Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
Jurisdiction
Divorced in 1992 in Missouri, moved to Texas 1998. I just went to Missouri for a modification on custody, visitation, ect. Missouri court states that they no longer hold jurisdiction over the visitation, custody, ect., only CS. I know now if I want to change I have to file here in Texas. My real question is..since Mo no longer holds jurisdiction and the papers are not filed here in Texas, does Texas have authority to enforce them if they are not submitted to the court yet? Are the Missouri rules of custody and visitation still valid, since they do not have jurisdiction, or is it that now we live here Texas automatically holds jurisdiction without any paperwork filed? Hope I make sense.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Jurisdiction
If you have custody of the children and you have been living in Texas more than 6 months with the children, then the court needs to be changed to the county in which you are living. I consists of filing a motion with the original court requesting that the jurisdiction be changed to the county in which the children are now living. If you need assistance with this and live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, please give me a call.
Re: Jurisdiction
Your Missouri decree can be registered in Texas as a "foreign decree" and then Texas attempts to enforce it. I use the word "attempt" since each state uses different legal terms and laws vary state-to-state.
However, Texas would attempt to interpret the document and apply it as a Texas decree.
Usually, I just do a modification and then the court has a correctly worded Texas document to work from.
If you live in Houston, please give me a call at 713-847-6000.
If you are attempting to figure out a "loop-hole" to avoid doing something, please be advised that the Judges see this sort of behavior everyday and they do not respond kindly to such behavior.
Good luck!
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