Blog Posted By The Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 23-Mar-2020 How the Coronavirus Affects Shared Custody Arrangements As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread across the US, more and more states and cities are issuing mandatory stay-at-home orders. If you're a parent in a joint custody arrangement, you're probably wondering how COVID-19 affects ... Continue Reading Posted By The Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 17-Mar-2020 How the Coronavirus Affects Texas Court Closures and Proceedings As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to sweep the nation, governors and state officials are declaring states of emergency that change how their cities and states function. If you live in Texas and have a court date coming up, you're probably ... Continue Reading Posted By The Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 11-Feb-2020 Temporary Spousal Support in Texas As part of the divorce process in Texas, ex-spouses may need to engage in a spousal support arrangement so that all parties involved can exit the divorce gracefully. At the Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny, our Houston-based legal team will work with ... Continue Reading Posted By The Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 5-Feb-2020 Using License Suspension to Enforce Child Support Payments in Texas Bringing another human being into the world and caring for them during their most formative years requires an incredible amount of time and planning. But children can't be raised on effort alone—as any parent knows, children are expensive. ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 29-Jan-2020 Is Divorce Mediation Right for Me? There are many ways to end a marriage, many of which can keep you and your spouse outside of the courtroom, minimizing the potential for a nasty and drawn-out legal battle. Among these alternative approaches to divorce is mediation, which is ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 15-Jan-2020 What You Need to Know About Post-Divorce Modification The results of your divorce are not permanent. Life constantly changes and evolves and, if these shifts are substantial enough, you may be able to successfully modify the terms of your divorce decree. Generally, you cannot modify property or asset ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 8-Jan-2020 Your Prenuptial Agreement Checklist If you and your fiancé agreed to draft a prenuptial agreement before tying the knot, you already got through one of the most difficult hurdles in creating this crucial legal document. Next, you will both work together to decide which items to ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 1-Jan-2020 Can I Adopt My Grandchild? When a child’s grandparents take charge of caring for their grandchild, they essentially assume the role of the child’s parents and must provide a safe and loving environment that allows the child to thrive and grow. For all intents and ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 26-Dec-2019 Can I Reduce My Alimony Payments? No one is ever happy about having to make regular alimony payments to their former spouse. However, you cannot reduce them simply because it is frustrating. On the other hand, if your circumstances changed substantially, it is possible that a judge ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 18-Dec-2019 Caring for Yourself During and After a Divorce The divorce process can take a substantial toll on a person and, even once it is finalized, a considerable amount of self-care is necessary to heal and recover. Whether you are still in the middle of a family law dispute or you already finalized your ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 11-Dec-2019 What Can I Do if My Ex Refuses to Pay Child Support? Raising children is a major undertaking that requires the support, emotional and financial, of both parents. If you are the custodial parent, it is your co-parent’s obligation to make regular child support payments and it is an issue that ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 4-Dec-2019 Preparing for Your Child Custody Hearing For parents, nothing is more important than being part of your children’s lives, which is why a child custody dispute is often difficult for parents to process and cope with. With emotions and tensions at an all-time high, it is easy to make a ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 26-Nov-2019 Surviving Thanksgiving as a Newly Divorced Parent If you recently finalized your divorce, getting through the holiday season probably seems like an impossible task, especially if your children cannot join you at the dinner table for Thanksgiving this year. Given how family-centric this holiday is, ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 20-Nov-2019 Do I Need to Have a QDRO When I Get Divorced? If you are getting a divorce, you might be looking into the process, trying to get a better idea of the steps involved. During your quest for answers, you likely came across the term Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). A QDRO is essentially a ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 13-Nov-2019 How to Make Your Divorce Less Painful It is no secret that the divorce process is often painful and challenging, especially if you and your spouse spent a substantial amount of years together. However, there are ways for you to reduce pain and conflict, so you can both walk away ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 6-Nov-2019 Creating Consistent Rules for Your Children After a Divorce After a divorce, you and your former spouse will divide your time with the children and, although you will have two separate households, you must work together to maintain consistent rules. Consistent routines will help your children feel safe and ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 29-Oct-2019 5 Tips for Handling a Disneyland Parent A Disneyland parent is essentially a parent who rarely enforces household rules, showers the children with extravagant gifts, and shirks most parental responsibilities to earn their favor. If your co-parent is a Disneyland parent, you might worry you ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 22-Oct-2019 Preparing for the Coming Holiday Season After Divorce Although it might be a little too early to plan out your Thanksgiving dinner, it is not too early for you to consider how you will handle the holiday season now that you are recently divorced, especially if you have children. Your parenting plan ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 15-Oct-2019 What You Should Know About Adopting Your Stepchild Stepparents play an important role in the lives of their stepchildren. Some might even wish to make this arrangement legally binding through adoption. Adopting a stepchild is a far less complex process than most other forms of adoption, so if you are ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 8-Oct-2019 Will Wasteful Dissipation Affect My Divorce? It is no secret that divorce can get a little messy and spouses might not always play nice once they begin the process of dissolving their marriage, especially when it comes to dividing assets. You might have even heard of the term “wasteful ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 24-Sep-2019 Sharing Halloween as Divorced Co-Parents Halloween might not be as important an occasion for parents compared to Thanksgiving or Christmas, but you might still find yourselves fighting over the date. Perhaps you cannot wait to see your kids dressed up in costume or you love carving pumpkins ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 16-Sep-2019 Will a Judge Consider a Child's Preference in a Custody Case? Going through a contested child custody dispute is one of the most difficult experiences most parents will ever endure. Contrary to what some believe, however, your children cannot decide which parent they will live with in the aftermath of a divorce ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 10-Sep-2019 Rebuilding Trust with Your Co-Parent If you and your former spouse have children, you still need to remain in each other’s lives as co-parents. However, sometimes the divorce process can severely impact this relationship and make it difficult to work as a team. For the benefit of ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 3-Sep-2019 How to Live with Your Spouse During Your Divorce Oftentimes, it is impractical and even ill-advised to move out of the marital home before a divorce is finalized, particularly if you have children. If money is tight, trying to essentially manage two households can seriously eat into your resources, ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 29-Aug-2019 Avoid Making These Common Divorce Mistakes Divorce is not only a complex legal process, but one that is also frequently fraught with emotions and hurt feelings, creating a perfect storm for spouses to make costly mistakes. The mistakes you make in a divorce can have some serious ripple ... Continue Reading