Houston Family Law Blog

When a Texas court is determining how to divide child custody, it must do so while keeping the children's best interests in mind. This means whatever decision is made must be made in order to benefit the children, emotionally, physically, or financially. Regardless of how difficult it is, parents should put their children's best interests first when determining who should have custody during the holidays.

If parents have divorced amicably and live near one another, they might decide to split the hours of the holiday equally. However, this arrangement might end up backfiring, as children might find going from one location to another chaotic or stressful. It could also increase the amount of interaction parents have with one another post-divorce, which they may be trying to avoid. Therefore, while this arrangement could be beneficial for amicable parents with older children, it might not be the best option for ones with an acrimonious relationship.

The quintessential Thanksgiving image to many is a family sitting around the table cutting the turkey with a smile on their face. The holiday is often promoted as a time where parents and children get together after they respectively have their work and school days off. A lot of stress and preparation is involved for this one day, but many find it worthwhile to work hard for one of the few days of the year where all can celebrate being together.

Parents that recently divorced face a different obstacle this holiday season. It is their first time going into Thanksgiving without a spouse and potentially without their children on their days off. This could be one of the toughest parts of the year as several divorcees in Texas are constantly reminded of what they once had. However, no longer having a spouse should not stop you from celebrating the occasion. Your status presents opportunities to create new lifelong traditions.

Couples ending their marriage may begin a stressful and expensive battle, especially if they have children. Fortunately, there are methods for avoiding these difficulties and staying out of the courthouse while undergoing a divorce.

Mediation allows the spouses to control their spousal support, property division and custody issues without a court imposing rulings on them. A neutral mediator helps couples design their own solutions to matters that must be acceptable to each party. Mediation also helps assure that divorce issues remain confidential.

Separated or divorced parents and their children may be eligible for more support after September 1. A law took effect that requires parents paying child support to provide dental insurance to their children. Parents who pay child support have been legally required to pay for health care insurance in addition to other living expenses. Many supporting parents already voluntarily paid for dental insurance before this new law.

This support obligation may not take effect immediately for every parent, however, because of court rulings. New court cases requiring child support will probably require dental insurance payments.