Plano Family Law Blog

Higher asset divorces increase the risk of hidden assets

On behalf of Mackoy, Hernandez and Qualls on Friday, September 14, 2018.

Although divorce has become more common in the last few decades, it has not become less contentious in many cases. Spouses may still battle tooth and nail over assets and child custody. Sometimes, the desire to win in a divorce can lead one or both spouses to do unethical or even illegal things prior to and during the divorce.

Hiding assets is a perfect example. Unfortunately, the more assets and income your family has, the greater the incentive for one spouse to attempt to hide some of that wealth from the other and even the courts. Understanding how hidden assets can impact the outcome of your divorce can help you make better decisions as you end your marriage.

Is your spouse going to divorce you for a new business?

On behalf of Mackoy, Hernandez and Qualls on Friday, August 17, 2018.

When your spouse first mentioned starting a new business, you felt excited. They've always had a lot of success doing this in the past, and your family is very well off financially as a result. Most of those businesses started before you got married, but the wealth carried over.

As your spouse gets to work on this new venture, though, you notice some serious changes to your relationship. It seems to be quickly declining. Before long, you worry that your spouse may divorce you because of this new company. Are you being paranoid?

Questions about state residency and divorce

On behalf of Mackoy, Hernandez and Qualls on Thursday, July 19, 2018.

Nearly every state requires you to be a state resident before you can file for divorce in that state. If you and your spouse recently moved to Texas, for example, you will need to file for divorce in the state where you previously resided. The residency requirement before you can file for divorce in Texas is six months or 180 days.

Here are a few things you may want keep in mind if you have recently moved to Texas and you plan to get a divorce:

Special needs children require special consideration in a divorce

On behalf of Mackoy, Hernandez and Qualls on Sunday, June 17, 2018.

For parents considering a potential divorce, the needs and emotional well-being of their children is an important consideration. Divorce can have a long-lasting impact on how children relate to their parents, their siblings and their peers. It can affect their self-esteem, their drive and their sense of belonging. For children with special needs, divorces have even more potential for emotional damage.

If you have a special needs child in your family and divorce is on your mind, you need to take steps to protect your child from as much of the potential damage as possible. Careful planning and working with your ex to promote stability and routine as much as possible can minimize the impact your divorce has on your special needs child.

4 tips to make child custody work during summer vacation

On behalf of Mackoy, Hernandez and Qualls on Saturday, May 19, 2018.

Summer vacation is a beautiful goal for your children, something they look forward to all year long. For you, though, it means three months of confusion and stress.

You're divorced, and your child custody plan centered around the fact that your kids typically spent the day at school. You and your ex set things up so that you could both work and take care of them.

When should you say yes to divorce?

On behalf of Mackoy, Hernandez and Qualls posted in blog on Friday, April 20, 2018.

Marriage is supposedly until "death do us part" but in the modern world we look at marital unions differently -- even if we still take the same kinds of oaths. The fact is, there are certain situations in which saying "no" to divorce will be doing you and your family a disservice and result in unnecessary suffering.

When building a stronger, healthier and happier life for you and your family requires you to move forward with your divorce process, the answer to the divorce question is simple. There are many things in life that are far more important than the sanctity of marriage.

What happens to the family home in a high asset Texas divorce?

On behalf of Mackoy, Hernandez and Qualls posted in blog on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.

No matter how many assets you've accrued during your marriage, chances are good that your marital home is the most significant, both emotionally and financially. Your home represents a massive amount of your income for most couples. The equity in the home may be the single most substantial financial asset in your family, except for a well-funded retirement account or investment portfolio.

It's only natural, then, to wonder how the courts will handle your home in a divorce. Every divorce is unique, which means accurately predicting the outcome is impossible. However, it is possible to familiarize yourself with the most common solutions to dividing a home in a Texas divorce.

The child's best interests is a vague standard

On behalf of Mackoy, Hernandez and Qualls posted in blog on Wednesday, February 14, 2018.

You and your spouse have heard that the children's best interests are the focal point of the child custody case when you get divorced. Above all else, the court will seek to find the solution that is best for your kids, even if that's not exactly what the two of you want.

As your divorce gets closer, you start looking into this standard a bit more so that you can understand how to approach the case. What you find, however, is that it's fairly vague.

Divorces with special needs children pose unique challenges

On behalf of Mackoy, Hernandez and Qualls posted in blog on Thursday, January 18, 2018.

Divorces that involve children are almost always tough situations. When the child has special needs, the situation gets even more complicated. Children who have special needs have some unique care needs that must be met. This places the parents in a position where they have to make sacrifices.

For parents who are going through a divorce while trying to ensure that the special needs of their children are met, coming up with a child custody agreement can be especially challenging. Once the agreement is made, you still have to remain as flexible as possible because there are bound to be issues that pop up throughout the child's life.

Do prisoners have to pay child support?

On behalf of Mackoy, Hernandez and Qualls posted in blog on Monday, December 18, 2017.

Texas mothers and fathers who end up in jail will lose their source of income, and this could make it difficult -- if not impossible -- to keep paying your child support payments. Nevertheless, some non-custodial parents will still be responsible for paying their monthly support obligations regardless of whether they're in jail or not.

In these circumstances, non-custodial parents may be able to petition for a suspension of their child support orders.