Texas family law presumes a husband is the father of his wife’s children born during the marriage. A presumed father may challenge paternity, but he generally must do so by the child’s fourth birthday. Adjudication of the paternity of a child with a presumed father may occur later, however, if…
Parties sometimes realize they have different understandings of a Texas divorce decree. The trial court may issue a clarifying order if the decree is ambiguous. In some cases, the decree may be facially unambiguous, but have a latent ambiguity when read in context of the surrounding circumstances. In a recent…
Under Texas family law, a court may grant grandparents reasonable possession and access to a grandchild if three conditions are met. First, at least one of the child’s parents, whether adoptive or biological, must have parental rights to the child. Second, the grandparent must overcome the presumption the child’s parent…
Under Texas family law, a court may order a child’s name be changed if doing so is in the child’s best interest. Neither parent is specifically granted the right to name the child under Texas law, but generally a child’s name will not be changed unless the party seeking the…
The Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is responsible for certain child support services, including collecting and enforcing Texas child support orders. Recipients of certain public assistance programs may automatically qualify for the OAG’s child support services, but others have to apply for the services. The OAG has a…
Texas family law allows the parties to a divorce to enter into a binding mediated settlement agreement (MSA). If the agreement meets certain requirements, a party is entitled to judgment on the agreement. In some cases, however, one party may wish to challenge a mediated settlement agreement. In a recent…
Although it can be difficult, in certain circumstances, Texas family law may permit a grandparent to obtain custody even when a parent wants custody. In a recent case, a mother appealed an order giving the grandparents the exclusive right to determine a child’s primary residence. In 2014, the trial court…
The Texas Family Code provides guidelines to assist courts in calculating child support that are based on a percentage of the parent’s net monthly resources. The statute sets forth what types of income are included and excluded from the parent’s net monthly resources. In many families, it is fairly straight-forward…
Generally, a permanent injunction is difficult to obtain and requires proof that certain requirements are met. In Texas child custody cases, however, a court may be able to issue a permanent injunction, even if those requirements have not been met, if it finds that the injunction is in the child’s…
Texas law generally favors the freedom of contract. This principle also applies to prenuptial agreements. In Texas divorce cases, prenuptial agreements are generally valid and enforceable unless they were involuntarily signed or were unconscionable and signed without proper disclosures. A wife recently challenged the enforceability of a prenuptial agreement. The…