New Year, New Office

Happy New Year!  The Decker Law Firm wishes you a new year full of love, happiness, and prosperity.

2013 was a wonderful year for The Decker Law Firm – We met some incredible people, made some new friends, and were able to help many families through some of the most difficult times in their lives.  We are so very thankful to have had that opportunity.

We hope to continue serving our clients in a new location.  The weekend before the New Year, we moved our office.  The Decker Law Firm happily announces our new location and phone numbers:

5201 West Freeway, Ste. 102
Fort Worth, TX 76107
(817) 735-0005   Phone
(817) 735-8959   Fax

We will continue to provide our clients with honest, strong representation – only from a different locale.

If you need to visit us and are not sure where to find our new office, just give us a call.  We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Ami J. Decker
www.famlawtex.com

Why Should You Trust Your Lawyer?

Lawyers are expensive.  When you hire a lawyer, you often pay more than you can afford.  Given what you pay for that person’s expertise, it is helpful to your case to listen to your attorney and take his/her advice.

Why do lawyers cost so much?  There are many reasons lawyers are so expensive.  First they spend several years in law school.  I know my years in law school were some of the toughest with the majority of my time spent studying.  And if I wasn’t studying, I was sleeping.  There wasn’t much time for anything other than going to class, researching, writing, reading, and studying.  Everything else in your life is on hold to become a lawyer.

When a lawyer gives you a piece of advice, it is backed by knowledge of the law, years of experience, knowledge of the courts, and how the courts handle situations similar to yours.  Two of the hardest things to learn when studying the law is that there is nothing black and white and the law isn’t always fair or logical. 

Another reason lawyers aren’t cheap is that the law is ever-changing.  In Texas, the Legislature meets every two years.  And with that comes new laws and revisions of existing laws.  Further, every law is subject to interpretation by the courts.  As a result, appeals courts and the Supreme Court of the State of Texas spend their time hearing cases that have been appealed and interpreting the law based on the facts of each case.  Because every case is different, the application of a statute in one case will produce one result while applying that same law in another case will produce yet a different result.  It is the responsibility of your lawyer to recognize the subtle difference(s) from one case to another to determine what he or she believes will happen in your case or how the law should be applied in your situation.  Law school teaches you to “think like a lawyer” and it is that thought process that guides your lawyer in counseling you about your case.

When a lawyer practices law in front of the same judges every day, he/she learns how those judges react and rule in certain situations.  Although a lawyer can never predict what will happen in your case with absolute certainty, that lawyer can get pretty close in some instances based on experience in your court.

Using her knowledge of the law, knowledge of the courts, and experience, a lawyer will give you advise that will best help your case and structure your case to give you the best possible outcome.  That advice is rooted in a great deal of knowledge.

Because you spend so much on your lawyer, it is crucial you trust that person.  Your lawyer may very well give you advice you either do not agree with or do not understand.  If you do not understand what your attorney asks of you then by all means ask for her reasoning behind it.  I am certain there is a specific reason for that advice that will be of benefit to your case.  If you choose not to follow your lawyer’s advice, you have to expect legal consequences that will harm your situation.

If for whatever reason you do not trust your attorney, find one you do trust.

There are a multitude of factors that lead to an attorneys advice: statutes, case law, the court’s tendency given the facts of your case, and/or mitigation of facts that may harm your case.  Every single situation or case is different.  Your situation may seem identical to your friend’s situation and in your friend’s situation she did not have to do what your lawyer is asking you to do.  But you may be in a different court or there may be some difference in your situations that may seem subtle or meaningless to you but has great significance. Your lawyer is going to spot that.

I recommend making sure you understand exactly what your attorney is asking of you so you understand the meaning or reasoning behind it.  If after hearing your attorney’s purpose of his/her request, you do not trust your lawyer, then find a lawyer you do trust.  A good lawyer is not going to tell you everything you want to hear.  A good lawyer is going to tell you everything you need to hear.

Ami J. Decker
www.famlawtex.com

Adoption in Texas

Family law attorneys handle all kinds of legal matters that are not known for their pleasantness - divorce, custody, child support, etc. Although helping people with their family issues is rewarding, one of the most rewarding things we help people with is adoption.

An adoption is the beginning of a new life not only for the child but for the parents and the entire family. And what a wonderful thing to be a part of and to help make happen!

Adoption is a two-step process. First you must terminate the rights of the biological parents, followed by the actual adoption; step two.

