OT: Any Texas divorce lawyers here ?, Looks like I am in the market for one !! Options

[David_S]

Title says it all ! I guess I am in the market for a divorce lawyer in the panhandle of Texas. Anybody know of one or any advice ??

[ConeDodger]

I think most of the time the heavy lifting in a divorce is done at a negotiation session held just before the actual courtroom sit down. If everything cannot be worked out by the negotiation session the money gets serious as you go to trial.
I recall my ex dragging out the negotiation and refusing to agree to how she was going to pay me back the money I paid (separate property) for her grad school. She had to pay me 70K and she wanted to pay it back without interest over 20 years. I finally, after 3 hours of lawyers running back and forth from her room to mine said, 100K at 1K per month for 100 months and she can take the last 30 months off if she brings back my cat Bear. My lawyer thought I had lost it but you have to remember, I knew my wife. Just like that, she took the 100K for 100 months and said she would keep the cat. Both her lawyer and mine thought that must be the most expensive cat they had ever heard of. I know my ex. She will die with 300 cats running loose in the house and crap everywhere... She is a cat freak.

If there are kids involved, there are guidelines regarding your or her income and child support. In most cases unless there is some reason not to allow visitation or joint custody this can be worked out amicably.

The lawyers really gather data about what you own. What you owned before you were married. What are your assets. What are your debts. In California, what you owned before you were married, what your assets were before you were married, what your debts were before you were married is yours. Likewise for her. What you acquire after the marriage is ours and is split equally.

Lawyers aren't magic. They still have to work within the law and divorce is pretty well drawn up in a guideline fashion. The thing to avoid is an idiot lawyer who lets something slide or doesn't notice or really know the law.

I think the advice to keep your head when she is losing hers is best... Just keep saying the mantra "I just want what is fair" while she is screaming she wants everything and things should go your way...

It's just stuff. You can get more stuff.

When I was going through my divorce, I was having trouble getting her out of the house. I went to an anesthesia conference in Chicago and when I got back, I stopped at the take out to pick up some food. When I got home the entire freakin' house was empty. I called a friend and ranted angrily for about a half hour then looked at her and saw she was laughing! I said what the hell are you laughing about? She said "You got what you wanted" "She is gone". Heck, the court even made her pay half for my NEW furniture because she had taken the old stuff...

It feels pretty bad but sometimes starting over is a good thing. Maybe you need to start lower in order to reach higher...

Good luck. Happier days lie ahead.