Today’s Articles December 27, 2011
- Family Law in Texas and Interstate Custody Cases
Often when a relationship altogether dissolves, the next response of the parent leaving the family home is to move as far away from their former partner as possible. Apart from the affects this can have on your child’s emotional well-being, it can also affect the processes of filing a suit by raising question of court jurisdiction.
In Texas, your choice of where you continue living is not only a private issue between you and your youth. It is also very much a legal question. When beginning a child custody case, you first want to give notice to the other parent. Before filing a child custody lawsuit in Texas you need to determine whether the suit has been filed in the correct state and court. Texas has very explicit laws to determine whether a custody suit has been filed in the correct court.
It is worth keeping in mind, however, that all states in the United States are governed by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA). This is a ruling that determines which state can make custody pronouncements. It sets out the rules that establish which state can hear a custody dispute and avoids confusion, where two states could make custody resolutions involving the same child! Under this law, states must try to liaise with one another and must affirm and enforce the custody orders of other states.
In the state of Texas, differences arise when one parent does not live in Texas, or the child and other parent have moved out of Texas. Whether they have moved to another state or another country it is managed in the same way.
Ordinarily, the issue of which state has jurisdiction is resolved by where the child (on the date of the commencement of the proceeding) has residence, regardless of whether the family members may have subsequently moved. This includes situations where the child no longer resides in the state but the parents do.
Things are not always this simple however. In some battles, the court of the state where the child resides may decline to exercise their right of jurisdiction if it is decided that another state is a more appropriate setting.
Again, this reflects the best interest of the youngster, because often a child and their parent has a meaningful connection with a particular state, other than their mere physical presence, or were there is a sizable amount of relevant evidence available in a particular state – evidence regarding the child’s care, protection, training and personal relationships.
In other situations, the parent may have already been served the citation of the previous state and agreed to it prior to relocating interstate, allowing the original county to exercise it’s jurisdiction over them.
Technically, jurisdiction of a child custody suit can be fixed in Texas even if a party has never resided in Texas! A party can be accountable to a state’s jurisdiction if they had merely engaged in sex in that state, and the child was conceived as a result of that act!
Where one parent does carry on in another state, the court can order them to appear before the court in person. This can be with or without the child. In cases where the parent in this state has legal custody of the child, the court can command them to appear in person with the child.
The parent initiating the citation needs to be aware that if a non-resident-of-the-state parent is expected to be present at a child custody proceeding, the court may insist that the other parent to cover travel and accommodation expenses. The child however need not be there.
Once it is worked through that jurisdiction is appropriate in Texas, when a party or the child is located out of state, then the proper county for the dispute is determined by the general venue conditions, as previously set out above, concerning where most of the information concerning the case exists.
Otherwise, where a court in Texas has already made a child custody ruling, it has exclusive continuing jurisdiction over that result unless or until it is determined that the young person or parent’s significant connection with that state no longer exists and that substantial evidence concerning the child’s care, protection and training now can be found in another state.
For more information on Dallas Law and Interstate Child Custody Cases:
http://www.texaschild-custody.com/surviving-your-custody-battle.php?maxi
- Surviving your Custody Case
Custody disputes kill people.
Those who have been through a uncomfortable custody battle appreciate why these battles are associated with high rates of both suicide and murder.
Family court judges often live in fear of their lives, as frustrated parents regularly blame them for tearing their next of kin apart. More often though, a bad custody dispute leads to self-harm, particularly in the case of men, who tend to be the ones who often feel victimised by the family court system.
The best remedy for this anxiety, of course, is to steer clear of going to court completely. Do your best to reach a suitable arrangement with your estranged spouse, without bringing in court intermediaries.
Either way though, while your leading priority needs to be finding a custody arrangement that is in the best interests of your child, your number two priority must be to cope with the pressure of the custody arrangements without passing that strain on to your son or daughter.
Avoid allowing your little ones to partake in any of your emotional efforts that are connected with your failed relationship. This is especially damaging where a child is allowed to feel responsible for the failed marriage, or when one parent often plays the role of the “victim”, leaving the children feeling that they need to do something to cure the situation!
Be mindful that your child loves you both, and it is not their fault that your connection did not last. They did not cause your marriage breakdown and they cannot fix it.
You must take on the responsibility for this yourself, and if you need establish (as we all do) you need to get it from peers – siblings, parents or friends – and not from your children.
The straightforward rule is this: do not talk to your little ones about your child custody case. If they ask you how it is going, assure them that both mom and dad are both doing their best to agree on an arrangement that is highest for them (the child) and leave it there.
If your child won’t let up on the questioning, it can be very difficult to avoid going into details, but you must work hard to avoid sharing anger and frustration with your son or daughter, as you do not want your pain to become their anguish.A qualified family counsellor can be an invaluable asset in these circumstances, for both parents and son or daughter. In some situations, it may even be possible (and very worthwhile) for a professional counsellor to facilitate discussion between a child and both parents. Do not try to do this though without help. The dynamics of such an encounter can be very hard to control, and the potential negative consequences are far too serious if things go awry.
Custody rights cases are painful for everybody – children, parents and the public at large – and there is only ever one proper rationale for entering into a custody battle in the first place: you are concerned for best interests of your little ones. If then you really are looking for the best interests of your child, be assured that it will never be in their best interests to entangle them in the heartache of the custody battle.
For more information on Making it through your Custody Dispute:
http://www.texaschild-custody.com/texas-family-law-and-shared-custody.php