If you're like most noncustodial parents, you probably want to spend more time with your kids. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to do this, and the other parent of your child will – in most circumstances – be on board with the idea. Here are some simple ways to spend more time with your kids without making changes to your child custody agreement:
Take lunch to your kids at school
If you're a recently divorced parent who has a 6- to 12-year-old child, you'll want to consider the unique developmental needs of a child this age while negotiating a suitable parenting plan arrangement with the other parent. These considerations will not only help you meet the unique needs of your child. They will also show the Texas family law court, that will approve your parenting plan, that you're keeping the best interests of your child in mind.
For children between the ages of 6 and 12, here are some parenting plan considerations:
The modern trend in divorce and child custody involves the parents sharing their children equally. In other words, Parent A will have the children half the time and Parent B will have the children the other half of the time. These arrangements are now more common than ever, but that doesn't mean it's guaranteed. Parents who want to have 50-50 child custody -- especially fathers -- should take some proactive measures to increase their chances of receiving a joint custody ruling.
Here's what fathers can do to help their child custody cases:
If you're currently receiving or likely to receive spousal support -- or alimony -- in Texas, you probably have a few questions about this vital financial supplement. First and foremost, alimony recipients want to know how much money they will receive, as they will be trying to determine their future budget as a single person. They may also have additional questions about alimony:
How much alimony can I receive?
If there is a significant difference between your and your spouse's ability to earn a living, there's a chance that the court will award alimony in your divorce process. These alimony payments could be essential to the lesser-moneyed spouse, who might have become financially dependent on the spouse who earns more of an income.
If there is an alimony award in a particular divorce case, there will usually be a limit to the amount of alimony and length of the payments.
At our law firm, we sometimes speak with grandparents who have been denied access to their grandchildren. This is not an easy situation for any grandparents who will miss their grandchildren dearly. In some cases, however, there could be a legal solution to the problem if the grandparents have the right to pursue visitation orders.
Grandparents are most commonly denied access to their grandchildren after a divorce, when the children have gone to live with the parent who is not related to them. If the grandparents for some reason have not been able to maintain a healthy relationship with this parent, it could create conflict and difficulty in terms of that parent giving access for visitation. These situations are unfortunate, so grandparents facing them are encouraged to do whatever they can to be diplomatic in their efforts to heal the relationship.
Many people consider prenuptial agreements to be a "touchy" topic to bring up with a soon-to-be spouse. However, considering the chances for divorce, these agreements are a responsible idea.
Following are some things that are worth including in a prenup:
Joint custody will often result in the children having two primary homes. Essentially, the children will live half the time with Parent A and half the time with Parent B. To some, this kind of arrangement might seem extreme and difficult to manage. Nevertheless, family and child psychologists have found that when the parents and children can successfully balance a relationship like this, the children benefit from spending as much time as possible with both parents.
Can you and your ex balance a 50-50 custody split?
Couples who get divorced after the age of 50 tend to have more complicated divorce proceedings. This is because they have likely accumulated a wide variety of valuable assets including retirement accounts, real estate and other property. Since couples in this age category are also nearing the age of retirement or are already retired, they may have additional concerns regarding their future financial security and how the divorce could affect the ability to retire.
If you're about to move forward with a divorce after 50, here are three things you may want to keep in mind:
Irrational jealousy, which psychologists sometimes refer to as "morbid jealousy" when it's severe enough, can cause serious problems in marriages. Perhaps the worst part of severe jealousy is the fact that it can create a self-fulfilling prophecy by pushing the partner away and causing the fear of loss of love and loss of respect to actually solidify into reality.
Here are some of the feelings that irrational jealousy will introduce into a marriage:
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