Abilene TX Divorce Law Blog

Actor Dennis Quaid requests to pay higher child support

On behalf of Law Offices of Randy Wilson and Kristin Postell, PLLC posted in Child Custody on Saturday, January 18, 2020.

When parents of a child or children here in Texas are not in a relationship with one another, it can be difficult for them to determine how to co-parent. One facet that many families have to navigate is the payment of child support. The amount is generally based on the paying parent's level of income and the precise needs of the children and the receiving parent. It is not uncommon for the paying parent to request to make reduced payments for various reasons, but what is less common is for the paying parent to ask to increase the amount of child support. Yet that is precisely what actor Dennis Quaid has requested of the court.

Quaid has an agreement with his ex-wife to pay almost $14,000 per month in child support for the two children he shares with her. The agreement also lists a provision to increase the amount if Quaid's annual income exceeds a certain amount. His income for 2019 is four times higher than the amount upon which the existing child support order was based. He has approached the court and asked them preemptively to increase the amount of child support he is required to pay.

Woman charged with child custody interference

On behalf of Law Offices of Randy Wilson and Kristin Postell, PLLC posted in Child Custody on Monday, January 6, 2020.

When two parents who are not in a relationship share custody of their children, it can have a positive impact on a child's upbringing. However, some Texas parents struggle to overcome their differences with one another in order to fulfill their child custody agreement. There are even times when one parent refuses to let the other have his or her court-ordered parenting time. That parent can be charged with custodial interference, which is what happened in the case of one out-of-state mother.

According to authorities, the mother was supposed to turn over her son to his father for pre-arranged parenting time. The exchange was supposed to take place at a third party's home, and though the mother brought her son to the location, she would not allow him to leave with his father. Local police were called, but they weren't able to enforce the custody agreement because there was no court order. An order was issued the next day, but by then, no one knew where the mother was and couldn't find her for weeks.

Counties offer to recall arrest warrants for unpaid child support

On behalf of Law Offices of Randy Wilson and Kristin Postell, PLLC posted in Child Support on Monday, December 23, 2019.

There are many reasons why the two parents of a child here in Texas may not be in a relationship. What remains the same is that the child still needs care and love. Often, this means that one parent makes child support payments to the other custodial parent. However, there are times when a parent may have a relatable reason for not paying. This is why some out-of-state counties decided to give parents a chance to have their arrest warrants for unpaid child support recalled, as long as they followed certain guidelines.

The Office of the District Attorney for the region in question recently announced that it will recall arrest warrants, but only if the parent subject to the warrant pays at least $500 in child support before Feb. 1. Three counties are affected and the hope is that it will encourage parents who have overdue child support to start making payments again. The payments must be made to their county department of human resources and a receipt has to be turned into the county clerk's office.

VA program hopes to prevent military divorce

On behalf of Law Offices of Randy Wilson and Kristin Postell, PLLC posted in Military Divorce on Tuesday, December 10, 2019.

The men and women who serve in the armed forces often do so at a great personal cost. As grateful as the nation should be for their service, it doesn't change the fact that combat missions can leave service members with problems like post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD and other stressors can impact the relationships that service members have with their family. Some couples eventually make the decision to divorce. Military divorce is sadly quite common, but the Department of Veterans Affairs is hoping to change that with a new initiative that recently helped several Texas military couples.

The program is called Warrior2Soulmate and was developed by the VA with the hopes of fostering skills to build intimacy between couples in which at least one spouse served in the military. Some studies suggest that veterans are 60% more likely to experience separation or divorce than civilians. The VA wants to prevent divorce in military families by giving people the tools to communicate and cope with the aftermath of war. The participants have served in many different military conflicts, including World War II and Vietnam.

How working parents can handle child custody

On behalf of Law Offices of Randy Wilson and Kristin Postell, PLLC posted in Child Custody on Sunday, November 24, 2019.

When two parents who aren't in a relationship attempt to share custody in some way, it can be difficult to determine what is best for everyone involved. Many working parents in Texas assume that they have to give the majority of custodial time to the other parent if he or she doesn't work at all or as much as they do. However, this doesn't have to be the case, as a working parent may deserve to have as much time to parent his or her children. Experts have advice for working parents who want to properly manage both child custody and their careers.

