Galveston County Family Lawyer
The Galveston County family lawyers of Lindamood & Robinson draw on over three decades of litigation, mediation and collaborative legal experience to provide clients in Texas with high-quality and cost-effective guidance and representation across a full range of family law matters:
- Child Custody & Support Modification
- Child Custody
- Child Support
- Domestic Violence
- Grandparents’ Rights
- International Child Abduction
- Interstate Custody
- Parental Alienation
- Parenting Plan
- Paternity
- Relocation
- Split Custody
- Unmarried Child Custody
Family law issues are often best handled outside the courtroom through mediation, collaboration, or settlement. However, in some cases the issues are so complex or the relationships so acrimonious that litigation is unavoidable.
- Divorce, including representation at temporary hearings to determine how bills get paid and who lives in the family home while the divorce is pending
- Separation and divorce planning to ensure that decisions made in haste do not affect the outcome of your case if or when you file for divorce
- Issues of property discovery and division, specifically accurate valuation of all marital assets, property and business interests and addressing concerns over potentially unwanted publicity
- Family violence and protective orders to address alleged domestic abuse, spousal assault and child abuse
- Property settlements to establish a fair and equitable property division in divorce
- Complex marital estates requiring significant experience and resources in order to perform a fair and accurate valuation and division of property and assets
- Uncovering hidden assets that should rightfully be subject to property division
- Asset protection strategies to identify and preserve separate property in a divorce
- Investment and retirement accounts, specifically if and to what degree these assets are subject to division in divorce
- Alimony and spousal maintenance both during the course of a divorce and continuing afterward
- Child custody, child support and visitation agreements and complex issues requiring creative solutions
- Relocation and move-away cases involving changes to visitation or custody when a parent moves out of state or out of the country
- Grandparents’ rights regarding visitation and custody
- Paternity suits to establish parental rights or to defend against false allegations
- Custody and support modification in cases where the basic fairness of the original court order is in question because circumstances have changed substantially
The Galveston County family lawyers of Lindamood & Robinson employ proven methods to resolve disputes in any of these areas of practice:
- Mediation to negotiate a fair and reasonable agreement
- Litigation to protect our clients’ rights in court
The litigation lawyers at Lindamood & Robinson, P.C. have over 50 years of combined trial experience, so whether your case will be decided by a judge or a jury, our litigation lawyers are well-prepared to protect the interests of you and your children.
Trial Process
In Texas, juries usually only decide certain family law issues, including those that involve:
- Child custody arrangements;
- Identifying assets as either marital property or separate property; and
- Property valuation.
All other family-related legal issues are decided by a judge who is given broad discretion in making decisions on the following matters:
- Final custody arrangements;
- Creation of a visitation schedule;
- Determining the amount of child support owed;
- How marital property will be divided between the couple;
- The rights and duties of both parents;
- Which party will be responsible for paying marital debt;
- Determining whether spousal maintenance is appropriate; and
- Whether the custody arrangement should include geographic limitations.
Once a divorce petition has been filed in the appropriate court, a judge may impose temporary orders for the duration of the proceedings. Temporary orders remain in place until the divorce is finalized and can address any number of issues, including:
- Child custody and visitation;
- Which party will reside in the family home;
- Child support;
- Asset protection;
- Which party has the use and possession of a shared business;
- How and when child exchange will take place.
Once temporary orders are in place, the discovery portion of the trial begins. During this time, each party will gather evidence and determine which issues are of primary concern. Both parties are required to turn over a variety of documents, including:
- Property deeds;
- Receipts;
- Bank account statements;
- Tax returns;
- Stock certificates; and
- A list of all valuable assets.
After the conclusion of the discovery process and the presentation of the evidence, a judge or jury then makes a determination on the contested issues before finalizing the divorce.
Generally, it is in the best interest of the parties to reach a settlement without going to trial, especially if a couple has children. Trial can be time-consuming, expensive, and leave the parties with little control over the outcome. Unfortunately, when one of the parties makes unreasonable demands or allegations and a settlement cannot be reached a trial becomes necessary to resolving the issues.
Contact our Galveston County Family Lawyers Today
If you and your spouse are going through a divorce and are unable to come to an out-of-court agreement, it is important to retain the services of an experienced lawyer who can represent your interests in a court setting. At Lindamood & Robinson, P.C. our litigation lawyers have decades of experience representing clients in Texas family courts. We have a firm understanding of court procedures, filing deadlines, and the discovery process and so are uniquely placed to help your case go as smoothly as possible. If you and your spouse have attempted to reach a settlement, but have hit a roadblock, please contact the law firm of Lindamood & Robinson, P.C. by calling 713-654-2112 and we’ll help you schedule a consultation with one of our experienced Galveston County family lawyers.
