Frisco Family Law Blog

How can you make post-divorce life easier for your children?

On behalf of Pfister & Associates, Attorneys and Counselors at Law on Wednesday, October 2, 2019.

For you, it's simple: Nothing is as important as your children. That's always been your focus, ever since they were born. Now that you and your spouse are getting divorced, you know it won't change. You want to put them first. You want to make post-divorce life as easy for them as you can.

So, what should you do? While every situation is unique, here are a few key tips that can help:

Encourage each child's relationship with your ex. While you and your ex may not feel like spending time together or even communicating, it's still important to your child to have that connection. Never stand in the way of it and promote it when you can.
Remember that you'll need to be flexible at times. It's easy to feel angry when your ex wants to drop the kids off early or pick them up early, but having fights about these things just puts stress on the children. Forcing them to conform to your schedule may mean they miss events they were excited about. Be flexible and make scheduling changes when it suits them.
When exchanging custody of the kids, help them get ready to go stay with your ex. Help them pack their bags, clean their clothes, gather up their homework and more. You want that exchange to go smoothly and, as much as you wish they could stay with you 100% of the time, you want their stay at your ex's house to be enjoyable.
Adopt similar parenting styles and rules. Consistency is important to your children's development. You do not have to agree on everything, but it's important to sit down with your ex and make decisions about how you plan to co-parent the children. The more you can operate on the same page, the better for all involved.
Never try to use your children to snoop on your ex, and do not snoop on your children's relationship with them, either. Give them some space. Focus on your own life. Never put the kids in the middle of things.
Don't interrogate the kids when they come back from your ex's place. If you ask them what they ate, what they did, when they went to bed and who was there, you may feel like you're protecting them. They feel like you're overbearing. It's stressful.
Allow your children to have a voice. Ask them what they want. Listen to their desires and let them help determine things regarding the custody schedule and the like.

Who should be awarded custody of your special needs child?

On behalf of Pfister & Associates, Attorneys and Counselors at Law on Tuesday, September 3, 2019.

When parents of special needs children divorce, they face a different set of challenges than parents of kids with no disabilities. In many (but not all) circumstances, one parent has been the primary caregiver for the special needs child since their birth.

All children, however, need to spend quality time with both of their parents whenever this is possible. So, how can the custody of disabled children be determined while still preserving the parent-child relationship with both the mother and father?

Divorce places your business in danger

On behalf of Pfister & Associates, Attorneys and Counselors at Law on Wednesday, July 31, 2019.

Whenever a business owner faces divorce, their business may suffer serious consequences and may even be forced to dissolve completely. While every divorce comes with some high stakes, divorce involving a business owner is considerably more complicated, in most cases. If you own a business and see divorce in your future, you must consider all of your legal options in order to protect your business and avoid other unnecessary losses.

Review your prenuptial agreement

3 things to remember if you plan to sell the house in a divorce

On behalf of Pfister & Associates, Attorneys and Counselors at Law on Wednesday, July 3, 2019.

Divorce is a complex road to go down, especially if you have high-value assets that will have to be divided between you and your ex. For instance, some assets will have to go through a valuation process before you know how much they are worth. Moreover, it might make more financial sense to sell some assets and divide the proceeds rather than try to keep them. Your house in Frisco is a prime example of an asset that you may want to sell.

If you choose to move forward selling the house, there are a few things you can do to smooth out the process. Here are a few tips to keep in mind if you are going to sell the house in a divorce.

When grandparents rear their own grandkids

On behalf of Pfister & Associates, Attorneys and Counselors at Law on Tuesday, June 4, 2019.

Years ago, when you pictured spending time with your future grandchildren, what did you envision? Perhaps you saw yourself decked out in finery, sipping tea with a granddaughter or tossing around the ball with your grandson.

It's likely that the memories you imagined making with your grandchildren did not include your being responsible for their 24/7 care and feeding. But then life intervened.

Financial security during a divorce

On behalf of Pfister & Associates, Attorneys and Counselors at Law on Friday, May 3, 2019.

Going through a divorce can have the potential to wreak havoc on your finances. One of the main reasons for this is because, in Texas, the legal theory of community property is recognized. This means that, in many cases, assets will be divided between spouses 50/50, even if one spouse acquired the vast majority of income.

If you are considering filing for a divorce in Texas, it is important that you plan ahead to ensure that you are organized and that you go about the process in a way that protects your interests. The following are some strategies that you can adapt to ensure that you get a successful financial outcome from your divorce.

Yes, you can learn to co-parent effectively with your ex

On behalf of Pfister & Associates, Attorneys and Counselors at Law on Tuesday, April 2, 2019.

One of the lingering effects of particularly contentious and acrimonious divorces is the inability of the exes to successfully co-parent their children together. The very problems that led to the couple splitting up continue to wreak havoc in their post-divorce relationship.

This is troublesome on all fronts. It keeps the adults trapped in negative relationship patterns where settling even the most minor difficulties becomes impossible. But worst of all, the kids suffer needlessly when their parents can't manage to civilly interact with one another.

Is lump-sum alimony the right choice for you?

On behalf of Pfister & Associates, Attorneys and Counselors at Law on Tuesday, March 5, 2019.

When you get divorced in a community property state like Texas, it's very important to determine whether spousal support (or alimony) is appropriate in your circumstances. Since alimony payments are rarely a given in 2019, you may not qualify to receive these payments nor be required to pay them.

But alimony is still awarded in Texas divorces in some cases: for instance, if you are coming out of a marriage of long duration where you eschewed pursuing a lucrative career in order to stay home and rear the children and take care of the home and family. But even in these cases, all spousal support is not equal.

4 ways to protect your money in a divorce

On behalf of Pfister & Associates, Attorneys and Counselors at Law on Friday, February 1, 2019.

Divorce can be a long and complicated process and, if you are not careful, you may walk away with less than your fair share of the marital assets. For example, if you insist on keeping the house in Plano and give up other assets in exchange, you could end up with the raw end of the deal. The house might become too expensive to maintain and you might have to sell it at a loss. In fact, as soon as you make the decision to divorce, it is time to start taking steps to protect your money.

With just a little bit of planning, you can organize your finances so that you are not only ready for divorce proceedings but also for your new life. Here are few ways to protect your finances.

Sudden income deficit syndrome and divorce

On behalf of Pfister & Associates, Attorneys and Counselors at Law on Monday, January 7, 2019.

Many things happen when a person files for a divorce. For people who have a family business, keeping an eye on what is going on with it is beneficial. Sometimes, one party will start to tamper with the profits of the business to make it look like it isn't as profitable as it really is. This is known as sudden income deficit syndrome.

Some people claim that this a form of self-protection. However, it isn't legal to try to hide any assets, including the income of a family owned business. This doesn't stop some individuals from trying. For this reason, you should pay close attention to the claims the other side is making about business matters.