Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
OK so Im trying to help my brother obtain custody of his daughter. the split about 6 months ago and she moved 2 1/2 back home with her parents, She is 21 and he is 26. She has had 2 car accidents in the last 2 months, one of which she flipped her car mulitple times and bearly lived the other she ran her car into a ditch (her daughter was present at the time of this one but not the other) She does drugs her parents watch her child and allow her to do what she wants sht only had a job for maybe 2 months in this time befor the accident. Her parents support her and my niece. She leves her with different people. she lefts a girl that is pregnant and does drugs watch her for her to go out she leaves her with that girls boyfriend who does drugs also. She wont let my brother see her as often as she would like because her mom does not like him so the few time he has seen her she lied to her mom about where my niece would be. He sends he money. But gets even more mad when he buys her stuff instead of giving her cash because she wants to spend it on other stuff. She dont pay rent , phone bill, ins or a car note not even gas (uses her moms gas card) My niece spends so much more time with other people and her grandma then she does with her and when she is with her she is on drugs most of the time we have voicemails with she completely out of it and u cant even understand her, and more. My brother lives with my has a full time job pays bills and has a normal work week (no crazy hrs or anything) and has a great support system. He wants custody and is a great dad and loves his little girl more then anything but were not such what steps to take there is not a custody agreement or child support agreement he would like to get he for a wk or so and keep her and file for temp. custody but were not sure how long that takes to get approved we have to do something quick this little girls life is in danger but we dont know what route to take any advice would be great. (not rich, lawyers are a little much to come up with a lot at one time but were trying to save up)
1 Answer from Attorneys
I'll give you a few hints:
1. Find an experienced family law attorney in your county. Check out this website. Attorneys answers questions for free so you can read their answers and get a "feel" for them before you call them. Most attorneys offer payment plans.
There is also www.avvo.com. People can ask questions there for free too. Check out the attorney answers there too. But beware of the ratings -- many excellent attorneys have never "claimed" their profile so their rating might be low -- don't necessarily trust a high or low rating!
You don't need to hire a board certified attorney -- their prices are much higher per hour than a non-board certified attorney and I suspect that you can't afford them! Most charge $500 per hour or more!
Try to hire an attorney that does at least 60% family law and has at least 5 years experience. I personally would prefer someone with at least 10 years experience but try to avoid someone with less than 5 years experience -- they are too new!
You might want to call PATRICIA BUSHMAN at 713-807-9405. I don't know what county you live in. She will go outside Harris County. She offers payment plans. She represents a lot of guys & gets them custody. I rent space in her office.
2. You can read my blog. www.txfamilylaw4u.blogspot.com and read about my comments on family law. Of course, the TX legislature changes the law every 2 years so really old blogs might be somewhat out of date but you can get an idea of Tx family law.
There are many attorneys that "blog". Of course, it's our opinions. So "filter" every attorney's comments and blogs!
3. Do your research. The TX Family Code is availabe on-line. There are many law libraries.
The TX A G has a lot of information on family law for free. You can go to my website at www.familylaw4u.com and look under "links" for a few websites. STICK TO TEXAS LAW.
4. You can go to your local courthouse and visit the courthouse. It's usually open to the public and visit the courts. It's very educational.
5. HIRE AN ATTORNEY!!!
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