During a litigated divorce, judges must decide who will have the right to make non-emergency decisions about children’s living arrangement, where they will attend school, their medical care, and their religious training. Courts may award sole custody to one parent or give both parents the joint right to make decisions about their children. Having sole custody means one parent need not consult with the other parent when making decisions about the children. On the other hand, … [Read more...]
What To Expect In A Texas Divorce
Both parties are frustrated during a divorce, because the spouse who wants the divorce feels the process is too slow, and the spouse who wants to save the marriage wants to slow things down. Ultimately, the outcome of your divorce will depend on whether you choose a collaborative or an adversarial divorce. A collaborative divorce offers many benefits, including privacy, lower cost, transparency, client control, convenience, preserving family relationships, protecting children, … [Read more...]
Five Types Of Married Couples
Based on numerous studies of how married couples interact, John Gottman has sorted couples into five types: Validating, Volatile, Conflict-Avoiding, Hostile, and Hostile--Detached. Validating, Volatile, and Conflict-Avoiding couples are generally happy in their marriages, Hostile couples are unhappy, but none of these types are likely to divorce. On the other hand, Hostile-Detached couples are unhappy and may be heading toward divorce. Each type is different, but you can know … [Read more...]
How To Divide Property In Texas
Texas courts are mandated to divide marital property in a “just and right” manner, but that doesn’t always mean a 50/50 split. Texas courts consider many factors when dividing a marital estate. For example, if one spouse commits adultery, family violence, is a felon, or abandons the marriage, courts may award a larger share of community property to the innocent spouse. It also matters whether the property in questions is characterized as community or separate, because Texas … [Read more...]
Seven Marriage Destroying Habits
Everyone has habits that annoy their spouse, but some behaviors can destroy your marriage if you don’t change. The good news is it’s probably not too late to change those habits and rebuild your marriage. Below are the seven common habits that can destroy any marriage if they continue. Addiction. Being addicted to social media, gaming, food, alcohol, drugs, shopping, smoking, or gambling can destroy the strongest marriage. If you are addicted to anything, stop and … [Read more...]
New Holiday Traditions While Divorcing
Holidays can be difficult for children during a divorce. To ease the pain, establish new traditions for you and your children to enjoy over the holidays. New Christmas activities will bring you and your children together and give them joy during this trying time. If possible, plan a joint Christmas celebration with your spouse because that will help your children feel you both still love them. If that’s not practical, plan new activities for you and your children to … [Read more...]
The History of Divorce – Part 4
During the 11th Century, Pope Gregory VII excommunicated all Eastern Orthodox Christians because he was competing with the head of the Eastern Catholic Church for Papal power. The Eastern Orthodox Church never adopted the view that celibacy is the preferred way of life for Christians, and Eastern Priests were allowed to marry and divorce. Eastern Orthodox divorces required a judicial trial and courts granted divorces on grounds of impotence, attempted murder of a spouse, long … [Read more...]
Using the “F” Word In Divorce
In a divorce case, we have a rule about not using the “F’ word. No, it is not that word, but it is the word “Fair”. Everyone wants a fair divorce settlement, but exactly what’s “fair”? There are two major issues that must be resolved in any divorce–how to divide assets and what to do about the kids. The major financial issues are to determine what assets belong to the community estate and what assets are separate property, who will pay child support, the amount of child … [Read more...]
Effect of Divorce on Children and Adolescents
Divorce can have significant negative effects on children and adolescents. Intense parental conflict during or after a divorce is associated with mental health problems among their children. Hetherington found that approximately 25 percent of children whose parents divorced suffered serious emotional, social, and psychological problems as adults compared with just 10 percent of children whose parents remained married. Moreover, children who were very young when their parents divorced had … [Read more...]
History of Divorce: Part III
Roman divorce customs were changed by Christian authorities when the Catholic Church became the official religion of Rome. Christian leaders believed divorce was immoral and marriage should be indissoluble. Catholic scholars believed celibacy was a superior spiritual state to marriage and that it was better to be married than commit the sin of fornication. Early Christian doctrines had a strong influence on divorce laws throughout Europe. In the 4th Century, St. Augustine and others proposed … [Read more...]
