Family Law

The Texas Renaissance Festival is a great place to go have some fun, family friendly or not. However, the Texas Renaissance Festival is also a place where you need to be careful. No, not from the people who are going with you, but law enforcement. For those who don’t know, camping at the Renaissance Festival is a favorite of those in alternate lifestyles – and while it’s not our place to judge such a thing – the police are mindful of this. So when traveling to and from the Renaissance Festival, keep a few things in mind. You will be traveling through many counties, perhaps including Grimes, Waller, Montgomery and Harris. Further, you will travel through many cities – such as Magnolia, Houston and Todd Mission. A lot of these places have their own law enforcement organizations and different policies when it comes to different crimes. Further, these law enforcement organizations have been working with this festival for years, some of them know it better than you do. However, if you follow these tips, you too can reduce the likelihood of arrest. First, stay hydrated and alert. The first step to getting pulled over is looking like you are committing […]

Undoubtedly it will receive far less attention than the controversy over same-sex marriage, but considering that the proposed change will actually affect more people a North Carolina proposed law is worth following. As reported by ABC’s Raleigh-Durham affiliate WTVD, the proposed legislation would “extend[] a mandatory waiting period from one year to two years, [and] require[] couples to take courses in hopes of changing their minds and allows them to live together instead of separating.” Is this the sign of a new direction in national divorce policy? After many decades of relaxing access to divorce, we may be on the cusp of a pendulum swing led by policy makers seeking to strengthen the family unit. Whatever the motivations of the proponents of these types of laws, and no matter how efficacious these policies may be, it is certain that such changes will not occur without a fight. g@c

It isn’t surprising that a man worth an estimated $9.4 billion dollars would have some sort of prenuptial agreement with his spouse. This is the case with Australian American media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his wife Wendi Deng. As the Chief Executive of News Corp, he has not only wealth, but influence and power to protect. He filed for divorce from Wendy and appears to have managed to avoid a complex asset division. Murdoch’s representatives maintain that his divorce will have barely any impact on the business itself. The business was split into two different companies briefly after the divorce agreement was approved. Very little is actually known about why they decided to call it quits, but their children will certainly become beneficiaries of the family trust. However, they will have no vote in terms of their share of stock in News Corp. The vote for this large share will be granted to Rupert’s four oldest children. The value of the couple’s prenuptial agreements is evident. It divided the property each owned before they were married and it contained provisions that governed splitting property once that couple got divorced. With a prenuptial agreement couples in Greater Houston can avoid having […]

Your rights as a foster parent are important. Working with Child Protective Services as a foster parent is often confusing, frustrating and heartbreaking. Many people become foster parents with the hope of adopting the children that are placed in their home. Foster families often feel confused and frustrated by CPS’s actions including recurring failures to communicate important information, frequent changing the caseworker assigned to your child, and changing the goals set for the parent under investigation. CPS can remove the child from a foster family’s care for no apparent reason, place the child with another foster family or return the child to the care of the abusive parent, and offer no explanation, or a very poor one. If you are a foster parent and are concerned for the welfare of a child placed in your home, please contact our offices. Our lawyers can offer guidance in navigating the Child Protective system and help you to assert your rights as a foster parent. Partner Jeredith Jones worked for Child Protective Services prior to her legal career and also has represented clients against CPS and is experienced in handling the legal and practical challenges of CPS. Contact our law firm to learn […]

The children, child support, visitation, spousal support, the house, the 401(k): all the usual suspects at play in a typical divorce. But a very important part of post-divorce life, and one which is often an afterthought to settlement talks or trial preparation, is your credit rating. As you can see summarized in this Al.com article it is very important to keep your post-divorce credit rating in mind, and steps can be taken now and post-divorce which can blunt the often very damaging effect a divorce can have on your creditworthiness. g@c