Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: Why do the courts let soon to be ex-spouses do what they want?

What has he done and what have you done about it? In Travis County, the courts are not very tolerant of temporary order violations (or violations of final orders, for that matter).

If he is not paying child support, there are strong remedies available such as contempt (possibly jail time) and liens on his assets. If he is not returning the child, he can be held in contempt.

I assume that you already have an attorney since you are in the middle of a divorce and he or she should be able to resolve this. My experience is that people who lie and violate court orders do not do well at final hearings. Of course, if you have a settlement agreement from your mediation, and if it was done properly, it is enforceable. I would want to know, however, why the settlement agreement was not entered and the divorce was not obtained soon after mediation. It is usually better to do that immediately so as to have a final order to enforce.

I'm sorry, but you have not given enough information for me to respond with anything other than generalities. If you are NOT represented by counsel and you are in the Austin area, I would be happy to set up an appointment to discuss these issues in detail.

Good luck.