Posted on April 01, 2020 in Divorce

Affairs are soul crushing. Not only does infidelity destroy families and reputations, but cheating is a huge sign of disrespect. It can affect your trust in future partners and destroy your own self-esteem, in addition to playing a role in the dissolution of your marriage.

We are all attached to our phones now more than ever, so it's often our personal devices that reveal where we have been, who we have been talking to and what we are doing. If you suspect an affair, you should be on the lookout for the following apps on your partner's devices, as they can only spell trouble:

Adult Friend Finder: This app has been around for decades, first releasing back in 1996. It is targeted towards those who are looking to hookup, casually have sex, and just meet someone who's attractive. Basically, it's the ultimate app for someone who is cheating.

Affair D: A direct competitor of Ashley Madison's, and in many ways, very similar. AffairD is a discreet married dating website for cheating wives and cheating husbands. Attached males, attached females or people who are interested in attached people, can meet similar people on Affair D. And it's 100% free.

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 Posted on April 01, 2020 in Divorce

Telling your kids you’re getting a DIVORCE! In the top ten of the most dreaded conversations ever. Deciding how to tell the kids is bad, but answering their questions after can be worse. Lead with love and honesty, while also considering your child's emotional maturity. Consider the questions below before you sit down with your kids.

1. Why? Usually, this is the toughest one to answer, mostly because you’re trying to answer that very question for yourself. To respond without your own pain and anger coming through to your child can be particularly challenging, because your child is looking for assurances. “If I know why this is happening, maybe I can fix it” Let them know that they are loved and that the change is going to be hard but will make everyone happier in time.

2. Are you going to get back together? For children, the idea that this is only temporary would be a much easier pill to swallow. Explaining the new normal and assuring them that both of their parents will always be there for them can help to soften the blow that you will not be getting back together.

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 Posted on April 01, 2020 in High Conflict Family Law

A new survey shows a radical shift in the economic structure of families in the United States as more women say they are outearning their husbands than ever before.

The research by TD Ameritrade says nearly half of the women who took part in the survey say they make as much or more than their partners. That's a seismic change from 1960 when only 3.8% of women were the chief breadwinners, according to the Pew Research Center. Women now comprise more than half of the workforce in the country, and the percentage of those becoming the primary wage earner is expected to rise.

Marital strife over changing roles

Researchers found clear signs of a generational shift as millennial women are nearly twice as likely as their baby boomer counterparts to earn as much or more than their partners. But this often leads to conflict between couples. More than one in five millennials say their relationships feel more strained because one partner earns more than the other, while only one out of every 10 baby boomers say the disparity in earning status causes friction.

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 Posted on April 01, 2020 in High Conflict Family Law

Fear the Cloud

Today, people are texting more and talking less, with today's average adult spending 23 hours a week texting. According to a recent study, Americans exchange twice as many texts as they do phone calls. With that in mind, you would think that we would take a little more care in what we send via text message, but for whatever reason, the social etiquette we show on social media, in person, and on the phone all goes out the window when we text. From lewd photos to incriminating confessions, people will say just about anything via text, all the while mistakenly believing that no one else is watching (or reading). But this could not be further from the truth.

Not many of us understand the “cloud”. That great database in the sky. But rest assured, anything you write or send via text message is stored there and can be accessed at any time—yes, even deleted messages. Because of this, it is extremely important that you refrain from saying anything incriminating or potentially harmful to your character via text message. Especially if you are going through divorce.

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 Posted on March 01, 2020 in Divorce

A spouse's addiction problem can put enormous strain on a marriage. Whether it's with alcohol, drugs, gambling or anything else, a spouse's addiction causes their partner to suffer a great deal of pain.

In the United States, some studies suggest that chronic substance abuse by one or both partners is the third-leading cause of divorce after infidelity and abuse.

How does addiction destroy marriages?

Experts estimate that 24 million married Americans have an addiction or are married to someone with substance abuse issues. There are several ways addiction can erode the marital bond, including:

• Loss of trust: People with addictions tend to lie about the severity of their problem, conceal how much money they spend on their habit and break promises to change their behavior.
• Financial distress: Spouses with addictions waste savings, borrow money and sell property to pay for their habit. Some lose their jobs, while others commit crimes such as theft and DWI.

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 Posted on March 01, 2020 in Child Custody

After enduring the cost of a spouse's substance abuse issues for years, the non-abusing spouse may decide to walk away. Many choose divorce as a way to distance themselves (and their children) from the problems addiction has created.

