Family Law 2

ENFORCEMENT & MODIFICATION OF ORDERS

If you are seeking enforcement or modification of an existing court order, we can help you as well. You may want to try the Attorney's General's Office for enforcement first if the issue is only child support, but they are typically very overloaded, and not likely to give you the kind of one-on-one attention your own lawyer can. Furthermore, they do not always utilize all the latest enforcement tools available under the law.

If the issue is custody, visitation, property division, or some other part of a divorce decree or order, the Attorney General will typically not get involved to help you. Even if they do decide to get involved, they typically take quite a while to act. We can get started right away if you call use for help.

We can also help you in a defense against Motion to Enforce or Motion to Modify. The key to look at these kinds of cases is what proof you and the other party have. Is there documentation backing up the claim? Has a police report of the alleged violations been made? Are there independent witnesses who can support one party’s side of the story over the other person’s? Are there school records, medical records, or business records of some kind?

When it comes to modification, you have to look at whether there has really been a significant change in the circumstances of the child or either of the parents. It is also important to know how long it has been since the last order. For example, if the issue is modification of custody or visitation has it been less than a year? If so, the standard for getting a change approved is much higher. You must generally show that there is a change which will “significantly” affect the child’s emotional well-being.

If the issue is child support, then it is important to know if more than 3 years have passed since the original order. If not, there must have been a significant change in the party’s income.

GRANDPARENT ACCESS RIGHTS

A grandparent in Texas can get limited visitation with their grandchild in certain cases. They have to show that it would result in a “significant impairment” in the child’s well-being for the grandparent not to be granted visitation.

A grandparent is not typically allowed to get what we call “custody” (including basic parental rights), but only “possessory” rights (visitation). However, if the parents have voluntarily turned over the child to the grandparents for a 6 month period, the grandparent can ask for custody. If the grandparents feel as if the child is in imminent danger, they can also contact Child Protective Services (CPS) to file a report and get an investigation started.

Other family members, like siblings may also be able to ask the court to grant them access to a family member. In order to succeed, they need to show that such access is in the child's best interest.

TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS

There are circumstances where one parent is not really acting like a parent. They may have abandoned their child, or worse yet even subjected the child to serious harm. Or, they may have gone years without paying any child support. If so, the other parent may want to terminate their parental rights.

This process is complicated, and takes a bit of time, but can be done if the circumstances are warranted. There are special steps that have to be followed to get the court to approve a termination. The parent who is facing termination of their rights is entlted to have a court appointed attorney to defend them if they cannot afford an attorney of their own.

ADOPTION

There are circumstances where a person wants to adopt a child. In order to do so, they have to either get the consent of the child's parent, or have the parent's rights terminated. This also applies in situations where a step-parent wants to adopt his or her step-child. Once this process is concluded, they have to go through several steps.

First of all, they must generally have had physical possession of the child for at least 6 months. They must also undergo a "social study" and may have to fill out a report concerning their health, social, education & genetic history. They must also have a criminal background check run to see if they have any significant criminal history. Finally, they must submit to a home visit by a social study worker.

Once this process is successfully completed they must go in front of a judge for a final hearing on the matter. They can request that the child's name be changed as well. Once the court grants this request, they can apply for a new Birth Certificate for a child.

NAME CHANGE

An adult can move for a name change as well. In order to do so, they must first go to the local police station and have a fingerprint background check run. They must also swear that they are not applying for a name change to avoid any type of criminal prosecution.

Once the paperwork is complete, they have to show up at one brief court hearing.

(SEE BELOW FOR FAMILY LAW FORMS)