Texas Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Yes, a spouse can sign a power of attorney authorizing someone else to take care of any matters the spouse could personally do, as long as they mentally competent, regardless of whether they are incarcerated or not.  A spouse does not have "a right to everything" if the other spouse is incarcerated.  Spouses often own community property which is subject to their joint control.  A spouse signing a power of attorney does not negate the other spouse's rights with respect to joint management community property.  Spouses often also own property that is one spouse's separate property or is the sole management community property of one spouse.  A power of attorney signed by a spouse can give the attorney-in-fact named in the POA the authority to control the separate property and the sole management community property of the spouse that signed the POA.... Read More

During a divorce, there is a rebuttable presumption that all of your marital assets are community property, regardless of which spouse's name is listed on the title.  A party claiming to have a separate property interest in an item of property (for example, because they traded in another vehicle they owned before the marriage or used separate funds which were in a bank of account before the marriage) has the burden of proving their separate property interest by clear and convincing evidence, which often requires undisputed documentary evidence.  This usually isn't a factor in a marriage that has lasted "years."Upon divorce, your community property will be divided by the court in a manner that is "just and right" which does not necessarily mean 50-50.  The evidence you detail in your question will be considered in making a "just and right" division of your marital assets.  In most cases, barring unusual evidence, each spouse is awarded the motor vehicle they usually drive and is responsible for paying any debt owed that is secured by the vehicle.  If there is a significant disparity in value or equity, the court typically adjusts that using other assets.  Awarding a motor vehicle to one spouse while making the other spouse responsible for the debt is a recipe for post-divorce conflict and proceedings.  A competent and experienced attorney will strongly caution you against agreeing to such an arrangement.  A competent and experienced judge typically will not order it.  ... Read More

You should resubmit this question using the practice area "criminal law."  It does not appear to involve business litigation.Attorneys will only see your question if it is listed as being within a practice area they list in their profile.  Very few business litigation attorneys also practice in the area of criminal law.  So you are targeting the wrong audience.... Read More

Most agreed or default decrees are signed at the prove-up hearing when they are handed to the judge.  It usually only takes a few seconds.If the parties have a dispute about the contents of the Decree, either party can file a motion to enter and set it for hearing.  Any dispute will be resolved at that hearing.  That may require the Decree to be revised.  If not, the judge typically will sign it at the end of that hearing.... Read More

That is untrue.  Typically, when parties file for divorce, they either agree or the court enters temporary orders detailing which party gets exclusive temporary use and possession of real estate, motor vehicles, and potentially other property and which recurring bills each party is ordered to pay during the pendency of the case.  Such temporary orders may also include temporary support for a spouse or any children of the marriage, interim attorney fees if one party in in control of most of the community funds, and a parenting plan for custody & possession of any children.It is not automatic that each spouse must pay 1/2 of all bills.  ... Read More

It will be up to the Judge, ultimately. If you violate your probation by - for example, being convicted of commiting another crime (public intoxication in your case), the state can file a motion to revoke your probation. The felony probation would mean you could be revoked and sentenced anywhere within the punishment range for that offense. So if the offense were, for example, a 3rd degree felony, you could be revoked and sentenced from 2 to 10 years in prison (even if your probation is shorter). These are all what COULD happen. You also could have your probation reinstated or extended with additional conditions. Whats IS going to happen? Impossible to predict. If you want to increase your chances of staying on probation, hire an attorney to represent you on the probation revocation.  Good luck!... Read More

Did she have a right to be there? If not, then its a burglary. If she had a right to be there (like if she was an invited guest or lived there), its a criminal mischief. The level of the criminal mischief will depend on the dollar amount of the damages caused. Is the garage attached to your house or in a separate structure? If its part of your house, its burglary of a habitation. If its in a separate building, its burglary of a building.... Read More

I think that would be a highly speculative lawsuit which would not be cost-effective to pursue given the likely very limited compensatory damages.I think it would be relatively easy to brush ants off of any truly valuable belongings like jewelry, watches, or cell phones, and that the cumulative value of less expensive possessions like clothing would be a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.  It may also be difficult to persuade a jury that the time and cost to shake or brush the ants off these less expensive items would be so great as to justify throwing them all away.  Given that a simple lawsuit for damages could easily cost $50,000 and take two years, and that a speculative one like this would likely cost more and take longer, I would counsel against expending that money with the hope of recovering a few hundred or few thousand dollars for some discarded possessions and the price of a hotel room.... Read More

You can serve your ex with a request for production of documents or serve the bank with a subpoena for your ex-'s bank records.  With respect to the felony conviction, such records are public records which you can obtain directly from the clerk of the court where your ex was convicted.  Since you intent to offer them as evidence, you will want to ask for certified copies.I note that to show a pattern, you will want a continuous sequence of evidence regularly occurring throughout the 20 years.  Usually, a 20-year old conviction standing alone is too remote in time to be relevant.  If you have competent evidence of multiple other convictions over that period of time for the same or substantially identical behavior, you may be able to persuasively argue against his lawyer's objection to your request for the documents concerning the 20-year old conviction.  ... Read More

Since your lease is with the owner/landlord, you did the right thing sending payment to them.  You must continue to honor the terms of your lease with the owner/landlord despite what the other tenant does.Your rights with respect to your co-tenant will be determined by the terms of your agreement with your co-tenant.  A co-tenant cannot evict another co-tenant.  But, if the arrangement is a sublease rather than a co-tenancy in the lease with the owner/landlord, the sublessor would have the same rights as a landlord with respect to the sublessee.... Read More

Yes, they can.  Public funding for schools is allocated based upon where the student resides.  In districts that allow open enrollment, the parents must complete the appropriate forms to enroll their student in a different district or specific school campus, which then enables the transfer of public funding for that student to the appropriate district and school campus.  It is illegal to secretly enroll the student using someone else's address (often grandparents or another relative).  Parents who do so may end up having to compensate the school district for the public cost of the student's education and will probably have to transfer their student back to a school that serves the area where the parents reside.  ... Read More

In order to enforce a court order by contempt of court, the order typically must be signed and the party against whom the order is being enforced must have actual notice of its contents.In divorce cases, the written temporary order memorializing the associate judge's rulings at the temporary order hearing is typically prepared by the petitioner/movant's attorney and circulated to the respondent's attorney to be approved as to form or to make any objections within a couple of days after the temporary order hearing. If there are no objections to the form of the order, it is typically signed by the judge within a week of the hearing.  A temporary visitation order can also be enforced by means other than contempt of court, for example by giving make-up visitation time to the parent deprived of a scheduled visit.Sometimes, for strategic reasons, it is unwise to ask the court to strictly enforce a court order against the other party because the violation itself might be evidence of something you want to show the court about the other party that may enhance your case or weaken their case.  ... Read More

Are you a juvenile?  If you are charged as a juvenile it will be a different process. You may still be eligible for probation either way, but the new case - possession of a controlled substance in a drug free zone - is a felony, and more serious. For the best outcome, it would be a good idea to hire an attorney.... Read More