Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: child visitation refused

If your relationship with this woman qualifies as a common law marriage - there was cohabitation, agreement to be married, and holding yourselves out to others as married - then the only way to end the relationship is to file for divorce. If you wish to file a declaration of common law marriage to establish the existence of the marriage, that must be done within 2 years of separation.

I would advise you to file for divorce if you are truly ready to end the relationship. If you're not ready for that, then you should hire an attorney to file a SAPCR on your behalf to obtain orders on visitation and support - only then will your rights be protected. Without court orders, there is really not much you can do.

Should you decide to seek legal counsel, feel free to contact me at (832)443-7170.

Best of Luck

Stephanie T. Shipp

Re: child visitation refused

Bummer sitatuion. Basic advice is to file for divorce, present orders for visitation and child support payments, and get everything signed by the court so that if she continues to refuse you access to your child, you can file a contempt action. Be advised that the court WILL deal with custody (visitation) AND child support. You just need to decide if you are going to be proactive and file first, or reactive and let her file -- which I assume she will do at some point.