If you haven’t been involved in a divorce or other family law case this year, you may not be aware of some of the changes that Texas state lawmakers made during 2015 to the Texas Family Code. These changes could impact divorce cases as well as child custody cases.
Some of the changes were implemented to make Texas law more applicable in the digital age. For example, Texans may now get a court order to prohibit their spouse from threatening or even communicating with them by phone, text, email, social media, video or any type of electronic messaging. They may also obtain a court order to keep their spouse from destroying, damaging or otherwise tampering with any electronically recorded information or intellectual property if doing so would cause economic loss or even inconvenience.
Other changes relate to family violence. If a spouse has been convicted of a crime involving family violence or if he or she received deferred adjudication for such a crime, there is now a legal presumption of family violence. Trafficking activities have been clarified under the law to be considered a form of family violence.
Of course, Texas family law also underwent a significant change with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this June to make same-sex marriage legal throughout the country. Texas, like all other states, is also required to recognize the marriages of same-sex partners who were legally wed in other states.
Experienced Texas family law attorneys stay up-to-date with all changes to the Texas Family Code. They can advise clients on their best options based on the law.
Source: Houston Chronicle, “Texas Family Code sees changes in 2015,” Dec. 16, 2015