Orders of protection can serve an important purpose during divorce cases. Sometimes, one spouse is legitimately a danger to the other and a protective order is necessary for safety reasons. Sometimes, however, protective orders are used maliciously by an unscrupulous spouse seeking to gain an edge during divorce and child custody proceedings. If you have been served with an order of protection - even if you did nothing to warrant one - it is important that you immediately comply with its terms and call a qualified family law attorney immediately.

Why Are Protective Orders Issued Unnecessarily?

It is rather easy to obtain a temporary protection order in Texas. This can usually be done ex parte, meaning that you have no opportunity to explain why the order is not necessary before a judge issues it. Generally, if your spouse alleges that you have been violent or made violent threats, they will get the protective order they are asking for. Spouses may do this during divorce proceedings for reasons like:

• Custody advantage - Your spouse may believe that if they claim you are violent, they will get sole custody. This is often not true, and you will have the opportunity to defend yourself.
• Spite - Some angry soon-to-be ex-spouses will take out a protective order out of sheer spite, to cause you aggravation, expense, and embarrassment.
• Fear - Reasonable or not, some people will ask for a protective order out of fear during a divorce.

What Should I Do If I Get Served with a Protective Order?

Even if you did absolutely nothing wrong, it is important that you take the order seriously and comply with its terms. If you are being expelled from the place where you currently reside, you are likely understandably angry and afraid. You have every right to feel this way, but it is critical that you do not return to the residence except with a police escort to collect your personal effects as permitted in the order.

We expect that the products we buy and use every day are reasonably safe. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Dangerous products end up on the market all the time - and people can get hurt. From exploding Pyrex baking dishes to dolls with sharp motors in their mouths, product defects are everywhere. As a general rule, a product is considered defective if it is unreasonably dangerous for the standard consumer. The question is what types of flaws render a product dangerous. If you were hurt by a dangerous product, you will want to speak to a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. You may be entitled to receive compensation.

What Three Types of Product Defects Does Texas Recognize?

There are multiple kinds of problems that could render a product unreasonably dangerous. One product may be dangerous because it catches fire, another because it is missing a warning label, and yet another because it contains lead. In Texas, three general categories of product defects are recognized:

• Design defect - The design of a product is defective if it creates unnecessary risk to users and a safer design could have been used. Products that are inherently dangerous even if they are well-designed, such as chainsaws and fireworks, are not considered to have a design defect just because they are dangerous. The particular design of that item must be more dangerous than similar products, having omitted a safety feature.
• Manufacturing defect - A manufacturing defect happens when the design of the product was safe, but something went wrong during the manufacturing process. The design may not have been followed correctly, or a component could have been switched to a cheaper but more dangerous substitute. It can be difficult to tell the difference between a manufacturing defect and a design defect. A skilled attorney may need to investigate to make this determination.
• Marketing defect - This type of defect may also be called a warning defect. When a product presents a danger that would not be obvious to a reasonable consumer, the seller must include a warning label. If a product is only dangerous when used incorrectly, then instructions that enable a consumer to use the product safely should be included. This could also include marketing dangerous products meant for adults, like electronic cigarettes, to children.

It is the seller’s responsibility to ensure that a product he introduced to the market is safe for use by reasonable consumers. It can be difficult to tell which type of product defect caused your injury in some cases, so you will want to consult an attorney who has experience with defective product injuries.

Dividing up money property at the end of a marriage can be challenging even for spouses who are cooperating. Married couples often acquire significant assets together such as houses, investment accounts, and joint retirement savings. Texas is a community property state, meaning that all earnings and assets acquired during the marriage are the property of both spouses. There are, however, a few exceptions. If you are going through a divorce and concerned about division of property issues, you should contact a qualified attorney. The Texas divorce and asset division process can be complicated, so you will want knowledgeable legal counsel to guide you.

What Counts as Community Property?

Community property includes any assets acquired during the duration of the marriage, by either spouse. It is not relevant which spouse’s earned income was used to purchase a particular asset or whose name it is under. If it was purchased using community funds, it is community property. Community property in Texas includes:

Income - Any income earned by either spouse during the marriage belongs equally to both spouses. Courts recognize that spouses make non-economic contributions to each others’ paychecks through emotional support or by managing the household so the other spouse can focus on working.

A prenuptial agreement is an excellent way for soon-to-be newlyweds to reach an agreement about how their assets would be divided in the event that the couple does not stay married forever. They can be, however, drastically unfair to one spouse. Consider the classic situation where a prenuptial agreement is used—when there is significant income or net-worth disparity between the spouses-to-be. Often, the party with fewer assets agrees in the prenuptial agreement to leave the marriage with nothing during a divorce. Often, there is a level of coercion involved in that sort of agreement. In such a situation, the disadvantaged party may be able to ask the court to set aside the prenuptial agreement. 

If you are going through a divorce and fear that an unfair prenuptial or postnuptial agreement will leave you in a terrible position, you should talk to an experienced divorce attorney. There are circumstances where a court will not enforce a prenuptial agreement, but you may need the knowledge of a skilled attorney to achieve this. 

Under What Circumstances Might Texas Courts Void a Prenuptial Agreement? 

Texas courts do not want to enforce a prenuptial agreement—or any contract, really—that is unconscionable or that was entered into under duress. The court might void a prenuptial agreement if it sees proof of: 

Millions of Americans are embracing the latest fad to revolutionize the transportation industry: peer-to-peer ridesharing services. With just a few taps on a company's smartphone app, you can hire a safe and convenient ride for a reasonable fee.

In the last few years, companies like Uber and Lyft have become titans in the transportation industry. Although they market their 'green' business models as a solution to American's urban transportation crisis, these companies are actually increasing congestion, hurting transit, and contributing to a national increase in traffic fatalities.

In October 2018, the University of Chicago released a study that claims rideshare drivers are responsible for a 3% increase in the number of traffic fatalities across the country. Uber and Lyft are continually hiring new, inexperienced, and occasionally felonious drivers to expand their areas of business and maximize their daily profits. Consequently, both companies have been repeatedly besieged by costly lawsuits involving passenger injuries and fatalities, insurance disputes, and even claims of driver exploitation.