FAQ

The term “uncontested divorce” has no real legal meaning, but traditionally refers to cases where the parties have negotiated all of the issues involved in the case, including all issues about their children, property and debt division.

It may be difficult for the client to anticipate what issues must be covered and negotiated without the guidance of an attorney, but once the client understands what things must be settled and included in a Final Decree of Divorce, it is possible for parties to work through all of these concerns.

Negotiating your own divorce is not a method that is right for everyone, and should not be undertaken without the guidance and consultation of an attorney to fully understand your rights and duties as well as, the traps and liabilities that will certainly be involved.

Your call is welcome to discuss your divorce in more depth, our services and fees or to schedule an appointment: 713.527.0511.

In Texas we do not have a legal definition of “Joint Custody” but rather refer to the legal guidelines for the care and control of children as “conservatorship”.

Joint Managing Conservatorship (JMC) is presumed to be in the best interest of a child, but is not always ordered by the Courts. Certain circumstances, like violence or abuse, clearly do not warrant JMC status. JMC does not mean that your child will live 50% of the time with you and 50% of the time with the other parent. Rather, it is a situation where the Court sets out the relative rights, duties and responsibilities of each parent for the care and control of children. As a general rule, under a JMC situation, one party will have the exclusive right to establish the primary home for the child and the other party will see that child frequently and under a regular schedule, but both parties will have the right to be involved in the child’s school activities, extracurricular activities, and medical care.

Your call is welcome to discuss your divorce in more depth, our services and fees or to schedule an appointment: 713.527.0511.

Collaborative Law is a less adversarial process for clients and their lawyers to resolve the issues in their divorce by problem solving and negotiation in a sprit of mutual interest and cooperation. It is a promising way to amicably resolve divorce issues and maintain the ability to co-parent after the divorce by keeping the adversarial positioning to a minimum.

The parties and the lawyers enter into a Collaborative Agreement to make all good faith efforts to resolve all issues outside of the courthouse. If for some reason an agreement can not be reached, the lawyers must withdraw from representation and the clients must obtain new lawyers.

Your call is welcome to discuss your divorce in more depth, our services and fees or to schedule an appointment: 713.527.0511.

Mediation is a process whereby the parties to a dispute are aided in reaching a settlement by a trained professional. Generally mediators are lawyers, but there are some mediators that are lay people trained in the issues most crucial to the parties in a family law or divorce dispute. In Harris County and the surrounding counties, mediation is conducted, most frequently, after the family lawsuit is filed and is under way and involves the attorneys and parties in a one day session of settlement negotiation. Parties also have the option of employing a mediator before they file suit or attending mediation without their attorneys. This method may not be recommended for all clients but can be very useful to some.

The short answer is “No”, but in certain instances only one party has access to marital funds and so we may ask the Court to order the other party to distribute funds to us in order to properly represent you.

Even in that instance, the client is the person who is ultimately responsible for his or her representation. In the end, the Court may order one party to reimburse the other party for funds expended for legal representation.

That sort of question is similar to “How much does a car cost?” Well, it depends on the car and it depends on the divorce. We bill our clients on an hourly basis and so if your case requires fewer attorney and staff hours, the cost will be less than the person whose case needs greater attention and time.

In some ways you may be able to control the amount of time your case requires, but there are certain tasks that may be unavoidable or simply are required for our office to properly represent you.

Your call is welcome to discuss your divorce in more depth, our services and fees or to schedule an appointment: 713.527.0511.

No, an attorney cannot represent more than one party to a dispute of any kind.

In certain cases, the other party may decide to not seek representation, and that is their choice. At times our clients will have done a complete job of negotiating their case with their spouse on their own, and we are happy to incorporate that agreement into an enforceable order to be presented to a Judge for approval. If the other party wishes to review and approve the agreement without counsel that again is their choice, but our office will offer no advice or counsel to the other party.