Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

First, you have to see this act of violence all the way through. And by that I mean that you can't decide to sign an affidavit of nonprosecution or something similar to "drop the charges" against him. You need to be strong and see to that he is convicted for the family violence he committed. If you don't do that, then the rest of the advice anyone gives you is worthless.

When you divorce, he may not have much in the way of rights with the children if he is ultimately convicted for family violence. But as far as finances go, there are two broad areas:

1. CHILD SUPPORT

Assuming you are the primary conservator (or even sole managing conservator), he will be ordered to pay child support based on all his income. You can estimate what his child support will be at my web site www.powerdaley.com. In addition to that, he will have to pay for health insurance for the children. If insurance is available through your job, he'll have to pay your premiums for the children. If no insurance is available, then I would demand that he pay an additional 9% of his GROSS pay as medical support. On top of that, he should pay at least 50% of the kids' uninsured medical expenses (e.g. co-pays, etc.)

2. DIVISION OF COMMUNITY PROPERTY

You will want to analyze all of the community property and debt to come up with a package that works for you and that is fair and equitable. You may not want the house if you can't make the house payment. You might be better off with a lump sum of cash so that you can buy a less expensive house that you can afford or rent an apartment until you get a good job.

I used to dabble in real estate foreclosures and I'll tell you that 75% of the foreclosures I looked at were properties where the wife "won" the house in a divorce case and then couldn't make the payment, so she lost it. Don't let that happen to you.

Also, you may be able to make a case for spousal support. It is very limited in Texas (although the legislature is now considering a bill to increase it--don't bank on that, though).

You are going to need an attorney to help you through this. It is a lot to do and a lot to understand and the law is not as simple as folks like to think it is. If your husband has some cash laying around that you can identify, you can ask the court to have him pay your legal fees. You can also contact Legal Aid or the Texas Legal Services Center (www.tlsc.org).

Good luck!!