My Blog

Texas Spousal Support Changes

03/31/2012 13:20:00

Texas Family Code updated its spousal maintenance (what most other states refer to as alimony) for divorce cases filed in Texas on or after September 1, 2011.

Changes:

1. Requirements for a Spousal Maintenance Claim

Before- Lack of sufficient property to provide to minimum reasonable needs & 10 year or more marriage.

Now- Lack of sufficient property to provide to minimum reasonable needs & any one of the following:

- 10-year or more marriage; or

- incapacitating mental or physi cal disability; or

- custodian of a child of the marriage of any age who requires substantial care and personal supervision because of a physical or mental disability; or

- victim of domestic violence by spouse convicted or in receipt of deferred jurisdiction within 2 years of the date the suit was filed or since the case was filed.

2. Maximum Amount of Spousal Maintenance Per Month:

Before- $2,500.00 (limited to 20% of ave. gross monthly income)

Now- $5,000.00 (limited to 20% of ave. gross monthly income)

3. Maximum Duration of Spousal Maintenance:

Before- 3 years

Now- depending on length of marriage:

·       5 years
o   if marriage was 10 years or less due to domestic violence; or
o   if the marriage lasted 10 to 20 years.

·       7 years
o   If the marriage lasted 20 to 30 years

·       10 years
o   If the marriage lasted more than 30 years

Finally, the court may order that the maintenance continue as long as the disability of the spouse or child continues.

Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that these above-stated amounts are the maximum amounts that the Court is allowed to rule, and that the Court is required to review all evidence and order maintenance for the shortest reasonable period that allows the recipient to earn sufficient income to meet his or her reasonable needs.

This is just a summary and not intended to be relied on without consulting an attorney and discussing the specific facts of your case. It is important to contact a Texas family law attorney to guide you in your decisions throughout your divorce. Many firms, like Law Office of KG, PLLC, offer free initial consultations to further discuss, prior to signing an attorney-client contract.

Four kids injured in MLK crash One child ejected from car

10/29/2011 11:31:00

Updated: Saturday, 29 Oct 2011, 10:30 AM CDT
Published : Saturday, 29 Oct 2011, 9:51 AM CDT

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Police report that four kids were injured in a crash Saturday morning after 9 a.m. One child was ejected from the car.Original reports from the scene were that five or six kids were injured. A Ford Focus travelling westbound on Martin Luther King Boulevard collided with a dump truck at the I-35 southbound frontage road. The four children were taken to Dell Childrens Hospital with unkown injuries. The child, age unknown, that was ejected from the car is conscious and alert according to police dispatch.The female driver of the car and the driver of the dump truck were not injured. A bicyclist was also treated for minor injuries at the scene. It is unknown how the biker was involved with the incident.Police are investigating the cause of the crash.

The firm makes the news, taking one bully out at a time...

10/18/2011 11:34:00

Posted: Thursday, October 13, 2011 8:41 am | Updated: 3:41 pm, Fri Oct 14, 2011. By: Christine Bolaños Staff Writer of Hill Country News

* Editor's Note: The name of the victim has been changed to protect his identity.

CEDAR PARK — It's been several months since he has stepped foot in a public school, but Robert Mercer, is still haunted by memories of what happened to him in the boys restroom at Mason Elementary.Parents of the autistic boy said he suffered severe bullying and sexual harassment from four other elementary-aged boys he went to school with.Robert was pulled from Leander ISD after his parents discovered the severity of the situation last school year following an incident and investigation reported on Dec. 15, 2010.

Worried that he would get behind in school, his parents enrolled him in Harbor Leadership Academy, a private school in Leander offering an individualized curriculum to students with attention deficit disorders and neurological learning challenges.He started attending a few hours each day, in May and eventually progressed to full time in August.His mother, Elizabeth Loe, said she hopes the fact that the majority of students at HLA are autistic like Robert, will make it easier for him to relate to them and vice versa.

While the process has been long and difficult, Loe said the educational lawsuit against Leander ISD has been settled, and they are now focusing on filing a civil rights lawsuit. She said the family could not have done it without the help of Michael Kinser, their advocate, and attorneys Keith Kleinhans and Kimberly Gruber.

"These folks are incredible and have fought for justice for Robert. They did a tremendous job representing my son's educational needs under the IDEA [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] against LISD and we're very pleased with the outcome," Loe said.

