Starting divorce and custody in Texas.?
When a person violates a protection order, it generally does tend to have an impact on a custody case. However, that does not mean your husbands violation of a protection order will have an impact on custody in your particular case. You should have a strategy discussion with an attorney to determine what impact it will have in your particular case. In 2019, I posted a 35-minute Youtube video about the basics of Texas family law. That video is available here: Texas Family Law (Basics). That video talks about grounds for divorce, child conservatorship (what you are calling custody), child support, and property distribution. Please note that the address and phone number in the video are no longer valid, but the contact information for my Texas office can still be found through the description section below the video. You asked about custody, so I will provide some thoughts on custody in the paragraphs that follow. A Texas judge typically determines custody by trying to determine what is in the best interest of the child. There are a number of factors that a judge will take into consideration to determine what is in the childs best interest. A non-exhaustive list of those factors includes the following: 1. The desires of the child. 2. The emotional and physical needs of the child now and in the future. 3. The emotional and physical danger to the child now and in the future. 4. The parental abilities of the individuals seeking custody. 5. The programs available to assist these individuals to promote the best interest of the child. 6. The plans for the child by these individuals or by the agencies seeking custody. 7. The stability of the home or proposed placement. 8. The acts or omissions of the parent which may indicate that the existing parent-child relationship is not a proper one. 9. Any excuse for the acts for omissions of the parent. The factors that I just listed are not exhaustive. Some of those factors may not be appropriate in a particular case. Other factors that I did not list may be more important. That is why it is important to have an actual conversation with a lawyer. When you are talking to the judge about the things your husband has done, you are going to want to show the judge the way(s) in which your husbands actions are important in light of the factors that the judge is considering. For example, the violation of a protective order means more to the judge if you can demonstrate that the violation impacted the emotional and physical needs of the child . . . . On the other hand, the husbands violation of the protective order may not mean as much to the judge if other factors suggest that the children are better off with your husband.