Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: Taking Kids across state line

Texas has a residence requirement to file for divorce (6 months in Texas & 90 days in the county where you file the suit). You can file for divorce in Texas if either party meets that residence requirement.

You are entitled to take the children to La. as long as there are no court orders prohibiting you from doing so. The major counties (Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Rockwall, Denton) have Standing Orders that take effect immediately upon filing a divorce. Those orders prohibit both parties from changing the residence of the children or hiding them from the other parent.

The court may enter temporary orders concerning where the children are to reside during the pendency of the divorce. That issue is bound to arise if one parent wants to move and the other parent is opposed to having the children move.

The judges in the major counties generally enter final orders that require the parent with primary custody of the kids to reside in the county where the divorce was granted or the surrounding counties. If the parent who has primary possession of the children wants to move outside that area, the issue should be raised during mediation and, if the case is not settled, at the time of trial.

I suggest you need to retain an attorney to give you more specific advice concerning your particular case.