The most important thing is that both parents consider what is best for their children. While a working parent may want to devote as much time as possible to his or her children, the best course of action may be to consider exactly what routine the kids are used to and what parts of it will fit with a given work schedule. The parent will need to think about exactly how much time he or she can spend with the children. It could even mean that the parent may need to show the court that he or she can provide child care to fill in where the parent isn't personally available.

Over 30 people arrested for failure to pay child support

On behalf of Law Offices of Randy Wilson and Kristin Postell, PLLC posted in Child Support on Monday, November 11, 2019.

When the parents of children are not in a relationship with one another, it is often for the best. However, that doesn't mean that the children don't need both parents in some capacity. For many families, it may mean that one parent will make child support payments to the other parent to provide care for the children. If a parent fails to make those payments, it can have a detrimental effect on the child's life. Recently, one Texas county decided to crack down on parents who haven't been paying their court-ordered child support, and the efforts led to several arrests.

The operation involved law enforcement at both the state and local level, according to the Texas Attorney General. Thirteen different teams covered the entire county on a recent early morning. Officials hoped that the early hours would catch people before they left their home. With warrants in hand, they arrested 34 people for nonpayment of child support.

Why do couples divorce?

On behalf of Law Offices of Randy Wilson and Kristin Postell, PLLC posted in Divorce on Sunday, October 27, 2019.

It is often impossible to tell what really happens in a marriage behind closed doors. Family and friends may be shocked when the perfect couple announces their intention to divorce. For some Texas couples, it may be difficult to put into words what went wrong. However, advisors to couples have learned that some common issues often lead to the breakup of a seemingly happy marriage.

Many couples can work through problems and come out stronger. Money issues, for example, may resolve as a couple grows and matures together. However, having different financial goals remains one of the top reasons for divorce. Infidelity is another issue that many spouses find impossible to come back from. When trust is broken, even an affair that was purely emotional can cause irreparable damage to a relationship.

Does deployment increase the chance of military divorce?

On behalf of Law Offices of Randy Wilson and Kristin Postell, PLLC posted in Military Divorce on Monday, October 14, 2019.

The men and women who serve the armed forces of this nation do so at great sacrifice. Their jobs often dictate time away from their families, which can be a source of stress. Many people here in Texas and across the country believe that the divorce rate for service members is on par with civilian divorce rates, but one prominent study challenges that notion. However, experts caution that the study may portray military divorce unfairly.

The research was conducted by the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit that provides data for the armed forces. It looked at whether a deployment was more likely to cause a couple to get a divorce. The researchers expected to find that it would, but instead found the opposite. The data showed that couples with one spouse who experienced a deployment were actually less likely to get a divorce.

Man owes almost $150k in unpaid child support

On behalf of Law Offices of Randy Wilson and Kristin Postell, PLLC posted in Child Support on Monday, September 30, 2019.

When parents are not in a relationship with one another, it doesn't stop their shared children from having needs to be met. Many custodial parents rely on child support payments from their children's other parent in order to take care of the kids. When those payments aren't made, it can have devastating consequences regarding their care. Many local law enforcement groups here in Texas and elsewhere create operations to collect overdue child support. One such operation in another state located a man who owed over $145,000 in unpaid child support.

Officials say that earlier this year, a sheriff's office joined forces with its county Social Services agency in the hopes of collecting overdue child support payments. They issued orders for arrest for offenders that were put into a national database. The hope was that if an offender had any interaction with law enforcement, a record would indicate the unpaid child support.

Actor Charlie Sheen may owe $450K in child support

On behalf of Law Offices of Randy Wilson and Kristin Postell, PLLC posted in Child Support on Sunday, September 15, 2019.

When two Texas parents are not in a relationship with one another, it doesn't mean that their children's needs go away. Typically, one parent pays the other child support, determined by several factors, including income and the standard of living to which the children were accustomed if their parents used to be married. If one or both of the parents had a high level of assets, then the resulting child support payments will reflect that fact. This is the situation between actors Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards. Richards claims that Sheen owes her $450,000 in overdue child support.

The two actors were married for three years and divorced in 2006. They have two children together. Richards says that she did not have a prenuptial agreement with Sheen and could have asked for half of his assets, but didn't. She alleges that he has been spending the money he has on luxuries and to repay debt in lieu of making court-ordered child support payments.