Divorce Practice Areas

The Law Offices of David Kohm Focus On Clients Who Need Help in these Divorce Practice Areas

The following is a brief summary of the areas of divorce our Dallas Fort Worth family law attorneys focus on when working with people through out Collin County, Dallas County, Tarrant County, and surrounding communities.

Divorce Practice Areas:

Uncontested Divorce Some couples desire to have an amicable “no fault” divorce and settle all their issues in regards to property and debt division and children custody issues.  This is considered one of the fastest and least expensive ways to handle a divorce.  It doesn't work this easy for everyone though.  Sometimes the emotional issues of children or the property issues are too difficult to work out together.  Another concern is when one spouse has been controlled or dominated by the other and they don’t want to repeat the mistake when establishing the terms of the divorce.  An uncontested divorce is a less expensive alternative than other options but the key is both parties agreeing to all the terms of the settlement before it is filed with the courts

Contested Divorce A contested divorce is filed for reasons of non-support, usually on the grounds that certain issues (child support, custody, division of property) cannot be agreed upon outside of court.  At this point the courts must get involved to hear testimony and determine how the assets will be divided, who will reside in the home, and if there are children involved, decide on custody and visitation issues.

Child Support The child support law in Texas is not contingent upon which parent has custody of the children; in fact, the Texas Family Code mostly bases its decision on two things: the number of children who need support and the amount of monthly income.

Child Custody Child custody is not a simple matter that everyone can always agree on.  We recommend mediation or evaluation before taking this matter to the court. In most cases it’s best to avoid having the court become involved because then the judge is the final decision maker when it comes to custody of the children. There needs to be an amicable solution to child custody and mediation is a good option unless of course both spouses have already agreed as to the custody arrangements.

Property Division Division of marital property can either be an easy or difficult process. Parties in the marriage must define what assets were brought into the relationship, along with property acquired during the marriage, and property inherited during the marriage. A lot will depend on whether your spouse is self employed, pre-marital assets, real estate partnerships, corporate executive comp packages, stocks or business interests, property inherited or received as a gift or held under trust,

Alimony Alimony, or spousal maintenance as it is called in Texas, has many limitations. The idea of alimony is to provide a former spouse with periodic payments since during the marriage one spouse may have been the main financial provider of the family. In Texas, alimony is only awarded in limited circumstances.

Domestic Violence If you’re a victim of domestic violence in Texas, you need to take legal action and get protection before your situation escalates.  Domestic violence usually infers that one spouse has assaulted another spouse or there has been physical violence between a couple that are in an intimate relationship. In Texas domestic violence is regarded as a serious crime and will be treated accordingly upon notification from the victim or other parties who report the incident on behalf of the victim.

Injunctions Temporary Injunctions essentially serve the same purpose as those of the Temporary restraining Order.  Like TRO’s, temporary injunctions are available for the purpose of preservation of property, the protection of a party, or the protection of a child who is the subject of the case.  A difference here, when a temporary injunction is granted, it is deemed that the named defendant is prohibited from certain actions specified in the Order.

Separation Agreement The laws of Texas have no provisions for legally separating.  Solutions include divorce  and couples can have their family law attorney prepare a document known as a “partition and exchange agreement” whereby the parties’ property is divided between the parties, the division is set forth in a written partition and exchange agreement, and the written partition and exchange agreement is recorded in the official real property records of the county where the parties live. This effectively separates some or all of the parties’ financial affairs while they remain married while living apart.

Prenuptial Agreements This agreement is created to protect both parties as they prepare for marriage.  Your family law attorney can create this document which spells out disposition of financial assets, liabilities, property, future income, and a host of other issues.More and more couples are having their attorney draft up prenuptial agreements in order to prevent questions and possible court time in the event there is a future divorce.  Another reason this document is used is for second marriages, or when one spouse has a lot more assets than the other, or if one spouse has a lot of liabilities the other spouse does not want to be responsible for.

Mediation Mediation Settlements require both spouses to set aside their emotions and focus on the issues at hand.  You will be determining division of marital assets, custody, education for children, etc. During this negotiation process there must be some give-and-take from each party and each of you will be asked to yield on some issues that you originally told yourself there would be no compromise.   Mediation is about what is best for the family, not about the individual, especially when there are minor children involved.Whether you are going through a divorce, dealing with child support, or wanting to separate, the help of an experienced trusted family law attorney can help you navigate these often-confusing processes.

All of these issues can be a difficult, stressful time in anyone's life, but you can alleviate some of these worries knowing that you have intelligence and experience on your side with the attorneys of The Law Offices of David Kohm.  If you have further questions or would like to meet to discuss any of your legal needs, you can contact our office or complete the online request form and we’ll get right back to you.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with a qualified licensed attorney. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact our law firm directly.