Category Archives: Child Custody
Texas Fathers Pursue Changes to Child Custody Law
When it comes to child custody cases, fathers often get the short end of the stick. While Texas custody law is written to avoid favoring the mothers in divorce and other custody cases, judges still tend to award primary custody to mothers. Because the law assumes that children are better off with both parents in… Read More »
Your Rights When Your Child’s Custodial Parent Won’t Let You See Your Child
With the help of an attorney, it is usually possible for a noncustodial parent to gain access to his children. In many Texas divorces and other cases where a child’s parents aren’t married, the mother ends up with primary custody of the child or children. Fathers are often supposed to be able to visit their children… Read More »
Can Presumed Fathers Pursue Custody Rights in Texas Divorce?
Divorce may end your relationship with your wife but it does not break the bond between you and your children. Unfortunately, I have seen divorce cases where my clients learn for the first time they are not the biological fathers of the children they love. The good news is that Texas law does not necessarily… Read More »
How Much Control Do Children Have in Texas Custody Decisions?
Under standard Texas law, all issues pertaining to the children of divorce are decided based on the best interests of the children. The children’s preferences often play a role in those decisions. During my many years as a Houston family law attorney, I have seen the law evolve to strike a balance between what children… Read More »
A Good Parenting Plan Goes a Long Way
Child custody agreements begin with assigning custody, or conservatorship, and determining the financial responsibilities of each parent. Whether you have shared custody or one parent is the sole conservator, you must present a parenting plan for court approval that details the rights and duties of each parent. Once the court signs off on the plan,… Read More »
Child Custody Arrangements for Special Needs Children
Parenting a child is one of the most demanding tasks an adult takes on. However, parenting a child who has special needs because of a physical, emotional or cognitive condition is even more challenging. Along with professional help, special needs children often require accommodations at home and at school, and finding the most useful education… Read More »
Co-Parenting: If She Can Do It…
Some parents can support their children relatively easily after a divorce; some cannot. For those who cannot, a surprising role model comes to us in the form of Madonna Louise Ciccone, better known to the world as Madonna. According to The New York Times, Madonna and her ex-husband Guy Ritchie teamed up on a weekend… Read More »
Alienation: The Low Road to High Conflict
In many divorce cases, claims of alienation are quick to surface when one party feels mistreated, either by the other party or by children of the marriage that is ending. In some cases, it is an empty attempt to gain the upper hand in a custody conflict; in other cases, evidence exists to support the… Read More »
Ongoing Drama for Baby Veronica
In a case sure to be studied from many angles for years, the contested custody battle over the little girl known as Baby Veronica” took a criminal turn in early August when a felony warrant for custodial interference was issued for Dusten Brown, Baby Veronica’s biological father. I recently discussed the U.S. Supreme Court decision… Read More »