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Divorce in Texas: The Basics
According to top10stop.com, Texas has the second highest number of divorces in the country on average each year, at 77,000. That number, of course, is inflated due to the large population of Texas—the only state not in the top five number of divorces included in the top five population is California—but it still means that a large percentage of Texans face divorce each year. According to the Texas Vital Statistics Unit (VSU), a unit of the Texas Department of State Health Services, the crude divorce rate in the state increased slightly from 3.3 per 1,000 residents in 2005 to 3.4 per 1,000 residents in 2006. There were 79,469 divorces in the state in 2006. 
The procedure for filing for divorce in Texas is more or less standard when compared to other states. The most important first step if you're considering divorce is to contact a Texas divorce attorney, because no matter how much research you do, divorce is a complicated process best undergone with the assistance of a professional. According to divorcenet.com, the second step of filing for divorce in Texas is for one spouse to file an Original Petition for Divorce with the court. At that time, the spouse can file a temporary restraining order if necessary. If no restraining order was filed, the other spouse has 20 days to file an "Answer." In that 20-day period, it's imperative that the non-filing spouse also obtains a qualified attorney—even if he or she is reluctant for the divorce.
Establishing Paternity
Why establish paternity?
- According to Texas law, a child born to two parents who are not married has no legal father. When the parents complete an Acknowledge of Paternity (AOP) to establish legal fatherhood because there is a difference between a legal father and a biological father. An AOP helps to secure legal rights of the child.
- Until paternity is established, child support cannot be ordered by the courts.
- Until paternity is established, the father cannot enforce his right to visitation or possession of the child.
- If paternity is established, the father can help to provide health insurance and other benefits for the child.
- Some health problems such as disorders inherited from parents do not appear later in the child's life after birth, having the medical history of both the mother and the father will help doctors to know how to treat the child.
What is included in "establishing paternity"?
After both parents sign an Acknowledgement of Paternity, it is filed with the Bureau of Vital Statistics and the biological father becomes the legal father as well. After the paternity is established, the father's name is added to the birth certificate. After being established, the father can be ordered to pay child support and grant him possession or visitation of his child.
Sex-Change Operation May Prevent Man from Getting Divorce
An Arizona man who gave birth to three children after having a sex-change operation may not be able to divorce his wife, according to a recent story on WFAA.com. Thomas Beatie, who was born as a woman, underwent a sex-change surgery but his reproductive organs were not removed. Thomas and Nancy Beatie decided to file for divorce after 9 years of marriage. However, a judge is questioning whether the state's same-sex marriage ban prevents Thomas Beatie from ending his marriage.
A number of courts all over the country have declared marriages involving a transgender person invalid. However, according to Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, this case is different and has different factual and legal issues than other cases involving a transgender person. "What you have is a man and woman who are married, and their relationship is ending," he said. "And it's no different, fundamentally, from other people in that circumstance."
Avoiding "Ex Games"
A recent Huffington Post article details some practical ways to soothe tensions with your ex-spouse following a divorce as you work toward a successful co-parenting relationship. Unfortunately, if you and your ex-spouse continue to pay the typical "ex games" that can stem from anger and hurt that is leftover from your divorce, you may inadvertently hurt your children in the process. No kid wants to be stuck in the middle between two parents, both of whom they love, even if they are no longer together. Luckily, there are a number of simple steps that you can take in order to work toward a more civilized, co-parenting relationship.
First, accept the fact that you and your ex-spouse are going to be forever linked by your child in common, or at least so long as your child is a minor. Therefore, you need to get accustomed to being in the same room with your ex, whether it is at baseball games, dance recitals, or at a visitation exchange location. Showing your child that you don't have to fight with your ex all the time can have a positive influence on your child and promote a health relationship between your child and your ex.
Woman Accused Of Ritual Abuse Files Appeal In Light Of New Evidence
For the last 20 years, Frances Keller has been behind bars. She and her husband were accused of practicing satanic rituals and sexually assaulting a 3-year-old girl that came to the daycare the couple ran out of their Texas home. Christy Chaviers, the 3-year-old in question, told her mother in 1991 that Dan Keller, Frances' husband, had spanked her. Eventually, this claim morphed into an accusation of ‘ritual abuse' from Chaviers' therapist. Some of her friends also claimed that they were abused and included in satanic rituals, such as being baptized in blood, or holding a baby's heart that had been cut out of a body.
Eventually, Chaviers' recanted her testimony in court, saying that nothing bad had ever actually happened to her at the daycare. However, in the original lawsuit, prosecutors had other evidence to support the accusations: lacerations near Chaviers' hymen, a graveyard with disturbances noticed in infrared, and a ritual abuse expert's testimony.