Occasionally a mother will call me wanting her husband to adopt her child but she doesn’t really want to notify the biological father. Unfortunately, that can’t happen. The biological father must be told of the adoption. Sometimes the father will agree to have his rights terminated so the stepfather can adopt. When that happens, it makes the adoption much easier in that the biological father will sign an affidavit of relinquishment of parental rights. When the biological parent or parents will not agree to relinquish his or her parental rights, you have to have a full trial where you must prove that it is in the best interest of the child to terminate the biological parents’ parental rights and prove any one of the statutory reasons for terminating parental rights.

Once the parental rights of the biological parents are terminated, the adoption is pretty much a formality.

I also have people ask me if they can do their adoption on their own without a lawyer. I do not recommend someone attempt to do so. Termination and adoption is a very technical paper-driven process and if you have not done everything exactly right and filed the correct paperwork with the Court, you will not be successful in your adoption.

If all the paperwork and pleadings are not in order, you might show up to the final trial only to be turned away because something is missing or incorrect. Further, if you complete your termination and adoption and one thing is wrong, someone can call in question a part of the process or procedure which means the adoption could be reversed. Something like that could be devastating to the child, the parents, and the family.

In Tarrant County, Texas, the judges like the termination trial and adoption to happen on the same day whenever possible. In Child Protective Services cases that can’t always happen but in private cases, the judges want the termination and adoption to happen all at once so that a child is not left fatherless, motherless, or parentless for any period of time.

When all the paperwork is in order, in Tarrant County, the judges do a great job of making adoption day something special not only for the adopted children and the parents, but for the entire family and their friends. The judges include everyone in the hearing; some will even swear in the children at the same time as everyone else just so they feel a part of the process. The judges do things at an adoption they don’t allow any other time. The entire group of people, family and friends are allowed to approach the bench for the actual (and very brief) adoption hearing. Taking pictures is not only allowed but encouraged. The judge even allows the immediate family to take the steps up to the bench where the judge sits for a photo opportunity with the judge. With all the ugly things judges see in family law courts, they love adoptions too.

Adoption can be a rewarding event for everyone involved. If you are looking for an adoption of any kind, I highly recommend meeting with an attorney and eventually hiring one to make sure everything is done correctly. As rewarding as an adoption can be, if it is not done properly, it can be a nightmare for the children and parents.

Ami J. Decker
www.famlawtex.com

Introduction to The Decker Law Firm, a Fort Worth Family Law Firm

We are trying out some videos.  This one is an introduction to The Decker Law Firm.  Tell me what topics you would like to see us cover in a video.

Why Should I Hire an Attorney for My Divorce when I Have Children?

I do not recommend anyone with kids represent themselves (pro se is the legal term for being your own lawyer) in a divorce or try to use some forms you find somewhere to do your divorce on your own. Have you ever heard someone say "I don’t know what I don’t know?" This phrase rings true in the area of family law.

I realize because I am a family lawyer, my saying this may hold little weight to you as you may think I am saying this because I make money as a divorce lawyer. But before you make up your mind on this, please hear me out.

For the majority of folks, their family is the most important part of their lives. Doing your divorce on your own may strip you of rights you have with respect to your children. Maybe even rights you didn’t even know you have.

For example, which parent is going to make the educational decisions for the kids? Your initial reaction may be "We both will." But what if, at some point, you don’t agree with your ex spouse? If the language in your divorce decree says you both must agree before any action is taken with respect your children’s education, and you disagree, nothing can ever be done.

Additionally, you have no idea what your situation is going to be in ten years. And what is an educational decision? Educational decisions are not limited to simply what school your child will attend. Should she be tutored in a certain subject? Who will the tutor be? Where will she go to get the tutoring? Is a choir trip to New York City educational? If so, who should decide if your daughter goes on that trip? What happens if one of you want your son to attend SAT preparation classes and the other parent believes it unnecessary. Should you and your former spouse have the independent right to make educational decisions? If so, then your former spouse could have your child doing something you don’t agree with. Or you both could do something similar at the same time. Should you have the exclusive right to make those decisions? Should your spouse have that exclusive right? Or should one of you have the exclusive right after conferring with the other parent?

When there are children, there are a myriad of issues in a divorce an experienced family lawyer can help you with. Educational decisions are just a drop in the bucket.

Who will make medical decisions? Will you get a second medical opinion when an invasive medical procedure is needed one of your children? Who will decide if my minor child can join the armed forces? Or get married? If you don’t have primary custody of your child, can you assure you are on the school records to get information about your child’s education? How can I prevent your ex-wife from moving across the country with your kids? Can you even prevent that? Can you call your kids when they are with the other parent? Your child is special needs, can you get more child support than the statutory minimum? What is the statutory minimum child support? If your child plays a sport, do you have to take him to practices and games when you have him? You want you ex to pay half of the sports costs, can you get that? You need to get a passport for your child, how do you get your ex to sign the paperwork? Your ex-spouse is taking the children out of the country on vacation, do you have the right to know where they are going and when? Do you have to agree to see your kids every other weekend? Your spouse and you want to agree no one should pay child support; can you do that?

