Nathan Templeton Anderson’s Answers

Sometimes Texas courts grant temporary orders which require the wage-earning spouse to pay the attorneys' fees of the other party. If the husband is the sole bread winner (based on your question he is), there is a chance the court will order him to pay your sister-in-law's attorneys fees. The best way to achieve this is for her to retain an attorney and then seek temporary support in the form of attorneys' fees while the divorce is pending.

The duty of support owed by a parent generally ends when the parent-child relationship is terminated by court order. Also termination of the parent-child relationship usually supersedes any existing orders for child support. Voluntarily terminating your parental rights is an extremely serious matter and you should carefully consider its consequences. In addition to ending the duty to support your daughter, voluntarily terminating your rights ends most other legal rights and duties. There...

You should consider bringing a suit to terminate the father's parental rights. Under the Texas Family Code, to terminate the parent-child relationship, the court must find clear and convincing evidence (this is higher than other levels involved in family law cases) supporting at least one of 25 grounds for termination set forth in Chapter 161 of the Texas Family Code. The 25 statutory grounds can generally be broken up into five broad categories: (1) the parent consents to termination; (2)...

The Texas Family Code sets forth four general grounds upon which an annulment can be granted. They are: 1. If a party to the marriage was at least 16 but under 18 at the time of marriage and that party did not have parental consent or court-ordered permission to marry; 2. If at the time of marriage they party seeking annulment was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, as a result lacked the capacity to consent to the marriage, and has not voluntarily lived with the other party...

In addition to having the Attorney General go after your ex-husband, you can also bring a lawsuit to enforce the terms of the child support provisions contained in your divorce decree. There are several different methods of enforcing the child support order that you can ask for. Here is a list (in no particular order) of the remedies: 1. Contempt (meaning you can have your ex thrown in jail until he makes good on his child support payments); 2. Confirmation of arrearages (this is where...

Texas is a no fault divorce state which essentially means that neither party necessarily has to prove the other did something "wrong" causing the divorce. However, fault grounds often arise in divorce proceeding and the court will consider them in dividing the community property. The division of property under the Texas Family Code has to be "just and right" - not necessarily a 50/50 split. Because you are still married until the court enters a final decree of divorce, you have technically...

It is important to differentiate between two different types of lawsuits. First, there is a criminal action which is prosecuted by the State of Texas against an individual who committed a crime. Second, there is a civil action which is prosecuted by the individual who suffered the harm. In your case, it sounds as if the only legal remedies your friend considered were criminal in nature. That being said, your friend is entitled to bring a civil action against her former roommates for the...

All property acquired during marriage is presumed to be community property. Because Texas does NOT recognize legal separation as a marital status, any property acquired prior to the entry of the final decree of divorce would be presumed community property. I hope this helps! www.oneilanderson.com

In Texas property acquired during marriage by a gift is considered separate property. However, there is a presumption that all property acquired during marriage is community property and the burden is on you to show that the property in question is your separate property. Having your wife's name on the title isn't enough to show that the gift was meant for the both of you. Another thing to keep in mind is that later down the road, you can draft up an agreement between the two of you...

Your divorce is not final until there is a final decree of divorce entered by the court. You can agree on the terms of the decree (some people come to an agreement through alternative dispute resolution, or between themselves). It sounds as if you've reached a preliminary agreement, but there is no decree. Because of this the discovery period is likely still open, and the other side is still entitled to conduct discovery of your assets. If you can reach an agreement as to the language of...