In Texas, a conservatorship is a legal term to describe the management of a child’s life and the decision-making process for the child’s well-being. When a couple with children divorces, they must determine how major decisions about the child’s life will be made. If the parents cannot reach an agreement, the court makes a decision for them. 

There are three primary forms of conservatorship in Texas, joint managing conservatorship, sole managing conservatorship, and possessory conservatorship. Today, we will discuss what is most important about all three. During this transition in your and your family’s life, a family law attorney can be invaluable as you navigate child custody and work to preserve your child’s best interests.

Joint Managing Conservatorship (JMC)

Commonly referred to as simply JMC, this is Texas’s most common type of conservatorship. It is a legal arrangement where both parents share the decision-making process for the child’s life. In a joint managing conservatorship, both parents share the right to make decisions regarding the child’s education, medical care, and other essential aspects of their life. In most JMC arrangements, one parent holds the right to choose where the child lives. This parent is referred to as the “custodial parent.” The child generally will live with the custodial parent. The parent who the child does not live with is called the “non-custodial” parent. In some JMC scenarios, neither parent has the absolute right to choose where the child lives. Instead, the child must live in a specific geographic area, such as a particular school district or county. 

The majority of American adults maintain social media accounts actively. Whether they log on daily or weekly, their use of social media is both common and purposeful. Oftentimes, individuals discover that simply posting about a major life event serves to notify many interested parties at once, which saves time and effort when compared to sending texts or emails to every person who might want to know what is going on. As a result of this convenience, if you find that you are tempted to post about your divorce process on social media, you are certainly not alone.

You may even be tempted to post about your divorce as a form of catharsis, processing your experience, and connecting with others who likely want to support you during this major life transition. However, it is important to refrain from indulging this instinct, no matter how well-meaning your posting habits tend to be.

Your Social Media Posts Could Be Used Adversely

Even if it is likely that your divorce will proceed amicably, it is important to safeguard your interests in case things take a turn for the worse. Just as a prosecutor in a criminal case might scroll a defendant’s social media feed in search of evidence to undermine their defense, so might your spouse or their attorney seek to use your social media activity against you. And even if you only ever post in truly conscientious ways, keep in mind that it is not very difficult to twist another’s words and images for someone’s personal aims.

Accurately determining the cause of a motor vehicle accident is a consequential process. Once the cause(s) of a car accident has been investigated and accurately discerned, fault and liability can be clarified. At that point, anyone who has suffered harm due to the collision can start exploring their options to pursue rightful compensation.

The challenge is that accurately determining the cause(s) of any car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, scooter, or mass transit accident is not always a straightforward process. Often, vehicle defects that cannot be perceived at a glance play a critical role in why an accident happens and who should be held responsible for resulting harm.

Vehicle Defects Can Lead to Avoidable Accidents

Skilled legal professionals know that one of the first things that need to be done in the wake of an accident involves researching the makes, models, and vehicle identification numbers (VINs) of the vehicles in question. All too often, it turns out that some auto part defect has been reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and is the subject of either a recall effort or an initial investigation.

Filing a truck accident lawsuit has never been a straightforward process. Unlike lawsuits that concern collisions between cars and other consumer-owned passenger vehicles, truck accident lawsuits tend to be particularly complex. One of the primary reasons for this disparity is that there are almost always defendants named in truck accident lawsuits beyond the drivers of the vehicles involved.

In addition to any negligence, recklessness, or intentional wrongdoing committed by the truck driver, the following parties are frequently named as defendants in truck accident lawsuits:

• The trucking company that employs the truck operator

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There are only nine states in the U.S. that are classified as “community property states.” Texas is one of them. The primary feature that distinguishes the community property approach to divorce is that it broadly entitles each spouse to 50 percent of the marital assets in the event of divorce. This system values predictability and the guarantee of equal asset distribution in virtually all divorce cases.

If you are preparing for a divorce in Texas, it is important to understand how the community property system works in practice. That way, you can both avoid common missteps that individuals often make when negotiating or litigating the terms of their divorce. Additionally, you will be able to set realistic expectations for this process, which will allow you to start planning your future with greater confidence and a more informed mindset.

Process and Priorities

The 50/50 marital property split that Texas law requires does not mean that each individual asset must somehow benefit each spouse equally. All of the marital assets that a couple has acquired together form a broader marital estate. It is the overall value of this marital estate that must be divided evenly during the divorce process.