New Family Laws in Texas : Effective September 1st  2015

New Family Laws in Texas : Effective September 1st 2015

Now that the Texas Legislature has ended, we will review some of the bills passed that will affect our Family Law Cases.

S.B. 814 Waivers of Citations in Certain Family Law Suits

Currently, the state of Texas allows for a parties involved in a divorce to waive service. Loosely translated, that means that the person named in the divorce suit can sign a paper which proactively tells the relevant court that they are officially aware their spouse is filing for divorce. This waiver means they don’t have to physically be served with the divorce papers by their spouse or a process server, potentially saving everyone involved a bit of time, money, and maybe some emotional pain

S.B. 814 was introduced to further the use of such waivers to apply to other common family law matters.

The waiver should also be used for:

  • Suits to remove disability of a minor (commonly referred to as emancipation)
  • Suits to change the name of an adult or child
  • Any suits relating to a parent-child relationship

The bill passed and will take effect on September 1, 2015.

S.B. 817: Issuance of a protective order and appointment of a managing conservator in certain family law proceedings.

S.B. 817 proposes that the state change the language on applications for protective orders (restraining orders, etc.) by switching the word “victim” with the phrase “applicant for a protective order.” Specifically, this change is meant to help those people who are applying for the protective order on behalf of the actual victim of the abuse or violence.

Some judges are currently reluctant to sign orders which list the applicant as a “victim” because doing so indirectly endorses the allegations of abuse as being true without a trial. With the label change, it removes that concern and will enable judges to issue more orders to protect those in need.

The bill passed virtually unopposed, and will take effect on September 1, 2015.

S.B. 314: Appointment of a non-parent as managing conservator of a child.

This law addresses a growing number of complaints by relatives who assume custody of children removed from their parents’ homes by CPS (Child Protective Services).  This type of custody is called “permanent managing conservatorship,” or PMC. It is not adoption and does not carry the same legal meaning, but many relatives claim that these differences are not clarified by CPS.

As a result, the bill requires a court awarding custody to specifically explain 3 common misunderstandings to the relatives or non-parents assuming PMC.

  • PMC rights are specified by the court, and are not the same as rights associated with adoption
  • The parent(s) can still request visitation, and can request to become the managing conservator
  • PMC does not qualify nor disqualify the relative or non-parent for/from post-adoption benefits

The bill states that if the non-parent assuming PMC does not appear in court, the court must then have evidence that they were advised of this information.

The bill passed without opposition, and will take effect on September 1, 2015.

 

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