Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
visitation if not yet divorced
Hi!
My husband and I are separated and planning to divorce, though neither of us can afford to file yet. We have 2 young daughters who live with me.
Since the separation in September, I have allowed him to have the girls on the 1st, 3rd and 5th weekends - per the standard possession orders. He hasn't liked it (he wants every other weekend) but has accepted it until now.
Per the standard orders, March 2006 had 3 weekends (5th weekend started on Fri, 3/31). He insists that April has 5 weekends instead. We do NOT have any court orders - just a friendly (up til now) agreement. He is sending ugly emails to me and telling me that he WILL have the girls on the weekends that he thinks are his (which are not the ones previously agreed to).
Is there any way to protect my kids and my weekends without court orders? Are there any repercussions to my denying him the weekends that he thinks are his? Any suggestions for setting up our future agreements before we can afford to go to court?
Thank you!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: visitation if not yet divorced
There are no repercussions since there is no current court order.
Why not sit down with a calendar and do it again?
Legally, we do the first, third and fifth Friday nights.
Our deposits are under $1,500 - filing fee approx. $250 and serving him $100. If you want a real basic divorce decree (without anything fancy or unique) and the two of you are truly in agreement then a divorce takes approx. 10 hours and can be done for under $2,000. However, if you or your husband call me frequently and keep making changes the cost goes up based on the number of hours I spend on your case.
I can't give you my phone number in this email - sorry.
My website is www.familylaw4u.com
I just got back in town from a legal seminar in California. I'll be out of the office a lot this week.
If it's truly agreed, the divorce can be done in approx. 65 days if you both agree to take your 4-hour parenting class.
Re: visitation if not yet divorced
You are handling this just fine.
Standard visitation of 1st/3rd/5th weekend counts from the Friday. So March had 3 weekends, and April has 2 weekends. (June will have 3).
There are no court orders, so there are no repercussions if you refuse.
Since money is tight, check out the local non-profit and religious organizations in your area for legal services. If you two are in agreement, legal fees are not very expensive. Make some calls. Many attorneys will accept a payment plan.
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