A parent's misuse of illegal and legal substances can have a profound effect on their children. A divorce might allow you to separate your children from a bad situation, and the courts can support you in the process.

Courts recognize the effect a parent's substance problems can have on their children. For this reason, courts take substance abuse heavily into consideration when looking at custody arrangements.

Destructive behavior

Texas courts don't allow much leeway regarding the safety and protection of children. If children are exposed to continued substance abuse, the user may forfeit their right to custody.

Dangerous ground

Another important factor a judge will consider is the best interest of the child. Substance problems by your spouse, or anyone that has access to their home and your children, could be a determining factor in your custody case. If your partner does have documented substance issues, the court is more likely to restrict access between the offending parent and the child.

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 Posted on March 01, 2020 in Child Custody

Thursday, March 12, 2020, was a day full of constant conflicting messages that impact families’ schedules. Colleges are closing, NCAA sports are cancelling their seasons, the NBA is ending its season, March Madness is over, and public schools are changing Spring Break! If you are like most parents, your initial thought is to keep your children safe and healthy. If you are also divorced or co-parent with another, then your thoughts suddenly shift to the Spring Break schedule and the question, “Who Gets the Kids?”

When does Spring Break possession begin and end? Well, first, it depends on your Order. If you have a custom schedule that provides for a shared week or specific days, then follow your Order. If your Order follows the Standard Possession Order, in even-numbered years, the non-custodial parent has possession of the child from the time school is dismissed for Spring Break until 6:00 p.m. the day before school resumes for Spring Break. Some may say, this extends Spring Break, perhaps indefinitely. However, our Collin County District Courts https://www.facebook.com/CCDistrictCourts/ have injected a little common sense into the situation and issued a statement that the Standard Possession Order under the Texas Family Code follows the originally published school calendar. So, if you live in Collin County, have a standard possession order, and you have possession over spring break, your possession period ends at 6:00 p.m. the day before Spring Break was originally scheduled to resume. Other counties may or may not follow suit, but it is always best to put your children first rather than argue over technical points of when a Spring Break extended by disaster ends.

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 Posted on March 01, 2020 in Child Custody

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Mar. 18 temporarily closing all schools at least through April 3 due to concerns over COVID-19. Some districts had already acted independently by extending spring break vacations or closing buildings until further notice and shifting instruction online. With the President's extension of social distancing guidelines through April 30, it is certain that school closures will continue.

It's a scenario that many parents with child custody arrangements would likely never have anticipated, and some may be confused about the potential effects on court-ordered child visitation agreements, specifically on when they must return children to the other parent.

Texas Supreme Court issues Order over custody schedules

Both the Frisco and McKinney Independent School Districts canceled classes prior to the governor's order affecting childcare schedules for thousands of families. Some parents wonder if closures will have any effect on their visitation schedules.

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 Posted on March 01, 2020 in High Conflict Family Law

Divorce can bring out the worst in anyone. While Texas is a “no-fault” divorce state, spouses can also file on grounds such as abuse, adultery, cruelty, abandonment or fraud. Any one of those instances can easily lead to a high-conflict divorce.

But, allowing anger to boil over into unkind comments about a spouse can actually harm a reputation, damage the family dynamic and, in many cases, hurt a person's chances for a favorable divorce – whether it's through a settlement or litigation.

Advantages of taking the high road

Despite the perceived short-lived emotional benefits of speaking harshly about a soon-to-be ex, making nasty or rude remarks can lead to a lengthy and expensive process. The benefits of an amicable split include:

• Dividing assets: Texas is a community property state, meaning all marital assets are equally divided unless there is a pre- or post-nuptial agreement in place, or other special orders. However, a contentious relationship with your spouse can make reaching a settlement challenging.

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 Posted on March 01, 2020 in High Net Worth Divorce

You’ve spent years building your retirement funds for the future. Now, they are a healthy portion of your portfolio. Unfortunately, a divorce may divert some of those hard-earned funds for years to come.

Dividing retirement accounts and pensions rank second on the list of the most contentious issues during divorces, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. (Spousal support is the most fought-over issue and dividing business assets the third.) An experienced divorce lawyer can explain how best to divide your retirement assets, but here is some information about how a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) can help.

Planning payouts with a QDRO

QDROs are used to divide retirement assets during divorces. How a QDRO splits assets can have a big impact on how intertwined your benefits will be going forward:

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