Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
My girlfriend was valiantly attacked with a knife by her daughter�s father wife. The attack was premeditated with the purpose of ending her life. The lady drove eight hours or more to try to murder my girlfriend. The father was not in the country when the attack took place. The father left the child in the custody of his wife when he left the country. This was not revealed to my girlfriend. She believed her child�s father was present. The lady is being trialed currently.
My girlfriend has custody. I�m not sure if the custody is physical or legal custody. The father had visitation on holidays, summer vacation, and weekends prior to the attack. The child�s father lives eight plus hours away. The court temporarily modified the custody order after the attack to monthly weekends restricted to one county under his parents supervision. Here are my questions. How long does the temporary order last? Can the father request summer visitation? Can my girlfriend get his visitation modified permanently claiming mental anguish do to a lack of visitation and communication by the child�s father? The child has claimed she does not feel safe when visiting and her father is not around. She does feel safe around the father�s grandparents and his siblings. My girlfriend does not have an issue with her child visiting her father but does not feel it is safe for her to visit with the child�s father due to the circumstance and potential danger she poses to her and her child. Please advise.
1 Answer from Attorneys
You raised a number of good questions.
1. How long do TOs last? They last until (a) modified by further order of the court; (b) there is a final order in your matter; or (c) the case is dismissed for want of prosecution.
2. Can father request summer? Yes. He would have to ask for a modification to the TOs. Lots of courts in our area don't have time for multiple sets of temporary orders and therefore will not even schedule them for a hearing. Therefore, I would not expect him to be successful in getting summer visitation if the TO does not already provide that.
3. Modification based on mental anguish? No. This is Texas. No one cares about anyone's mental anguish. ;-) I would say that she can easily get an order keeping the murderous wife away from the child. In fact, you can probably get a protective order for that purpose. If you file anything that would change conservatorship, then you can also file a motion for the judge to confer with the child in chambers. If the child is 12 years old or older, the court MUST interview the child prior to issuing final orders. The older the child is, the more weight the child's words have with the judge.
You should probably have the child in counseling right away. There are many good counselors in the area and some may accept whatever health insurance is in effect for the child. The kid needs help from a third party to put all this in perspective. Also, the counselor can be called as a witness if that helps your case.
Good luck!!
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