the best interest of your children.

Judges can circumvent new romantic partners being around the children by including morals clauses in temporary orders. Such a clause states that no unrelated members of the opposite sex may be in the home with the children during specific hours of the night.

If going through a divorce, it’s best to wait until the custody arrangement has been determined and the divorced finalized before introducing a new romantic partner into the children’s life; both for the good of your children and your pending divorce suit.

Adult adoption differs little from the adoption from a minor, with the exception that an adult must consent to the adoption. The biological parents of the adoptee do not need to be notified of the adoption and are not entitled to notice of any adoption proceedings. An original petition for adoption must be filed with the court and a hearing will be held.

One of the most common reasons for a formal adult adoption is when a step-parent was unable to formally adopt a step-child while the child was underage due to a biological parent’s refusal to allow for the adoption to go forward.

The adoption of an adult creates a parent-child relationship in the eyes of the law. One of the legal ramifications of adult adoption is that the adopted adult may no longer inherit from their biological parents, but may only inherit from their adoptive parents, per Texas Family Code §162.507.

An adult adoption will not be granted by the court if it appears that the adoption is being sought to defraud creditors or avoid other legal obligations. It will also not be granted if the judge believes a party is being taken advantage of, such as if a party is disabled, elderly or under duress. Adult adoption can also not be used to receive benefits under U.S. immigration law.

If you are considering adopting an adult of if you are an adult who is considering consenting to being adopted, please contact the Ramos Law Firm so that you may discuss the legalities and adoption process.

To file a suit affecting a parent-child relationship or modification suit, the state of Texas must acquire jurisdiction over the child or children subject to the suit. The child or children must reside in Texas for at least six months for the state to assume jurisdiction. If there is a previous order relating to the children issued by another state, a party must request the registration of a foreign judgment in Texas before an original petition to modify an existing order may be filed. This request is in addition to the requirement that the child have resided in Texas for at least six months.