Could I obtain primary custody if my wife is leaving me and moving 500 miles away with our 4 month old son?:
My wife and I decided to take 1 month apart to see if we could rekindle our marriage. We live in South Texas and she went to Oklahoma (500 miles away) to stay with her family. She took our 4 month old son and I was planning to come and visit him a few times until they moved back to Texas with me. My wife has decided that she doesn't want to come back and she wants to divorce.
She assumes that I'm going to be the non-custodial parent, but I want him to live with me. Since our son was born in Texas and the 3 of us all lived here for his entire life, I believe it's in his best interest to stay with me. She has already unenrolled him from his daycare and changed his pediatrician to one in Oklahoma.
She is a wonderful mother, but she doesn't have a job and is living with her sister. Do I have enough grounds to win a custody case?
Since it was her decision to leave, I shouldn't have to uproot my life and follow them to Oklahoma just to be in my son's life. My concern is that I don't have any family or close friends here in Texas. Would the judge rule against me since she has a larger support system in OK?
Cynthia’s answer:
Because the child was born here and because the mom left under false pretenses, you could petition a court here to order her to return with the child. If not too much time has passed, you are likely to be successful in the short term. The support-system question is certainly an issue, but in Texas, it is not an issue that comes before the issue of the child being in close proximity to both parents-- there is a presumption that it is best for the child to have both parents near by and in the child's life.
You should consider retaining counsel soon and taking action soon. The more time that goes by, the harder it will be to succeed on this issue. Good luck.
If I've never been served with temporary orders nor have I seen them or signed them can they be enforced?: We are going through a divorce live in the same house share the same bed. He filed for divorce now he wants me to move out on January 1, 2015.... Our attorneys said we wouldn't have to go to court if we could agree on a date for ME to move off our property. We were scheduled for court Dec. 1, 2014 for these temporary orders....neither of us went....my Laywer wanted more money to go that day I didn't have the money. We talked he is not holding up his end of the agreement!
Cynthia’s answer: No, not unless you agree to the terms, waive service, or show up at the hearing. But you should not accept my comments as legal advice-- you have a lawyer.
Texas. Married. My mother gave us $20K which we put down on a new home. Divorcing. Can I claim that $20K as separate prop?: Mother didn't say whether she was giving the money to me or us. We will sell the house and split proceeds. I'm wondering whether $20k should go to me before the split because it was from my mother and therefore separate property.
Cynthia’s answer:
Your best bet may be to plead equitable reimbursement and plead separate property as an alternative theory. Neither is completely satisfactory here. You must prove separate property by clear and convincing evidence, and from what you have stated so far, the facts aren't very clear or convincing that the property was a gift to you (that would therefore be separate). But if you do prove that, and the $20,000 represented the full down payment, then you can argue that the house is separate.
Reimbursement is an equitable theory that the judge has discretion to grant or deny.
One other approach is to argue that the percentage portion of the house attributable to the $20,000 is separate.