When Child Protective Services (CPS) becomes involved with your family, the situation can move quickly from an investigation to court proceedings, temporary orders, a service plan, or even a lawsuit involving conservatorship and termination of parental rights. For a parent, one of the most important questions is how to respond to a CPS case without…
Divorce is rarely limited to signing paperwork and appearing in court once. Depending on the circumstances, a Texas divorce can involve filing the petition, addressing temporary issues, exchanging information about property and finances, resolving child-related matters, negotiating a settlement, participating in mediation, and obtaining a final decree. For someone searching for Austin divorce legal services,…
When parents separate, one of the most important questions is how they will continue spending time with their children. In Texas, people often use the word “visitation” to describe parenting time, but Texas family courts generally use the terms possession and access. The schedule established by a court can address weekends, weekdays, holidays, school breaks,…
Going to family court can be stressful, especially when you are unfamiliar with the process. Whether your case involves divorce, child custody, child support, property division, or another family-law issue, understanding what generally happens at each stage can make the process easier to navigate. For families in Austin, cases filed in Travis County are subject…
Child custody cases in Austin can involve much more than deciding where a child will spend the week. Parents may disagree about decision-making, school and medical care, living arrangements, communication, safety concerns, or the amount of time each parent should have with the child. Because these disputes can involve competing accounts of what happened, preparation…
If Child Protective Services (CPS) is investigating your family in Texas, you may wonder whether an investigator can search your house without a warrant. This question is especially important because a CPS investigation, a home entry, and a search are not necessarily the same thing. A CPS investigator may ask to enter your home, look…
One of the most frightening questions a Texas parent can face during a Child Protective Services (CPS) investigation is: Can CPS take your child without a court order? The answer requires an important distinction. Under ordinary circumstances, CPS generally seeks judicial authority before removing a child when the parent does not consent. However, Texas law…
Few things are more stressful for a parent than learning that someone has reported them to Child Protective Services (CPS) for alleged child abuse or neglect. The situation can become even more upsetting when you believe the report is false. A former spouse, co-parent, relative, neighbor, or another person may make an allegation that you…
If you’re a parent in Houston facing a divorce or separation, there’s a good chance the question keeping you up at night isn’t about property or finances it’s about your kids. How does child custody work in Houston, Texas, and more specifically, how does a judge actually decide who gets custody? It’s one of the…
One of the biggest mistakes a parent can make in a Texas custody battle is allowing anger toward the other parent to become more important than the child’s best interests. Custody disputes are emotionally difficult. Parents may disagree about parenting, communication, school decisions, discipline, schedules, relocation, or the child’s living arrangements. When the relationship between…