Texas Child Custody Legal Questions

In order to file for divorce in Texas, at the time that you file, either you or your spouse must've been living in Texas for at least six months and in the county that you're filing in for at least 90 days. So, you have the following options assuming you have been living in Texas for at least six months: you can file in the county that you just relocated from, if you had been living in that county for 90 days; or, you can file in the county that your husband has been living in if he has been there for for at least 90 days ; or, you can wait until you have been living in the county that you now reside in for 90 days. ... 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

If you have a standard possession schedule, it probably says that either of you can send a competent adult to pick up/drop off the children. While your concerns are reasonable, the dad has the same level of responsibility as you in making sure the child is safe at all times. You should not use the situation to deny dad his possession time because that could come back to hurt you if he files an enforcement. However, if you are concerned about the drive time, maybe you could offer to meet her and/or the dad halfway.... Read More

You have an attorney.   Your attorney is on your side and knows the law far better than you do.   Follow the attorney's advice.  Your attorney should be helping you to get a rendition on the MSA and entry of an order.  (If not, make sure you are up to date in the fee agreement.)    If the child is two or older, the child can probably walk to a car by himself.   Direct intereaction between you and your ex will not be helpful to anyone right now.   Follow your lawyer's advice.      ... Read More

I am not aware of any law against kissing babies.  Politicians used to kiss babies as they campaigned.  What makes you think there was any thing inappropriate about his kissing the baby?  How did that even come up in conversation?  Before COVID if you handed me a baby there would be a good chance that I might kiss the baby.  What am I missing?  ... Read More

The first thing you should do is contact the court clerk to find out if the case was actually closed. If it was closed, you need to get the final order. You will then file a Motion to Modify that order and ask the court to order that the children live with you. You will have to show a substantial change in circumstances if your mother will contest your motion. Some of the issues you will face is providing an explanation as to why you were not involved in the CPS process and the court case. You should have been considered as a placement option if you could provide a stable place for the children at that time. If things have changed for the better, you would use that as a reason the court should order that the children live with you. ... Read More

If the order includes a possession schedule for your child, you could enforce the schedule and get your child back. There are a couple of different documents you could file. If you don't want to get an attorney, you can find forms and instructions on how to get your child back at www.texaslawhelp.org.... Read More

You would have to provide more information about your age and the court orders for an attorney to give you advice about your options. Because your are probably a minor, it would be better for you to call a law firm directly to discuss the specifics of your case. But I will tell you that court usually make orders that allow the child to spend time with both parents.... Read More

You may request that or anything else you want the mother to do, but she does not have to agree. Normaly unless there is some specific term in your court order stating that Mr. X cannot be around the children, the mother may allow any person she likes around the child.  The only thing in your lis of negatives about the man that may impact a child is if the man uses marijuana around your child or drives while under the influence with the child in the car.   Check your court order for a mediation of modification provision.  Some orders contain a provision requiring a party to try mediating with the other party before asking for a modification from the court.  Then follow the terms of that provision and try to set up a medition for you and your ex to discuss your concerns. It would not hurt to discuss your concerns with the mother in a neutral setting without the child present.  The other man should not be present of course for the discussion.  ... Read More

Unfortunately for her, she cannot move to the other parent's home without the permission of her mom.  To accomplish her goal without mom's consent, your niece's Dad needs to bring a suit to modify the parent-child relationship and follow that through to obtain a court order that changes custody.  During that law suit, her Dad could ask that the court confer with your niece about which parent's home she prefers.  The court will consult with any child age 12 and older.  Without going to court she will need to wait until she is age 18.... Read More

Yes. You may move.  My advice is that you take yourself out of danger and file a police report about the violence.  While you are still married you may live anywhere you like with your children.  If your husband prevents you from taking the kids, he will not get in trouble for that. You would have the right to leave without them. If you get away with the kids and your husband decides he wants the children back, he may come get them from you. Neither one of you has a stronger or better right to the children while you are married and there are no court orders.  If you contacted the police, the police may decide to let your husband take the kids, or the police may decide to leave the kids with you. If, however, your husband files for divorce or files a suit regarding the children in Texas within a few months of your leaving, and he asks the court to order that you return the children to the county, the court is likely to grant your husband's request.   A domestic violence incident that is unreported is difficult to use in court in your favor to protect you.  Please report any and all incidents immediately.  Please also keep you and your children safe.... Read More

The place to start is in Arizona.  See if there are any court orders regarding the child.  Was your sister married? Where is the father of the child?  Has the child been taken into foster care?  You should contact the child welfare agency in the city or county where your sister and her daughter lived in order to let them know you are interested in taking care of the child. You may want to contact the bar association for the county to request a referral to an attorney who handles custody matters.  Normally if the father was around, he is entitled to raise his daughter.  You would need to serve him with the petition to establish custody if you start a suit to do so. You also need to check to see if your sister left a will or had created any kind of trust for her daughter. You will likely need to travel to Arizona to take care of this case, but the courts may also be willing to work with you via video conference due to the Covid-19 outbreak.... Read More

  You should request in the suit that is pending for child support for your child's name to be changed.  Most of the time the court will not remove the father's last name as the child's last name.  If you try to bring a separate suit to change the child's name, you have to serve the father of the child with the suit to change the name.  If he doesn't want it changed, he will likely participate and object to the name change in that suit.  If the father just fails to take care of business with the court, then you may succeed in getting the name changed by default.  Nine months is a very short time in which to determine that a parent has dropped out forever.  He may step up to the plate either now or when the child is older.  That is not discouraged by the family courts though it is not optimal for you or your child.... Read More

You, the maternal uncle and the maternal grandparents all have a right to seek custody.  The basis is that you are a blood relative of the child and leaving the child with your brother (the father of the child) will risk significant impairment of the child's physical health or emotional development.  This language is found in the Texas Family Code at Section 102.004 (a)(1).   You may have a leg up over the maternal relatives if your brother will consent to you bringing suit to establish custody of the child. That is Section 102.004 (a)(2). It is possible that you and the grandparents or you and the uncle could all be named conservators of the child, but the court would name one party the managing conservator who has the right to determine the primary residence of the child.   If you think the child would be better off with you, then you should act quickly to bring a suit for conservatorship.... Read More

That does not sound good for your daughter at all.  For her sake and safety, try to talk to her Dad to find out when he is home and able to be there to enjoy his time with your daughter.  Maybe he needs his possession periods to be adjusted, which you could do by agreement.  You may even want to offer to bring her to him when he gets off work.  Although he is allowed to use a competent adult for transportation, his possession periods are supposed to be exercised by him.  If you cannot work out an agreement you may want to try to file a suit to modify his possession time to periods when he is not working.  You may also want to talk to your ex about how uncomfortable your daughter feels when she is left alone with his male friends.  ... Read More