Our firm’s founder, Shane Kersh is a seasoned family law attorney with local roots to the community of Pearland and Brazoria County. Each member of our family law team at Kersh Law Firm is dedicated to carrying out the firm’s mission and upholding the firm’s reputation for excellence in the practice of family law.

While a divorce decree marks the end of a marriage, it also marks the beginning of your new life. While the future is never certain, a fair and workable resolution of the issues in your divorce lays the groundwork for a successful transition to the next stage of your life. Kersh Law Firm stands by you all the way – counseling you, representing you in court and protecting your rights.

Whether or not you should dissolve your marriage may be one of the most important and difficult decisions you will ever face. Take time to reflect and process. Separation and divorce is a major life change and a serious legal issue when it pertains to the future of your family and personal interests.  There are serious issues that you need to consider when contemplating divorce. Your future depends upon your ability to think rationally and strategically about this life-changing period in your life. Whatever has led you to the threshold of divorce, once you’ve made the decision to end your marriage, you must prepare yourself for what lies ahead in a reasoned and thoughtful manner. Our Pearland family law legal team have put together a list of things that you may or may not have to consider when filing for divorce in Texas:

When Thinking about the Children, Custody, and Support

• Who will the children live with?
• Will there be shared child custody? Do you want full custody?
• If they live with your spouse, how often will you be able to visit them? How often will they be able to stay overnight with you?
• How will you and your ex-spouse make decisions about the children, such as their health, education, religion, and welfare?
• Who pays for the children’s living expenses? Their education? Their travel?

Regarding Spousal Maintenance and Child Support

• Will you receive spousal support or need to pay it? How much and for how long?
• If financial circumstances change significantly for you or your spouse, will support be increased or decreased?
• Who will be entitled to claim the children as exemptions for income tax purposes?

About Property Division and Your Home

• What property is considered community property and subject to equitable division?
• How will marital assets and debts be valued and divided?
• Who will live in the marital home during the divorce process?
• Will one of the spouses keep the marital home or will it be sold? And if sold, how will the proceeds be divided?

About Insurance and Income Taxes

• Will you keep life insurance for the benefit of your children?
• Will either party be obligated to provide medical or other insurance for the benefit of the other spouse or children? For how long?
• Who will be responsible for paying medical, dental, drug, or hospital expenses for the children when not covered or reimbursed by insurance?
• Who will receive any tax refund currently due on a past joint income tax return?
• If there is a deficiency on a past joint income tax return, who will be responsible for paying the tax, interest, and penalties?
• If you file joint income tax returns for the current year, who will be responsible for paying any taxes due? Who will be entitled to a tax refund?

 

3 Tips to Keeping Your Life on Track Before, During and After Divorce

1. Remember that knowledge is power. Don’t hide your head in the sand and hope you’ll wake up one day and it will all be over. Ask questions, read, study, and make use of our website to stay on top of what you need to know to make good decisions. Use the tools available to you to educate yourself about everything involved in the divorce process.

2. Remember that you’re in control. No one understands your goals and aspirations better than you do. Make sure you consistently voice your needs, concerns, and objectives so that you remain in charge of your life’s direction.

3. Remember that every decision you make in your divorce is a personal decision. As difficult as it may be from time to time, you must keep your emotions at bay and concentrate on allocating marital assets and debts, working through child support, establishing any spousal maintenance, and so on.

 Updated January 14, 2020 by Shane