Texas is actively getting away from the word “custody” because it is beneficial for the child to have both parents in their life. Texas chooses to use the terms “conservatorship” and “possession and access” in place of “custody” and “visitation,” respectively. Defining terms is essential because this post pertains to whether you can modify an existing agreement. There are three different types of conservatorships in Read More

Business relationships are vital; however, it is the actual contracts that bind business arrangements together. A company's contractual business relationships affect its operations, including its employees, business partners, suppliers, customers, and commercial landlords. As well as enforcing commitments, contracts help the parties think through the relationship and the risks and obligations involved. With so Read More

Business owners work with partners, employees, and third-party vendors. Because of the number of variables and potentially large sums of money involved, there is a strong likelihood that disputes could surface. Mitigating and managing these issues is part of what it means to be a business owner. Well-drafted contracts account for these disagreements and can serve as a definitive solution in the wake of a highly Read More

Imagine that you have found your dream vacation home. It’s small and relatively inexpensive, so you make a cash offer because it allows you to close on the house quicker, making the seller happy. After you purchase the home, you discover that the seller was in the middle of a divorce, and the seller’s spouse claims they own the home.  Although the example mentioned above is somewhat extreme, that doesn’t mean it Read More

Anyone who hasn’t engaged in any degree of estate planning may be unfamiliar with the probate process and what it means to accomplish. Whether you have written a will or created a trust, you may have to deal with the probate process. When someone passes away, their assets pass through the probate court. This is not necessary when a trust has been established because the deceased didn’t own their assets; the trust Read More

When you start a business, creating a buy-sell agreement should be incorporated into it early in the company’s life cycle. Though buy-sell agreements can pertain to anything, especially when they are highly valuable assets, we will look at them through the lens of a new business owner. If you understand what they can do for the newly-minted business owner, you can easily apply it to your situation. An attorney can Read More

Fighting may only cause more conflict. Ultimately, the court will do so for you when you cannot arrive at terms with your former spouse. Before it gets to that place, your attorney can negotiate on your behalf with your former spouse’s lawyer, and there are forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) such as mediation. Though we have addressed the benefits of mediation over litigation, the purpose here is to Read More

When most people decide to get married, they take deliberate steps towards melding their lives together. For instance, taxes may be filed jointly, debts are shared, and your spouse's name likely gets listed on a wide array of documents. Consider how many times you have received a form and automatically listed your spouse as your emergency contact.  The point is that you spent a significant amount of time Read More

Myths can be dangerous. Many of them are so common that well-intentioned friends and family members may pass them to you as fact. The risk of these myths is that if you hear, for example, that men do not get custody of their children, you may be significantly less inclined to fight for custody.  The Truth About Spousal Support There are those that believe in old stereotypes in which the father is the Read More

Whether you are buying a home for you and your family for the first time or have completed the home buying process before, terms such as due diligence and escrow can be easily confused.  Unlike an attorney or a real estate agent, you may only be a part of this process once or even a few times throughout your life. It is understandable that someone would need to learn or relearn some of these terms and how Read More