Unpaid child support is a serious problems for many families where the child support may be the difference between keeping food on the table or lights on in the home. Enforcing child support in court can be a challenge when the child support obligor hides money, dodges process servers, or does not have the income […]
Enforcing child support with child support liens and QDROs in Texas Read More »
In Texas child support is usually a huge issue in a divorce with children or child custody case. The Texas Family Code sets out guidelines for how to calculate child support in these cases. As a result of the wide range of income across the state, family law attorneys also see a wide range of
Child support above the guidelines in Texas Read More »
In a Texas divorce either party may ask the court for temporary orders to protect the people and property involved. Generally most contested divorces seek temporary orders. It is far less common in uncontested divorces and divorces in which the parties lack representation by Bedford, Texas or Fort Worth divorce attorneys. Temporary orders are a
Do I need temporary orders in my divorce in Fort Worth, Texas? Read More »
In loco parentis sounds like it means “crazy parent”. It is a Latin phrase that means “standing in the place of a parent”. It’s a legal doctrine in FMLA leave regulations. For FMLA leave the in loco parentis doctrine allows employees to take leave to care for an individual who has a parent-child relationship with the employee but
In Loco Parentis FMLA Leave — What is it? Read More »
401k excessive fee litigation has been an active area of ERISA litigation for over a decade with 401k participants arguing the plan administrator–along with various other plan fiduciaries–breached the duty to prudently manage the investment options of the plan. Most of these cases argue the plan administrator failed to select investments with reasonable fees, particularly
Vanguard funds targeted in new 401k excessive fee litigation Read More »
On January 1, 2016 the new open carry law goes into effect across Texas. You may have seen coverage of the open carry protests around Fort Worth, Dallas and other cities. Much of that coverage was over people openly carrying assault rifles. The new open carry law does not change the status of long guns,
Texas Open Carry Law and Your Employment in Texas Read More »
Negligent hiring is a claim against a business for an injury caused by the company’s failure to properly investigate its employees for fitness to perform the employee’s job duties and that failure resulted in the employee causing the plaintiff harm in the course of the employee performing his or her job duties. There is a
What is negligent hiring under Texas law? Read More »
Studies suggest the average household in Texas has roughly $7,000 in credit card debt. When adjusted to include only households with credit card debt that number increases to over $15,000. Debts owed by a married couple at the time of divorce may include significant credit card debt in addition to car loans, mortgages, 401k loans, personal
Dealing with Debts in a Texas Divorce Read More »
The Texas Constitution and Texas Property Code set out powerful protections for Texans against creditors. For the average person these protections prevents most creditors from attaching property to satisfy a judgment on a debt. This protects the homestead and a significant amount of personal property in Texas. Property may be foreclosed to satisfy a debt
Collecting a judgment for unpaid child support under Texas law Read More »
The holiday season brings plenty of good times and festivities. It also brings along a lot of potential problems for employers and their employees when employers fail to respect their employees’ time and beliefs. Sometimes this happens because an employer has a particular religious belief or on the other hand does not share a particular
Watch Out for These 8 Holiday Employment Law Issues Read More »
You receive an envelope from your pension plan. As usual you think it’s either this month’s check or some notice you’ll scan and toss in the trash. You open it and it isn’t a check from your Dallas–Fort Worth employer. It is a notice. But not the kind of boilerplate legal notice that you normally
Does my employer have to collect interest on a pension overpayment? Read More »
Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted 1991, as an employment discrimination attorney I continue to see employees suffer discrimination on the basis of a disability. Sometimes discrimination is based upon a disability cured or treated and no longer presents an issue for the employee. Under the ADA and the Texas Labor Code’s prohibition
Sometimes an employee has a medical condition or disability that qualifies for FMLA leave and leave under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as a reasonable accommodation. The issue how to protect the employee’s job through protected leave under the ADA and FMLA is complicated. Each law provides a different set of rights to leave
Can I take FMLA leave and leave under the ADA at the same time? Read More »
Employment discrimination lawsuits are complex suits due to the intense focus on the facts and law involved. Many employment discrimination cases never make it trial because they fail to survive summary judgement. (Or because they settle at some point before trial.) In the journey of litigating an employment discrimination claim many reach summary judgment. Summary judgment is
The McDonnell Douglas burden shifting framework Read More »
The late 2000s and early 2010s saw a growth in litigation over 401k fees by employee-side ERISA attorneys. These often attacked large employers and major plan recordkeepers who profit from the kickback scheme known as revenue sharing. We’re still not done with that wave of litigation but we’re seeing a similar rise in litigation for pension
Employers struggling to win pension overpayment cases against retirees Read More »
Yes, absolutely. Under chapter 232 of the Texas Family Code any license issued by a Texas agency can be revoked or suspended for failure to pay child support including a driver’s license, professional licenses, commercial driver’s license, business licenses, hunting licenses, fishing licenses and concealed handgun licenses. This can be more than an inconvenience. For
Can my license be suspended for not paying child support in Texas? Read More »
Agreed divorces, often called uncontested divorces or no contest divorces, are divorces in which the parties have agreed to the major terms of the divorce. One of the major terms in many divorces is how to deal with the real estate owned between the spouses. In Texas approximately two-thirds of the population owns the home
Divorce attorney on real estate in an agreed divorce Read More »
Retirement plan benefits, like 401k accounts and pension benefits, are often divided in a Texas divorce as part of the property division. Retirement benefits often represent one of the largest assets in the marriage (along with the house and cars). Their division may play an important role in fairly dividing the marital property between the
Dividing retirement plans with a QDRO Read More »
Among the statutory changes on September 1, 2015 is an expansion of the nondisclosure order rules. The changes not only make it easier to obtain a nondisclosure order in Texas but allow more people to obtain one. This is a huge opportunity for many people who are at risk of losing job opportunities, professional licenses
Changes to the NonDisclosure Order Rules in Texas Effective September 1, 2015 Read More »
Often divorces divide retirement plans like a 401k or defined benefit pension. A judge signs a QDRO (qualified domestic relations order) ordering the retirement plan administrator to divide the benefit. The ability to take funds from the plan under the QDRO depends upon the terms of the QDRO and plan rules. Some plans allow the alternate
Can I take my QDRO money early after my Texas divorce? Read More »