Dallas Family Law Blog

According to Pew research, the divorce rate for those 50 and older has doubled since 1990. In many cases, Texas residents who are ending their marriages will have an attorney to help them navigate the process of doing so. However, it may also be a good idea to have a financial adviser on a divorce team as well. A financial adviser will likely be able to help with potential challenges arising from the passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, or TCJA.

For instance, it is important to understand how alimony rules have changed since the TCJA came into existence. Alimony payments are no longer considered income to the recipient, and these payments are no longer a tax write-off for the individuals making them. However, any money that is distributed to an individual through a retirement plan could be taxable to the recipient. It is possible that the payee will insist that funds come from a retirement account instead of a personal account.

Texas parents who are getting a divorce and who are trying to work out a plan in which their children spend roughly half their time with each parent might think it will be easiest to simply have the children spend alternating weeks with each of them. However, for children younger than 12, this arrangement could induce separation anxiety. A week can feel like a long time for young children.

Alternating weeks may be difficult for one or both parents as well. It could be hard for them to rearrange their schedule every other week to get the child to and from school or to arrange child care every other week. One alternative is a 2-2-3 approach in which the child spends two days with one parent, two with the other and then goes back to the first for three days. The following week, the parents switch. Parents can also do a kind of switch with a 3-4-4-3 schedule to keep the days equal.

More than two-thirds of divorces are initiated by women according to a 2015 study by the American Sociological Association. Women in Texas may file for divorce from their husbands for a number of reasons, but the underlying theme of all those reasons is that marriage tends to hold fewer advantages for women compared to men.

For example, even working women continue to do more housework than their husbands; one study reports that just 20% of husbands do daily housework compared to 49% of wives. For some women, career advancement can also strain the marriage. A 2019 study found that many men reported feeling distressed when their wives began making more money than them. Women who find that they are doing more than their share of the home and child care and who are also resented by their husbands for career success may decide they are better off unmarried.

Divorce can be hard on children as well as their parents, but Texas parents can also conduct themselves in a way that eases the difficulty for their children. This mostly involves setting aside their own needs and emotions to focus on the child's well-being. Although they may no longer be able to get along as a couple, they can still try to co-parent effectively.

Children need to be able to continue loving both of their parents, and they need to be reassured that nothing they did caused the divorce. They also need to be able to talk to each parent about the other parent without worrying about what kind of a reaction they will get. Parents should listen neutrally and should try to make space for the child as they would if the child were talking about any other family member or friend.