No judge or judicial candidate should want to read this headline: “Court of Appeals reverses judge who screwed gay dad.”  Sadly, treating gays and lesbians unfairly is currently good politics if you are a Republican worried only about winning a primary in Texas.  Sadder still is what happened to William Flowers in his modification lawsuit […]

Family attorneys often deal with causes of action that do not arise under the Family Code.  For example, one spouse might sue the other spouse as part of a divorce for assault or breach of fiduciary duty.  A new Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 91a applies to all cases, including those pending on March 1, […]

You do not need a transfer or an assignment from the Administrative Judge to allow another judge in the courthouse to sign an order for you if the judge of the court where your case is pending is not available (assuming the clerks and the other judge cooperates). Texas Government Code Sec. 79.094 says: Sec. […]

Thomas Jefferson owned at least five Latin editions of the On the Nature of Things written by the Roman philosopher Titus Lucretius Carus about 50 years before the birth of Jesus.  Jefferson also owned translations of the poem in English, Italian and French.   Jefferson, a founding father of the United States and writer of the […]

In court, attorneys should properly refer to the parties and witnesses as “Mr. Smith “ or “Dr. Green” or “Ms. Olivares.”  Lawyers should not refer even to their own clients by just their first names in court.  Attorneys often seem to forget that formality and decorum and politeness (not to mention civility) are both expected […]

Here, the wife’s separate estate  was awarded a $41,000 reimbursement claim against the community estate which the trial court used to reach a 60/40 property split.  The court of appeals held that the wife failed to prove $32,000 of that amount was her separate property and this required a reversal of the entire property division […]

This case is a rare reported victory for grandparents in a fight for primary custody. In the Interest of Z.R.P. and D.A.P., No. 05-12-00134-CV (Tex. App. – Dallas 5/20/2013)

Unbelievably, the trial court followed this provision and dismissed the wife’s modification suit.  The San Antonio Court of Appeals did not reach the issue on whether this provision is void as against public policy and instead held that the provision violates Family Code Sec. 154.124(c) which says agreements concerning child support are not enforceable as […]

A 2004 paternity order required the father to pay $500 a month child support through the SDU and he clearly had made no payments to the SDU prior to April 2010.  So, how did the mother lose this enforcement suit?  The father testified that his signature on the “agreed” paternity order was forged and he […]

This case shows that even in a default situation, counsel must still put on some minimal evidence that supports the requested modification. In the Interest of A.T.A.L., No. 05-11-01666-Cv (Tex. app. – Dallas 5/8/2013).