This list of questions is just the tip of the iceberg. You really don’t know what you don’t know.

Further, it isn’t enough to simply consult an attorney at the beginning of the divorce and then write your decree yourself or check some boxes on a form. The wording of your divorce decree is everything. The absence or existence of a single word in a decree could determine if you have a specific right or not. Once you give up a right either accidentally or intentionally, it is difficult, if not impossible, to get that right back at a later date.

Remember the effort you put into planning your wedding? Please don’t spend any less time or effort in your divorce than you put into your wedding. Your family is at stake.

Ami J. Decker
www.famlawtex.com

How Much Does It Cost to Get Divorced?

People often ask me how much it costs to get divorced. Or how much their divorce is going to cost. That is not a straight-forward, easy question to answer. Especially with no information about a person’s particular situation.

Asking an attorney how much your divorce will cost is like asking a home builder how much will it cost to build a house. Answering that question requires a great deal of information. What type of foundation? How big do you want your house? One story or two? Brick or siding? What type of roof? Granite countertops in the kitchen? The list of information needed to determine the cost of a house goes on and on.


Same goes for a divorce. What do you and your spouse agree about? Anything? Do you have kids? How many? What are their ages? Do the children have special needs? Do both you and your spouse want custody? What kind of property do you have? What type of debt do you have? Is your spouse going to hire an attorney? Who is your spouse’s attorney? What issues does your spouse want to fight about? Is it everything? Or just one or two? As with a house, the list of information needed to determine how much your divorce is going to cost goes on and on. And as your divorce goes on, the estimate can go up or down depending on what happens. For example, if your spouse agrees to everything at first, the initial cost of your divorce could be relatively low. But what if sometime during the divorce process, your spouse discovers you have a new significant other. Now he wants to fight everything. With that change, the cost of your divorce just went up.


I always feel bad that I can’t give clients or potential clients a straight and clear answer regarding the total cost of their divorce. But to quote a solid price is unfair to you. I might be able to get in the ballpark, but if something in your case changes, that ballpark goes out the window.

Ami J. Decker
www.famlawtex.com

Structure of Family Law Courts

Tarrant County has six courts who hear all family matters for the County. Smaller counties not in metropolitan areas have what are called courts of general jurisdiction. Courts of general jurisdiction hear all kinds of matters: criminal, civil, and family. But because of the larger populations, counties like Tarrant and Dallas have courts that specialize in civil, criminal or family law.
Such is the case in Tarrant County. We have six district courts who hear all family law matters including Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS): the 231^st, 233^rd, 322^nd, 324^th, 325^th, and 360^th. Additionally, the 323^rd District Court hears some DFPS cases as well as all juvenile matters.

Each of the six family law courts have two judges: the Associate Judge and the District Court Judge. Some people refer to them as the "big" (District Court) and the "little" (Associate) judges. This is because the District Court Judge is essentially the "boss" of the Associate Judge. The District Court Judge is elected while the Associate Judge of the court is selected by the District Court Judge and appointed to the seat.

The Associate Judge and the District Judge have defined areas regarding what they hear. All hearings for Temporary Orders and enforcements (of child support and visitation) are heard by the associate judges. The District Court Judges generally hear all of the final trials, motions for continuance, and appeals of the rulings from their associate judges. In some courts, if both parties agree, the Associate Judge can hear the final trial for a case.

Hear are a few questions I am often asked about the courts here in Tarrant County:

Q:      How do I know what court my case is in?
A:      At the top of anything filed with the court is what is called the "caption." The first line is a number in the following format: XXX-XXXXXX-XX. The first three numbers is the court. The last two number is the year the case was initiated. You can also find the court on the right side of the caption.

Q:     How is the court for my case picked?
A:     It is randomly chosen by a computer program.

Q:     Can I pick what court I want for my case?
A:     No. Even if you get a court you don’t want and cancel your case (called a nonsuit) in hopes of filing again and getting a different court (this is called forum shopping in the legal community), the computer is smart enough to recognize the names of the parties and children and put you in the same court you had in the first place.

Q:     What if I had a divorce years ago and now want to modify child support or visitation for my children? Will I get a new court?
A:     No. When a court has jurisdiction over a child in any matter, that court has what is called "continuing, exclusive jurisdiction" over that child. Therefore, if three years after your divorce you want to modify your child support, you will end up in the same court you had for your divorce. The only way to potentially change this is if the child moves out of the county and remains for at least six months. In this situation, you would need to consult a lawyer to find out how you can change courts.

Ami J. Decker
www.famlawtex.com