While LISD can't discuss specific student cases, officials said the district continues to tackle bullying, including implementing the Anti-Defamation League's No Place For Hate initiative at several campuses to ensure anti-bias and diversity education as an integral part of school curriculum."The district continues to make student safety a priority and we've made anti-bullying awareness one of our major focuses," said Veronica Sopher, executive director of school and community relations.

After seeing the difference advocates can make in the lives of families going through ordeals such as hers, Loe said she would like to become an advocate herself, specializing in special education."Anti-bullying, especially over the summer, has become a huge passion and cause for me. I sent a letter to every Texas representative and senator and every U.S. senator and representative that had an anti-bullying bill on the floor," Loe said.

She met and spoke with U.S. Rep John Carter during a ribbon cutting at her son's new school earlier this year, and she said he was very responsive to her concerns for addressing bullying at the school district level.She also said she was both grateful and relieved that a new anti-bullying law now requires Texas schools to adopt anti-bullying policies.

One of the major personal wins for her, with passage of the law, is that now instead of the victim in a bullying case being transferred or removed to another class or school, it's the bully or bullies who could be moved instead.

A second win for her is that school staff would be required to be trained in proper handling and care of bullying situations.The law was too late to keep her son from moving, but Loe said the new school is a "wonderful" place that "really listens" to each child.

Classes at HLA are structured by the level the student is at, she said."He just started taking Spanish and he remembers everything. He names off animal names in Spanish. For some reason, problem-solving, where he has to work it out with his hands, gets him," she explained.

In the public school system, Loe said her son was possibly on track toward a career at a grocery store or perhaps making it to trade school, but at his new school, every student is expected to go to college."They are extremely special and let people know that they are very intelligent, they just need to be able to teach and learn differently," Loe said.

By the time students graduate HLA, Loe said, they will know Spanish, French and Latin. And by the time students reach their 11th grade year, they start filing out scholarship and financial aid forms.

"If a student chooses not to go to college, it's their personal decision, not because "they weren't smart enough to do it," she said.Robert continues to deal with his autism and was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis. He also requires occasional confirmation that the bullies won't be coming to his school.

Because of other medical conditions, Robert has been through 19 surgeries in his ten years of life, most of them on the brain. He will be undergoing his 20th surgery in his jaw soon. But his parents said they are confident that he'll come out of all of it stronger, just as he has every time.

