Month: June 2020

Your Texas divorce might be a quick and simple affair, featuring a short list of issues that need to be considered and resolved. That is happily the case for some soon-to-be exes.

Not all, though. In fact, legions of divorces spotlight multiple and varied challenges that must worked through, especially in dissolutions following long-tenured marriages.

We imagine that many readers of our blog posts at the proven Dallas family law firm of Katie L. Lewis can readily tick off a few of those entries. Parenting plans and child custody/visitation rights might come to mind. Ditto child support concerns. Marital property division is customarily a top-tier focus in many divorces.

And then there is alimony, which is sometimes the predominant concern in some decouplings.

Factors that guide judicial outcomes in alimony matters

Spousal support is a state-controlled process, which in Texas translates to a bullet-point listing of relevant statutory factors. It is important to note that, while those factors are closely considered by family law judges, they work as discretionary guidelines. Courts often consider matters like the following:

• Marriage duration
• Educational/training attributes of both spouses
• Age of the partners
• Job/career status and earning capacity of each spouse

A key point to note concerning alimony is the ample opportunity afforded an experienced attorney to play an often influential role in the process and outcome. Courts don’t merely tolerate input from a would-be payee’s or recipient’s legal counsel; they welcome well-reasoned and persuasive alimony arguments that can aid them in reaching an informed decision.

A knowledgeable and empathetic family law attorney can provide further information.

The stay-at-home parent who focuses on raising the children has, traditionally speaking, usually been the children’s mother. This is still the way that things work out most of the time, even in 2020, but the amount of stay-at-home fathers has been rising.

For instance, in 1989, the percentage of stay-at-home fathers was just 4%. In 2016, reports showed that it had risen to 7%. There was even a high of 9% recorded in 2010.

It’s clear that, even though mothers (27% in 2016) take on this role more often, fathers are beginning to embrace it. This gives many of them a unique relationship with their children that they may never have had in previous decades.

The reasons for the rise are many. In 2010, the United States was in the middle of a recession. Did the number of fathers at home spike because some had lost their jobs? Plus, over the last few generations, the role of women in the workforce has changed. Did more dads stay at home with their children now because women finally have the career opportunities that were denied to them in the past? All of these things work together and shape the way that parents of both genders interact with their children.

It’s important to acknowledge the role of fathers’ rights in cases involving child custody, divorce and the like. It cannot be assumed that fathers do not want time with their children or cannot offer the care that they need. Fathers are proving what they can. Those who go through a divorce must understand how this shapes their rights and what legal options they have.

Once you personally decide that you want to divorce your spouse, the next step is sharing your feelings with them. Even if you’re ready to get your feelings into the open, it’s easier said than done.

Since you want this conversation to go as smoothly as possible, here are some steps you can take to prepare yourself:

• Write down what you want to say: You don’t have to go into great detail or attempt to script the entire conversation. A few talking points are more than enough. This is what you need to guide the conversation and keep yourself on track.
• Get in the right frame of mind: For example, it’s critical that you’re ready to hold your ground. Your spouse may ask you to reconsider or attempt to talk you out of filing for divorce. When you’re in the right frame of mind, you won’t be talked out of taking action.
• Protect yourself: Think about what could go wrong after asking your spouse for a divorce. If you’re concerned that your spouse could become violent or verbally abusive, it’s best to have this conversation in a public place or over the phone. It’s not ideal, but your safety and well-being is your top priority.

When you take these steps, you can better prepare for the act of asking for a divorce. This doesn’t mean it’ll be quick and simple, but at least you have an idea of how you want to approach the subject.

Once you share your feelings, you can then turn all your attention to the details of the divorce process.