Family Law Blog

No, the previous parents cannot get a child back after an adoption is complete. Adoption is a legal process by which the parent-child relationship is permanently formed. Before a child is eligible to be adopted, the parental rights of the former parent must be terminated, or the former parent must be deceased.

The adoptive parent takes on all of the rights and duties of being the parent. So, once the adoption is complete, the adoptive parent can even have his/her name added to the child's birth certificate. This cannot be undone, and the former parents can not get the child back.

The Standard Possession Order "SPO" is outlined in the Texas Family Code as the terms of possession and access between conservators and their children that are presumed to be in the best interest of the children. A court will typically order the SPO unless: (1) the conservators agree to something different; (2) the SPO is inappropriate or unworkable because of a work schedule or other special circumstances; or (3) the age, developmental status, circumstances, needs or other relevant factors.

In general, the SPO provides that the non-primary parent or conservator will have ...

If you are going through a divorce or custody dispute in Texas, you will hear the term "best interest". These two words have a lot of meaning. The Texas Family Code states that "the best interest of the child shall always be the primary consideration of the court in determining the issues of conservatorship and possession of and access to the child."

In 1976, the Texas Supreme Court defined "best interest" in a well known case called Holley v. Adams. The Court made a non-exhaustive list of factors that trial courts should consider when determining what is in a child's best interest. they are:

A divorce cannot be finalized any sooner than 60 days from the date the divorce petition is filed. This is because Texas law requires parties to have a “cooling off” period between when a divorce is filed and when a divorce is finalized. Typically, these 60 days are needed for the parties to come to an agreement about the terms of the divorce.

If the divorce is complicated or contested, it may take much longer than 60 days. It is not uncommon for a divorce involving children, retirement accounts, or businesses to take 6-9 months to finalize. Sometimes, a divorce takes more than a year.

A divorce can be finalized in two ways: (1) by agreement between the parties; or (2) by a judge deciding on the terms of the divorce decree. When parties agree on all of the terms of the divorce, the judge just needs to sign the decree in order to finalize the divorce. One of the two parties will still need to go to court in order to obtain the judge’s signature. This process is typically called a “prove-up”.

When parties cannot agree on all of the terms of the divorce, the parties will have to go to Court, present evidence to the judge, and allow the judge to make a ruling on what the terms of the ...

In family law matters, the court may make temporary orders for the safety and welfare of a child, for the protection or preservation of property, or to govern the conduct of a party. Typically, temporary orders are given at the beginning of a divorce suit or a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship. These are not automatic; they must be requested by one of the parties to the suit.

Temporary orders only last as long as the lawsuit lasts. The court has broad power to issue temporary orders on: possession and access of the children, child support, conduct of the parties, geographic ...

Texas is a community property state; however, property that is obtained as an inheritance is separate property. Upon divorce, a court can only divide the community property and the court has no authority to divide separate property. So, an inheritance belongs to the spouse that received it and the other spouse can not take any part of it during the divorce.

Unfortunately, it is not always that simple. The spouse who claims that a certain property was received as an inheritance has a burden to prove this to the court by clear & convincing evidence. This can be hard, or impossible, to do in ...

In Texas, one parent typically is the “primary” caregiver, and the other parent is the secondary, or non-possessory parent. This is true even though both parents usually have the title of “joint managing conservator”. The non-possessory parent is usually obligated to pay child support to the primary caregiver.

Texas Law provides for a standard, “guideline”, amount of child support. The guideline amount of child support depends upon the number of children and the amount of income that the non-possessory parent has. The guideline amount is 20% for 1 child, 25% for 2 ...