July 2003

A Note from Zoe:

Back-to-School sales ads are here already.  Summer vacation is half gone.  Where does the time go?  I hope you have had time to relax with your children. Mine are glad for the down time, and enjoy not having mom prod them to do homework each night.  They stay up later, sleep later and generally have no agenda.  I think this type of free-time breeds creativity and allows the kids to refuel for the school year.  I hope it has allowed your family to spend some "face time" with each other with fewer dashes to get to soccer practices, do homework and stay on schedule.  Shouldn't the livin' be easy in a child's summertime? 

Extras for Your Divorce Decree

Be sure that you have talked with your attorney about including the following types of provisions in your decree:

1.  If you are the parent with a visitation schedule, ask for the expanded Standard Possession Order, which, among other possibilities, allows you to pick up your child at school dismissal rather than at 6:00 p.m. at the start of your visit, and to return the child to school when it resumes on Monday morning rather than return the child on Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. This also serves to eliminate the common friction between parents that may occur at face-to-face exchanges.

2.  A residence restriction on the person who has the right to determine the primary residence of the child.  This is a must!  Do not let your divorce be finalized with out restricting their residence. Tarrant County and contiguous (touching borders) counties is a common residence restriction. Otherwise you might have to travel to Timbuktu to visit your child or pay for a ticket for your child to visit you from Timbuktu.

3.  This goes along with 2.  Have airline travel provisions put into your decree.  These spell out who pays for the visit and at what age the child may travel unaccompanied by an adult (airline regulations should also be consulted regarding these issues).

4.  Dental insurance.  Add "and dental" anywhere that the term "health insurance" occurs.

5.  Mediation of Future Disputes clause.  This could save time, money and headaches down the road.  It requires that mediation be attempted prior to either party bringing a law suit or litigating in the future.

This list is not exhaustive.  Be sure to ask your attorney about other "bells and whistles" that may be appropriate to your situation.

RELOCATION:  Click your heels together and repeat "There's no where like Tarrant County, There's no where . . .

Do you plan to move with your Tarrant County baby?  Think again.  If the Tarrant County family law courts are involved in your divorce, you will be fighting a rough battle to move away from the county if the other parent is located here.  Even cities within Texas and, of course, Oklahoma are sometimes viewed by local courts as too far away.

Look at this issue from the other parent's point of view.  Being involved in a child's life after a divorce is difficult in many respects.  Imagine how those difficulties are multiplied when the other parent chooses to move away from where you lived with the child. 

Serious consequences may result if a parent disregards this rule, even if no court orders are currently in place limiting the right to move or restricting the child's residence.  Tarrant is a lovely place to raise a child, after all.