Cypress Divorce Lawyer

How Do I Find The Right Cypress, TX Family Law Attorney?

Most clients who are entering into divorce proceedings have never had to deal with hiring a lawyer before and this can make it a daunting process. When you are looking for someone to deal with your family law matters, the decision is an important one. This person will be responsible for fighting for your rights and the outcome of their actions could drastically affect you and your family.

Every law firm that you contact will claim to be the best when it comes to dealing with family law cases, so how do you decide? We believe that a good law firm should always offer an initial consultation and case evaluation. This is where we get to speak to you for the first time, look at your case and answer any initial questions you may have.

Besides offering a consultation, there are a few other things that you should look for in a Cypress divorce lawyer:

Proven track record of wins

Any good attorney will be able to showcase their previous wins and provide glowing reviews and referrals from past clients. If you are speaking to a firm and they are refusing to show you their previously won cases or to provide any referrals, or they have terrible reviews on independent review sites then you should stay away.

Accessibility

A skilled and experienced Cypress divorce lawyer is usually in high demand, which means they will have a full caseload and a busy schedule. This means you may not be able to get in touch with them on demand. A great Cypress divorce lawyer will still be able to preserve their attorney-client relationship regardless of their busy schedule. They will still make time to respond promptly to your inquiries and calls in a timely manner.

Comfortable relationship

You will probably be spending a lot of time with your divorce lawyer over the next couple of months and this means you need to be comfortable talking to them. You should feel confident that they will advise you when necessary but they should still be easy to talk to and compassionate to your needs. During your consultation make sure you get a feel for the attorney’s personality and make sure you feel comfortable dealing with them.

Why Should I Hire a Cypress, TX Divorce Lawyer?

It doesn’t matter who made the first move or how you came to make the decision, filing for divorce is an emotional and serious matter for most couples. Often, the emotions tied up in the relationship spill over into the divorce proceedings, leading to spiteful words, arguments, and stubborn decisions that are not in the best interests of anyone involved.

When you seek the help of skilled representation, you will have an advocate on your side who is unbiased and has no emotional attachment. This means they can make independent decisions that come from a place of experience and knowledge, and you can trust them to guide you when your emotions are clouding your judgment.

PAPERWORK

One of the more tedious aspects of the divorce your attorneys will deal with for you is the paperwork. Paperwork needs to be filed on time and correctly in order for the divorce to proceed. It can also be favorable in the eyes of the court if all your paperwork is on time and filled out correctly.

Legal advice & knowledge

One of your Cypress divorce attorney’s main responsibilities is to keep you up to date on your legal rights and options. They will ensure you know what is going on at every step and how things are progressing. They will also be able to help you understand any specific parts of the legal code or current situation that you may find confusing.

Grounds for Divorce in Cypress TX

There are lots of different reasons that can lead to the decision to get divorced in the state of Texas such as:

In Texas, most couples use the insupportability claim to file for divorce. This claim means that the two spouses are not compatible and cannot agree or come together on important decisions in their marriage. At Skillern Firm Divorce & Child Custody Lawyers we are highly experienced at handling all types of divorces, no matter the cause.

Divorce Preparation

To ensure that the divorce proceedings go as smoothly as possible you should make sure you are as prepared as possible. You can do this by speaking to your attorney and figuring out what documents and evidence you can get ready in advance.

Skillern Firm Divorce & Child Custody Lawyers Practice Areas

Here at Skillern Firm Divorce & Child Custody Lawyers, our Cypress divorce lawyers cover a wide range of family law matters as well as divorces such as:

Contested divorce

Divorcing spouses rarely agree on more than a handful of decisions. After years of being married, your lives are interwoven and can be hard to untangle. This can make it difficult when it comes to dividing assets and agreeing on custody. When spouses cannot come to decisions together amicably, it prolongs the process and ends up costing both parties more money in terms of legal fees. Eventually, you are both going to need to agree on the divorce terms, which is one reason why a skilled negotiator is such a crucial part of any divorce. They will be able to help you put forward reasonable arguments that are difficult to dispute.

Modification of court orders

If the court has issued a court order over custody agreements, child support arrangements, or alimony, they need to be respected and followed by everyone involved.

That does not mean, however, that they are permanent and can never be changed or altered. If you have a strong enough reason and you provide a sound argument to the courts, they will consider changing your orders. If you have been injured and can no longer work in the same capacity as you did, for example, and you cannot afford to pay child support anymore, the Judge may agree to modifications.

The Judge will usually consider changing any orders when the safety of a child is impacted. If you have grounds to believe your ex-spouse is abusive or is addicted to drugs or alcohol, the Judge may step in and change a custody order to protect the children involved. Getting an order changed isn’t easy, you will need to provide substantial evidence to convince the courts, so speak to your attorney. They will be able to help you formulate a plan of action.

Child support agreements

One of the most common Texas family law issues we deal with here at Skillern Firm Divorce & Child Custody Lawyers is child support. When you are married, the responsibility for your children is split between the two of you. That makes it simple for many families, often one spouse will go to work to provide an income and one will stay at home and look after the children. When you divorce, you are still responsible for ensuring that all of your children’s needs; physical, emotional, and financial, are met.

