Essay Answers Flashcards
conservatorship
- In determining conservatorship, a court’s primary consideration is the best interest of the children.
- There is a rebuttable presumption that appointing the parents as joint managing conservators is in the best interest of the children.
- A court may not factor the parties’ sex or marital status into its decision.
Standard Possession Order
A standard possession order should be entered for visitation rights unless the parties agree otherwise or the court does not determine that it would be in the children’s best interest.
Presumption of Cp
- However, property acquired during marriage is presumptively community property, even if title is taken in only one spouse’s name.
- The presumption can be overcome by clear and convincing evidence that the property originated as separate property.
- Documentary evidence is required; a spouse’s testimony is not
spousal maintenance
In Texas, spousal maintenance payments are meant to be temporary and rehabilitative if the spouse seeking them is unable to be self-sufficient. The courts are required to limit the duration of the maintenance order to the shortest reasonable period that allows the spouse seeking maintenance to earn sufficient income to provide for the spouse’s minimum reasonable needs.
child support determinations
- A child-support determination begins with statutory guidelines based on a percentage of net monthly resources that constitutes an award that is presumptively reasonable and in the child’s best interests.
- Adjustments to this amount may be made up or down based on additional proven needs of the child and other resources available for the child’s care.
- If the obligor is intentionally unemployed or underemployed, the guidelines apply to the earning potential of the obligor.
visitation rights-grandparents
A court may award visitation rights to a grandparent in circumstances like this one, in which the parent to whom the grandparent is related is deceased, the surviving parent has not had his parental rights terminated, and the surviving parent has denied access to the grandchildren.
grandparents-visitation rights
a court should do so only if the grandparent can overcome the presumption that the surviving parent acts in the best interest of the child, by proving by a preponderance of the evidence that denial of access to the child would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional well-being. Grandparents’ rights must be balanced with the fundamental liberty interest of parents in the control, care, and custody of their children under the U.S. Constitution.
standing to file suit-parent child relationship
- Traditionally, only a parent, child, child’s guardian, possessory conservator, government entity, authorized agency, or licensed child-placement entity has standing to file a suit affecting the parent-child relationship.
- However, biological or adoptive grandparents may request possession of or access to a grandchild by filing an original suit or a suit for modification
person filing child custody suit
The person filing the suit must execute and attach an affidavit asserting that denial of access would significantly impair the physical health or emotional well-being of the child.
- In addition, a person who has had custody for at least six months may initiate a suit affecting the parent-child relationship.
arrearages
However, if an obligor does not pay child support on time, the amount in arrears automatically becomes a money judgment-a final judgment for the amount due and owing. A motion requesting money judgment must be filed no later than 10 years after the date the child becomes an adult or the date on which the child-support obligation terminates under the child-support order or by operation of law.
subject to child support obligation
An obligor’s sole management community property, separate property, and joint management community property would be subject to an obligor’s obligation to pay child support.
retirement benefits
Retirement benefits earned during marriage while domiciled in Texas are community property. This is true whether or not the benefits were vested at the time of divorce.
- an obligor parent’s net resources include community property of a subsequent marriage.
terminate parent’s rights
A court may terminate a person’s parental rights to a child if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that doing so is in the child’s best interest and that the parent has committed one of the culpable acts enumerated in the Texas Family Code.
BIOC-appeal
The “best interest of the child” determination is within the broad discretion of the trial court, but an appellate court must ensure that the clear and convincing standard was met. In addition, the appellate court must find that the trial judge could have reasonably found clear and convincing evidence that a statutory ground for termination existed.
involuntary term of parental rights
Involuntary termination of parental rights is based on clear and convincing evidence of particular acts enumerated in the Texas Family Code.
