Family law covers a range of issues, including those related to marriage, ending a marriage, determining child custody and child support agreements, and other highly sensitive situations. Whatever your circumstances, the Texas family law attorneys from our legal team will address your needs with compassion and empathy.
When facing legal issues that involve family relationships, seek help from the experienced family law attorneys at Terry & Roberts. We have comprehensive knowledge of Texas family law through decades of experience in practice and we will manage your case with legal precision and skill.
Premarital Agreements
Premarital agreements, also known as prenuptial agreements or “prenups,” document how assets or debts brought into a marriage by each partner and those accrued during the marriage will be dealt with when the marriage ends. Engaged couples seeking prenups are typically those in which one or both partners have substantial net worth, high potential earning power, or children from a previous marriage.
Prenups are a way to keep assets and debt separate. They can also detail plans for spousal support and establish a template for child custody arrangements. Though most think of prenuptial agreements as a protective measure should the marriage end in divorce, they also apply to marriages ending when a spouse dies. For example, if one spouse wants their children from a previous marriage to inherit family heirlooms, they can include that in the prenup.
These agreements can save couples the time and expense that come with litigating divorces. However, to hold up in Texas courts, prenups must meet specific standards, and a family law attorney from Terry & Roberts can ensure yours does.
Divorces
In Texas, you must have “grounds” to divorce. Texas recognizes insupportability, also called irreconcilable differences, adultery, cruelty, abandonment, confinement in a mental health facility, and felony convictions as grounds. Couples who have lived apart for three or more years also have grounds to dissolve their marriage under Texas law. There are laws governing how spouses must be notified of a petition for divorce. Additional specific procedures factor in when children are involved, or a spouse’s location is unknown.
A Texas divorce attorney from Terry & Roberts will help you determine the applicable grounds, collect evidence to prove them, and then file the required legal documents at the appropriate place and time. Divorces can be amicable or contentious. Either way, an attorney can manage your case from the initial filing until you receive your divorce decree, no matter what legal complexities arise.
Child Custody and Child Support
The Texas courts consider a variety of factors when determining or approving child custody (called “conservatorship” in Texas) and child support agreements. Even if you and your ex-spouse want the best for your children, perspectives on what actually is “best” can differ. Our experienced legal team understands your need to protect your children and your relationship with them and we will work to negotiate a custody and support agreement that meets those needs and is fair to your financial situation.
Sometimes, after time passes, one or both parents seek a modification of the support and conservatorship agreements documented in the divorce decree.
Just as you need a lawyer to negotiate the initial agreement, you need one to navigate potential changes to ensure those amendments comply with the law and are binding.
Grandparents’ Rights
Most grandparents treasure their relationships with their grandchildren. When a divorce puts that relationship in danger, the team at Terry & Roberts can help. Texas has laws in place to protect grandparents’ rights, and a family law attorney from our team will fight to see those rights to visitation upheld. We will also offer guidance about what actions to take or avoid with grandchildren and their parents throughout the process.
In situations where children are unsafe or neglected by their divorced or still-married parents, grandparents may seek conservatorship of their grandchildren. These proceedings are especially intense, both emotionally and legally, but an experienced attorney from our team will stand with you every step of the way.
Paternity Issues
“Paternity” is the legal recognition of a child’s father. In Texas, a signature on a birth certificate is not proof of paternity if the child’s parents are not married when the child is born. If a couple is married at the time of the child’s birth or was married within 300 days of the birth, the husband is the presumed father. Parents can establish paternity voluntarily when both agree to the father’s biological paternity and sign an “Acknowledgement of Paternity.”
When one parent disputes the paternity of the alleged father, establishing paternity becomes involuntary and involves the court. A common situation when a parent may want to prove paternity is when a mother seeks to collect child support. In addition, a male partner may want to claim their rights as a father or clear themselves of responsibility to a child that is not theirs. Another instance is when a child wishes to document a legal relationship with their male parent. In all of these circumstances, Terry & Roberts is ready to help.
Adoptions
While adoptions are a source of great joy, the process is often a long, sometimes bumpy, legal road. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the paperwork and legal hoops you must jump through to welcome a child into your family. Our family law attorneys can handle your adoption case, no matter the specific circumstances. We are here to help families, step-parents, same-sex parents, or other relatives who wish to adopt. We can manage international, private, and special needs adoptions.
The Texas Family Code establishes strict adoption laws governing adoption procedures and requirements for those hoping to adopt. Though designed to protect all parties, navigating these laws successfully is a challenge and requires the skill and experience of a Texas adoption attorney.
CPS Investigations
Having children taken away is most parents’ worst nightmare. While the purpose of Child Protective Services (CPS or DFPS in Texas) is to keep children safe, unfortunately, that purpose can be completely distorted when CPS removes a child based on false accusations of abuse or neglect. Sadly, some divorced or divorcing parents may use this tactic against one another in an effort to cause chaos and harm.
If CPS has removed your children from your home, you need a strong legal representative to protect your rights and prevent the organization from continuing the unfair separation. Often, parents are unaware of the laws governing what CPS can or cannot do.
Without an experienced and aggressive legal advocate on their side, they and their children could be kept apart and left suffering for too long.
Domestic Abuse and Orders of Protection
Living with an abusive partner is a terrifying and isolating experience. You fear for your safety and, if there are children in the home, for their physical and emotional well-being. When facing threats of violence, call the police for immediate help. Then, reach out to Terry & Roberts.
Texas family violence laws extend beyond marriage or blood relationships. If you are in any abusive relationship, you have the right to deny your abuser access to you. The domestic abuse attorneys from our law firm will stand with you, helping you file a protective order to keep yourself and your family safe. You will no longer have to fight your abuser alone.
Get the Superior and Compassionate Legal Representation You Need
Navigating family-related legal issues is incredibly stressful. Emotions are high. You might be scared of losing custody of your kids or worried an adoption will fall through. You may be struggling through a divorce with a contentious, soon-to-be-ex spouse or just feel overwhelmed by the details involved in drafting a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.
The stakes are high in family law cases, and having knowledgeable, supportive Brazoria County family lawyers representing your and your family’s best interests is critical. Reach out to Terry & Roberts to tell us about your situation today. We are ready to help.