Fan Dies After Fall From Stands at Rangers Game

07/08/2011 10:12:00

A Texas Rangers fan died after falling about six metres onto concrete reaching out for a baseball tossed his way by all-star outfielder Josh Hamilton during a game.Shannon Stone, a 39-year-old firefighter from Brownwood, died at a hospital Thursday night, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office said.Stone was a lieutenant and had been with the Brownwood Fire Department nearly 18 years, said City Manager Bobby Rountree. Brownwood is about 240 kilometres southwest of Arlington.Stone was at the game with his young son, who watched as his dad tumbled over the outfield railing after catching the ball.Arlington Fire Department officials said Stone, who witnesses said was conscious after the fall, "went into full arrest" while being transported by ambulance. He was pronounced dead at a Fort Worth hospital less than an hour after he fell."We had a very tragic accident tonight and one of our fans lost their life reaching over the rail trying to get a ball," team president Nolan Ryan said somberly after the Rangers' 6-0 victory over Oakland. "As an organization, and as our team members and our staff, we're very heavy-hearted about this, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family."Ronnie Hargis was sitting next to Stone in the first row of seats in left field. The men had been talking before the accident. Hargis reached out to try to grab Stone, who fell headfirst through a gap of several feet that is between the seats and the four-metre-high outfield wall."He went straight down. I tried to grab him, but I couldn't," Hargis said. "I tried to slow him down a little bit."The area where Stone landed was out of sight from the field.It is the second fatal fall at a major league stadium this season. In May, a 27-year-old man died after he fell about six metres and struck his head on concrete during a Colorado Rockies game. Witnesses told police that the man had been trying to slide down a staircase railing at Coors Field and lost his balance during a game against Arizona.There was an audible gasp in the stands at Rangers Ballpark when Stone tumbled over the rail, eerily similar to an accident there almost exactly a year earlier. Another firefighter fell about nine metres from the second-deck of seats down the right-field line while trying to catch a foul ball on July 6, 2010.Tyler Morris, a firefighter from the Lake Cities Fire Department near Dallas, sustained a fractured skull and sprained ankle last year when he dropped onto seats where other fans were sitting.The latest accident happened in the second inning after Oakland's Conor Jackson hit a foul ball that ricocheted into left field. Hamilton, the reigning AL MVP elected by fans to start his fourth consecutive all-star game next week, retrieved the ball and tossed it into the stands as players routinely do.Safawna Dunn, who was sitting nearby, said Stone was calling for Hamilton to throw him the ball. Dunn said the victim was conscious when he was taken away on a stretcher.Ryan described Hamilton as being "very distraught over this, as the entire team is."The Rangers' clubhouse was closed to reporters after the game.Rangers starter Derek Holland, who pitched a four-hit shutout, turned and glanced briefly at people looking down where Stone had land behind the outfield wall that supports a video board for replays and scores. Catcher Mike Napoli had motioned toward the outfield and Jackson looked that way as well before play resumed.Between innings, Rangers manager Ron Washington spoke briefly with one of the umpires. Texas designated hitter Michael Young could be seen talking to A's catcher Kurt Suzuki and pointing toward where last year's fall happened."We knew about it, we didn't know exactly what happened," Washington said. "It's sad, it's very sad."Oakland reliever Brad Ziegler was in the visitor's bullpen in left-centre field, which can be accessed through the area where Stone fell.Ziegler was in tears after the game when he found out about the death. The pitcher said when Stone was put on a stretcher, he told people tending to him that his son was "up there by himself" and asked them to check on the boy."He had his arms swinging. He talked and was conscious. We assumed he was OK," Ziegler said. "But when you find out he's not, it's just tough."Former President George W. Bush, who used to be the team's managing general partner and often attends games, was sitting in the front row with Ryan near the Texas dugout when the accident happened. Ryan left moments later while Bush remained in the seats.Ryan said Bush was aware of what was happening."It's just devastating. I don't even know what to say. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "It filtered into our dugout. … I made a little announcement to the team after the game. Certainly baseball is not very important in light of something like that."After Morris was hurt last year, he called the incident a "100 per cent, total accident that could have happened to anybody." He said he didn't blame the Rangers or the ballpark.In 1994, a Plano woman posing for a picture after the Rangers' first game in the stadium sustained multiple injuries after she fell about 35 feet.Ryan wasn't prepared to talk about what changes, if any, might be made at the stadium."Tonight, we're not prepared to speak about anything further than the accident and the tragedy," Ryan said. "That's where I'm going to leave it."

Travis Co. EMS discovers body near Starnes Island on Lake Travis

07/06/2011 20:24:00

Travis Co. EMS discovers body near Starnes Island on Lake Travisby KVUE Newskvue.comPosted on July 6, 2011 at 5:26 PMUpdated today at 5:55 PM
Travis County EMS tells KVUE News another body has been found in Lake Travis.The body was found off Emerald Point near Starnes Island on Lake Travis. According to a spokesperson for Just For Fun Watercraft Rental, the body was spotted by someone using one of the company's rentals around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday.The body has been removed from the water. It is reportedly a male whose age is unknown.No other details were immediately available.

Celebrate Safely - Drunk Driver Faulted in Crash

07/04/2011 14:57:00

Did you know that today is one of the deadliest days to be on the road? Last 4th of July, Texas had over 337 traffic crashes involving Drivers Under the Influence (DUI).

My guess is that with a firework ban in Austin, Texas this year, that the numbers will be even more substantial. Without fireworks, there is more time to throw a few more frosty ones back.

You may have noticed increased officer presence this weekend, I have seen them in all sorts of new hiding places---but tonight it will be even more substantial. Few officers will get to celebrate with their friends and families so that they can hopefully save others.

If you are sitting there thinking, you will only have a few cocktails and then hit the road---sit down, stay awhile longer and then think about it again.

ANY crash you get into that you are found to be above the legal limit, you will be at fault, even if the other guy ran into you. You will be at fault even if the pedestrian walked out from behind a parked car and there wasn't even a cross walk. You will be at fault even if the 18-wheeler rearends you at a stop sign. You will be at fault if a biker runs a stop light.

Even if you are considering staying sober before hitting the deadly roads, thats probably not a good idea either. The drunks that cause deadly car accidents survive. The sober people die.

However, if you must drive, take extra precautions and drive defensively.