If a couple is seeking divorce when child custody, visitation rights, child support, alimony, or property and asset division is involved, you or your spouse needs to file for a contested divorce. With a divorce case that involves complications and a legal battle between you and your spouse, you need the services of attorneys to mediate the process of divorce. The attorneys from both sides will sit together with you and your spouse and try to resolve all the matters that are involves in the case. If needed, one of the attorneys will take the case to the court to get a judgment.
It is ideal to work with an experienced divorce attorney who will fight for your rights and resolve the issues at stake. Couples find it easier to work towards resolving issues when a divorce attorney is present. If the couple is unwilling or finds that they cannot come to an agreement on the issues, the court will make the decision for them.
Most cases can be resolved when divorce attorneys are present and resolving the issues, although, in the case that the couple cannot reach an agreement, the case must be handled through a formal contested trial before a judge. In the case that you and your spouse cannot resolve your disagreement on your own terms, our contested divorce attorneys will vigorously represent you in court and aggressively fight for your rights in an effort to attain your complete satisfaction with the case.
Being involved in a contested case can bring about a high level of stress and a high level of expense, but the contested divorce lawyers at M&A Law Firm will fight for you to ensure that we block any and all stress and extra expenses that may incur with a contested divorce.
M&A Law Firm's goal is to concentrate on our efforts towards achieving solutions in your disputed issue through arduous negotiation and mediation sessions. It is sometimes necessary to take your case to trial because the case is in need of such relief that the only way to achieve the desired objective is to appear before the court. Particularly, if your case involved the well being of your child, incurring the expense of a contested divorce may be unavoidable.
All liabilities involved in the case must be written out in the Divorce Decree, although if one party is assigned to take care of debt that the other party previously shared with them does not mean that the other party is totally released from the responsibility of the once shared debt.
The stipulations for marital liabilities will also apply to income taxes, although the IRS is much more difficult to deal with. When it comes to income taxes, the IRS can and may pursue collections against you or your spouse or both of you together. Also, it is good to know that even though a Divorce Decree may order that your former spouse pay all income taxes, but this is not binding against the IRS and does not prevent you from acquiring penalties and interest incurred.
State law concerning exempt properties does not put restrictions against the IRS. In rather extreme cases, the IRS can sell your home or property to assure the payment of your income tax. The IRS does not usually write off debts labeled as bankruptcy.
It is each party's responsibility to pay their attorney and all of the costs of litigation. The legal expenses incurred with the case may be defined as a marital debt and divided much like property or assets. The Court can mandate one party to pay for all of the expenses incurred in the case, depending heavily upon the financial resources of both parties as well as the details of the case.
Texas Courts do not have much say or authority in a case after the divorce has been finalized when it comes to alimony or spousal maintenance. However, throughout the time of your case the Court does have considerable authority to grant temporary spousal support. The Court will carefully weigh the needs of the party and the ability of the other party to pay.
The Court also considers health and age of both parties, each party's ability to work, which party is taking responsibility for the children, availability of funds, and how long the marriage lasted. If and when the Court orders temporary spousal support, it is usually for a limited period of time and is ordered in an amount necessary to take care of the child's basic needs.
In order to obtain alimony after a divorce, it is generally expected that you and your spouse were married for 10+ years and the party was to prove that they actually are in need of alimony.
As a part of the divorce process, you have the option to change your name. This is a more common practice among women than men. Many women seek to change their name after divorce to their former maiden name or the names of their children to a former last name. It is usually not an issue for the Court to grant a name change. In the case that you want to change your last name, it would be in your best interest to do so while the divorce is pending.