If the spouse who stopped working ends up with primary custody, they will most likely require some form of financial support from their ex-spouse in order to ensure they can continue to meet the needs of their child.

Your attorney will have experience in calculating what is fair and reasonable and will be able to help you come to an arrangement with your spouse. This will prevent the Judge from stepping in and making a decision that you may not like.

High-asset divorce and legal separation

When two spouses have a high-net-worth, divorce can be more complex. Your attorney may need to turn to financial experts to help fairly divide your marital estate and investments. An experienced divorce attorney will not only be able to identify many of these assets themselves, but have a list of experts they can turn to to help resolve particularly complicated questions.

Mothers and father’s rights

In Texas, the law is clear, the Judge may not use gender as any form of bias in their decisions. If you are divorcing and you have kids, you should both be given equal opportunity to seek custody of your children. However not all situations are free of bias and so a divorce attorney will be able to ensure that your rights are protected during the divorce process.

Enforcement

When the court issues an order in regards to custody arrangements, alimony, or child support, they have to be followed, you cannot simply ignore them. Your ex-spouse should not violate their orders in regards to paying support or alimony, nor should they restrict you from seeing your children if you have the right to visitation. They must also refrain from engaging in “alienation”, which involves encouraging the child to have a negative attitude towards the other spouse.

This can be as simple as rewarding negative feelings towards a parent or restricting the time they get to see the child.

If your ex-spouse is violating their court orders on a regular basis you should speak to your attorney, they will be able to help. First, they will attempt to speak to your spouse and tell them to refrain from violating their orders, unless they want the situation to escalate. If they continue to violate their orders the courts may step in and change the orders, holding your ex in contempt of court.

Domestic violence

We don’t stand for domestic abuse or violence here at Skillern Firm Divorce & Child Custody Lawyers and we want you to know that we can help if you are currently in an unsafe situation. If you contact us today, we can file an injunction against your violent spouse. This can prevent them from contacting you or your children and will allow you to begin filing a divorce from a place of safety.

We also know that in some rare cases, spiteful spouses will use false accusations as a desperate ploy to influence custody decisions. We can help you fight these claims, discrediting the other party in the eyes of the court and clearing your name.

Spousal support

Sometimes, people who are leaving a marriage will be financially disadvantaged due to the decisions they made during that marriage. For example, if you have given up a career in order to look after your children while your partner continues to work and provide, you may be entitled to seek spousal support. There are many situations where marital or familial obligations mean that you are entitled to spousal support.

Child Custody Arrangements

Child custody is the family law issue that ends up causing the most problems. Both parties are arguing for what they think are the right reasons and ultimately, this can lead to decisions that are not in the best interest of the child. In order to determine child custody, the court will consider factors such as:

Potential danger to child from either parent

First, the Judge is going to make sure that neither parent has the potential to endanger their child. That means looking at each parent’s criminal history to make sure there has been no violence or abuse and making sure neither party is addicted to drugs or alcohol.

The parents stability

Next, a Judge will want to know how stable each parent is in terms of holding a job and a lifestyle that allows them to look after the child. The ability of a parent to demonstrate that they are able to provide a stable home to the child can be extremely important in determining custody. Your attorney will be able to advise you on how best to demonstrate this in a hearing.

Parent involvement

If you are the parent who goes to all the sporting events and takes the child to the doctors and the dentist, the Judge will take this into account. It may not be enough to ensure you get custody but in either case, if you have been involved in your child’s life, the Judge will encourage you to continue doing what you have already been doing.

Family proximity and closeness

Some families are close and this can be beneficial to a child’s upbringing and development. The Judge will always try to ensure that the child continues to have access to these family circles. This can become difficult when a spouse is moving to a different country or state and in these cases, the Judge will have to consider what they think is the best route to take.

The child’s preference

In Texas, if the child is 12 or older, the Judge will usually consider their preference. However this does not mean that it will override other considerations and a judge will prioritize the safety of the child as of utmost importance.

Possible Arrangements

Generally, the court will want both parents to remain in the child’s life. However, they will also want to minimize disruption to the child’s life, and will usually try to arrange things accordingly. This leads to a range of possible outcomes including:

Joint custody

If there is no solid argument against either parent to cause the Judge to worry, joint custody will usually be the decision they make. This can come in different forms and does not always mean a 50-50 split. For example, it might be better for the child to stay with one parent during the week, and visit the other at weekends. However, in joint custody arrangements usually, both parents retain the right to make decisions in regards to the child’s life, such as where they go to school. In joint custody agreements, the parent who is looking after the child the majority of the time will be considered the primary conservator, and the other spouse has visitation rights

Sole custody

If the Judge has reason to believe that one parent is a danger to their child, they may award sole custody to the other spouse. In this situation, the parent with sole custody has complete control over any important decisions concerning the child’s life. Reasons for sole custody being granted include things such as criminal history, domestic abuse, or alcoholism.

Where sole custody is granted, one parent will have exclusive rights to make decisions regarding the child’s life. However, that does not mean that the child will have no access to the other parent. Often they will retain some visitation, even if it is supervised. If you think you have a strong claim for sole custody rights, you will need to provide as much evidence as you can to the Judge.