Austin Texas Family Law Blog

The bond between grandparents and grandchildren can be a strong one. However, when parents divorce, grandparents sometimes find themselves cut out of their grandchildren's lives. Their former son- or daughter-in-law may have primary custody of the kids and not want them to be around their ex-spouse's parents. Sometimes their own child may not make the effort to let them see their grandkids (or may not want them to).

Under current Texas law, a grandparent can only successfully sue for visitation if at least one of the children's parents is deceased, in prison, not mentally competent or is estranged from the child. Even then, a grandparent who wants to see their grandchildren must provide expert testimony that being kept from their grandparents is harmful to the child's physical or mental well-being. That can be a difficult case to make.

Sadly, some divorced parents refuse to abide by the terms of their child custody agreement. They deny their co-parent the access to their children that they're entitled to. Custodial interference is more than a violation of a custody order. Here in Texas, it can also be a felony.

Despite that, some parents say law enforcement agencies and prosecutors do little. One father says, "Interference happens in plain view of uniformed officers, but they won't make an arrest because they know the D.A. won't do anything with it. It's a waste of time."

If you and your co-parent are in the process of working out your child custody agreement, you're likely determining how the kids will be dividing their time or spending alternate years with each of you around major holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving as well as during spring and vacations. However, there are a lot of other times during the school year where your kids will have a half-day or full day off that you might not be considering.

Don't forget the other holidays that your local schools may celebrate, like Presidents' Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Labor Day and Veterans Day. Likely, there are also days off on the school calendar for teachers' workshops and parent-teacher meetings. Some may just be half-days off. It's a good idea to download the calendars for your kids' schools and use those as you plan.

Many people meet their future spouses in college or graduate school. If they decide to marry while they're still completing their education or soon after graduation, they may see no need for a prenuptial agreement. They likely have few assets and may be deeply mired in student loan debt. How can they put themselves in a mindset where they're thinking about who will get which homes, boats, artwork, bank accounts and all the other things they don't have (and perhaps never will) if the marriage ends?

One attorney explains that her job is to help clients minimize their risk in a worst-case scenario (like the marriage ending). This requires looking into the future. At some point, that student loan debt will be behind you. You may have a thriving medical practice that you built from the ground up or your spouse may own a successful multinational company thanks to an idea they had and developed. If you remain in Texas, which is a community property state, you would each have the right to receive an equal share of the assets accumulated from that hard work and ingenuity unless you have a prenup in place.