The appeal filed in Travis County district court is questioning all of the original evidence. Aside from Chaviers' recanted statement, new medical science caused the doctor who originally claimed the lacerations on Chaviers' hymen were consistent with sexual abuse to change his opinion, stating they may have just been normal variants. The caretaker of the graveyard had told authorities that natural erosion or the addition of new dirt could cause them to look disturbed—a fact that was not passed on to the lawyers involved in the case. Finally, the testimony from the ritual abuse expert has been accused of manipulating his evidence in order to bolster his own career.
Texas Families Anguished Over Russian Adoption Ban
A recent report from the News Journal of Longview, Texas reports that a recent decision by Russian lawmakers to ban American adoptions has hit close to home. Russia has previously been one of the top countries for international adoptions to the United States.
Moscow lawmakers made the decision in late December and it is only a part of the sanctions that they plan to put on the U.S. One Texas family spoke out about this ban stating that they adopted a seven year old Russian child in 2011. They also said that they have heard about several families who have been waiting to take children from Russian orphanages; making a home for them only to find out that their waiting was in vain because their adoptions were cancelled. Another family states that while the orphanage where they got their child was well run, it makes no comparison to a stable home for the children.
Many families are adding adopted children to their families even when they have biological children. Many people think that only people who cannot bear their own children would consider adoption, but that could not be further from the truth. One child that was adopted said that his possibilities were limited in Russia and that he feels that he can be anything that he wants to be in the United States. He also said that what he loves the most is that he'd have parents, brothers and sisters as well as an extended family. This is something that he could not have hoped to have as a resident in a Russian orphanage.
More Divorces around Valentine's Day
In the middle of February, people exchange gifts like flowers, chocolates and jewelry. They also celebrate Valentine's Day by going to fancy dinners and watching romantic movies. But there are more divorces than any other month of the year around Valentine's Day.
After the months of holidays stretching between Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, married couples take an honest look at their partnership. There is an opportunity to think clearly after the rush of holidays, families and vacations that allow couples to consider divorce. This close family time could be the cause of the divorce or the reason why couples wait until the New Year.
A survey conducted by the FindLaw.com website has data to suggest that divorce really is more popular in the beginning of the year. The website found that searches of keywords like "divorce," "family law," and "child custody" jumped nearly 50% from December to January. Those keywords were searched 10,000 times in December of 2010 to up to 16,000 times in January of 2011. And they only became more frequent up until April.
Texas Grounds for Filing for Divorce
Different U.S. states have different divorce laws, and this post will concentrate on the grounds upon which a divorce can be sought in Texas. The grounds for divorce are part of the information that needs to be provided in the Petition for Divorce. In addition to this blog post, the grounds for a Texas divorce petition can be found, for example, on divorcesource.com.
The appropriate lawful grounds, if agreed upon and substantiated by the parties, are:
- No Fault. If the marriage has become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities that destroys legitimate ends of the marital relationship and prevents any reasonable expectation of reconciliation, the court may grant a divorce without regard to fault.
- Cruelty. If one spouse is guilty of cruel treatment toward the complaining spouse of a nature that makes living together insupportable, the court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse.
Fault and No-Fault Divorce in Texas
There are seven grounds, or reasons, for divorce available by Texas state law, and six of them require that there be a fault assigned to one party or the other. Only on the grounds of insupportability, "that the marriage can no longer continue because of disagreements or differences that cannot be resolved," can there be a no-fault ruling, according to WomensLaw.org. Any other reason for divorce requires that one spouse blame the other for the divorce. These reasons include cruelty, adultery, conviction of a felony, abandonment, living apart, and confinement in a mental hospital.
An at-fault divorce reason is used to determine the equitable distribution of property. "For that reason," according to Divorcenet.com, "you may want to include fault grounds in your petition for a divorce." That is to say, if you're shying away from an at-fault divorce in the interest of keeping things less messy, you could actually be harming your post-divorce life. Equitable property distribution assumes that any property or material items owned during the marriage is owned equally between the two parties. If you have separate property, according to Divorcenet.com, you "have to prove it by tracing it with clear and convincing evidence."
Dividing Marital Property in Texas
A major aspect of any divorce is the division of marital property. Tensions can run high especially if a decision was made a long time ago that one spouse would be the primary bread winner. While the paychecks might have just one name, Texas is a community property state, meaning that all assets belong to both spouses equally. The same is true for debts that the couple has acquired during the course of the marriage.
There are certain factors which may alter the ruling of a divorce court. Some assets may be considered separate property from the estate that is divided during a divorce. It is necessary to have strong and conclusive evidence that the assets are protected from division. This can include property that one spouse has acquired before the wedding. It can also be a gift or inheritance that was received by only one spouse during the marriage.
Another way that the division of property can be shifted in the favor of one spouse is through the court's decision. During the distribution of assets, the court can look to the education, age and health of each partner which will give an indication of the earning potential of each separately. They can also see who has custody of the children, who has more separate property, and who was the cause of the divorce.
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