Legal and family matters · 10 guides
Family Law: problems and fixes, explained by Greg
Greg Beane is the only family law member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- Your ex is ignoring the court order: enforce it, change it, or both? A Texas custody or support order stays binding until a judge changes it, but that does not make it self-enforcing. Here is how to tell whether you need enforcement, modification or both, and what to do before you file anything. Two different problems with two different fixesSigns you are looking at an enforcement caseSigns the order itself needs to changeWhy side deals with your ex are risky
- What makes one Texas divorce cost far more than another There is no standard price for a divorce in Texas because the cost follows the case, not the paperwork. Here is what actually moves the number and which of those drivers you control. The short answer: the case sets the price, not the paperworkThe fixed costs that every case hasSeven drivers that move the numberWhy conflict costs more than complexity
- Prenups and postnups in Texas: what makes one hold up years later A prenup is only as strong as the way it was made. Here is what Texas law generally requires, the two grounds that can undo an agreement, and how couples protect a business, an inheritance or a career without poisoning the engagement. The answer depends on how it was signedWhat Texas generally requires for a valid agreementWhat a marital agreement can coverWho should seriously consider one
- Is a Texas divorce really a 50/50 split? Myths that cost people money Community property does not mean an automatic half-and-half split, and the name on an account does not decide who owns it. Here are the Texas divorce myths I hear most, and what the law generally says instead. Not necessarily: what just and right meansMyth: whatever is in my name belongs to meMyth: my inheritance is automatically safeMyth: the business I started before the wedding is all mine
- Interviewing divorce lawyers: the questions that separate the good ones The consultation is a job interview, and you are the one hiring. These are the questions that reveal how a family lawyer thinks, works and bills, and the answers that should make you keep looking. Treat the consultation as an interview you are runningBefore you book: do you need a lawyer, and what kind?Questions about experience and credentialsWhat board certification tells you, and what it does not
- From petition to final decree: how long a Texas divorce takes and why Texas sets a 60-day minimum, but very few divorces finish that fast. Here is every stage from filing to the signed decree, what happens in each one, and what decides whether your case takes months or much longer. The 60-day minimum and the real answerBefore anything is filed: residency and preparationStage one: the petition and serviceStage two: temporary orders while the case is pending
- Doing your own Texas divorce: when it works and when it backfires You are allowed to handle your own divorce in Texas, and for some couples it works. For others, the money saved up front gets spent many times over later. Here is how to tell which group you are in. Yes, you can, and here is who it usually works forWhat the free Texas forms are designed forThe situations where TexasLawHelp itself says to talk to a lawyerWhere do-it-yourself divorces usually go wrong
- Custody in Texas is called conservatorship: what the words mean for your child Texas law rarely uses the word custody. It splits the question into decision-making rights, where the child lives and a possession schedule. Here is what each term means and how Texas courts approach them. Custody, translated into Texas termsThe three conservatorship rolesWhy joint conservatorship is the starting pointHow the standard possession order divides time
- Collaborative divorce, mediation or a courtroom: choosing the road for your case Most Texas divorces end in an agreement, but the road to it matters. Here is how collaborative law, mediation and litigation actually work, and how to tell which one your case needs. Three roads to the same decreeMediation: a neutral helps you decideCollaborative divorce: a committed, private processLitigation: when a judge has to decide
- You own a business and your marriage is ending: how a Texas divorce values and divides it The company you built may be the largest asset in your marriage and the hardest to split. Here is how Texas law treats it, how a valuation is actually done, and the decisions in the first weeks that shape the outcome. The business is the biggest thing you own, and now it is on the tableCommunity property, separate property and why the start date mattersWhat a business valuation actually involvesWhat you can do right now, before anything is filed