Going through a divorce is one of the hardest things a person will ever experience. Divorce changes everything. I believe deciding to seek a divorce is the hardest part of the process. You should be absolutely sure that your marriage is beyond saving. If you are not certain, you should at least try marriage counseling. You’ve invested so much of your life into your marriage relationship you need to be sure it’s over before seeking an attorney. [Some people have filed for divorce hoping to “shock” the other spouse into addressing marital issues. It is very rare that filing for divorce helps to save a marriage, and The Chip Parker Law Firm will not file such cases.] Once you’ve made that decision you should seek a good lawyer.
Some people make the mistake of finding the cheapest lawyer to handle their divorce. Your divorce case should be important to your attorney. You need an attorney who will listen to you and who will support you. Concerned with our clients’ emotional well-being, we sometimes will refer our clients to trusted counselors to help through this process. There are group programs available that can help assist you and your children as well. We take a personal, individual approach to our family law cases at The Chip Parker Law Firm. Your questions will be answered, and you will know what to expect. We may not always tell you what you want to hear, but we will always tell you the truth.
Please click on the links below to learn more about the specifics of divorce cases.
CHILD SUPPORT
Child support is generally required to be paid by the parent who does not have primary possession of the children. There are well defined guidelines in the Texas Family Code as to the amount of child support to be paid. This is determined by the amount of the average monthly income of the paying spouse, and the number of children. For example: for one child, a parent will typically pay 20% of his/her monthly “net resources” for child support. The percentage is changed according to how many children the parent is responsible for. “Net resources” is income from all sources, less certain tax allocations and other possible deductions. The child support obligation can be ordered to be withheld from the obligor’s paycheck and sent directly to the State child support disbursement unit where it will be recorded and then sent to the parent who is to receive the payment. Child support is normally ordered to be paid until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school.
The parent who pays child support, usually, must also either provide health insurance coverage for the children, or reimburse the other spouse for the costs of covering the children under their health insurance plan. Medical expenses not covered by health insurance, including co-pays and prescriptions, are typically ordered to be split by the parents on a 50/50 basis.
CUSTODY/VISITATION
Child custody and visitation issues are normally the primary points of contention in a divorce case. Custody trials are the most emotional and most difficult type of cases I have taken to a jury. Each case is different and the controlling factor in a custody dispute is what is in the best interest of the children.
Custody
In
Visitation
First of all, each parent can have possession of the children at any time that both parents agree to. In the absence of some other agreement there will be a set possession order.
The Texas Family Code has a Standard Possession Order that is presumed to be adequate. In a nutshell: the children primarily reside with one parent, and the other parent is entitled to possession of the children on the first, third, and fifth weekends of every month, along with a couple of hours during the week on Thursday night. The other parent also gets 30 days during the summer, some time during Christmas break, and Thanksgiving and Spring Break are swapped every other year. There are also allocations for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day as well as the child’s birthday. There are other finer points involving school holidays, etc. The possession order will have specific times and places for the children to be exchanged. Excluding times the children are asleep or at school, the actual time of possession is almost 50% for each parent.
These visitation terms change somewhat if the parents reside over 100 miles apart. The periods of possession are fewer in number, but for longer periods of time.
Each parent should strive to spend as much time as possible with their children, and each parent should encourage their children to spend time with the other parent. Especially after divorce, co-parenting must be productive if you expect to raise healthy, responsible children.
