Austin Texas Family Law Blog

Dissolving a marital union in Texas can present challenges for people of all ages. However, those over the age of 50 face special challenges that their younger counterparts simply do not encounter following divorce. A couple of these challenges involve health insurance and long-term care.

Regarding health insurance, those who had insurance through their spouses' employers while they were married can maintain this insurance through COBRA. The coverage can last up to 36 months. However, the premiums will increase since they have to pay the portions of the premiums that their employers were previously paying. If newly divorced individuals cannot take advantage of COBRA, they have no choice but to look for their own insurance. Unfortunately, they may have a hard time securing insurance at their age if they have pre-existing health issues.

It’s unfortunate, but sometimes a servicemember or a spouse decides to get a divorce while on deployment. What are your options?

When contemplating a divorce, the first hurdle is the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which protects members overseas on active duty from civil lawsuits over loans, leases and other legalities. The idea is to allow active servicemembers the ability to focus on their duties rather than problems on the home front.

No matter how hard two people in Texas may try to make their marriage work, sometimes it simply cannot happen. However, that does not mean that going through a potentially nasty divorce is unavoidable. Mediation is an alternative to divorce litigation that may help make the divorce process much more palatable for all parties involved.

During mediation, two divorcing spouses meet with a third party to put together innovative agreements that work for both of them, as well as their children. The couple may use the mediation process to explore all their options when it comes to matters such as property division, and they may also address family and individual goals. They may also discuss what they personally believe is fair when it comes to topics such as alimony, for example.

Dissolving a marriage in Texas can be challenging for the entire family going through the process. However, the children may especially take the divorce hard. Here is a glimpse at how a divorcing parent can help to ease the transition for his or her children, particularly if he or she ends up finding a new partner following the marital breakup.

Parents who suddenly discover new loves following their marital dissolutions may be excited for these other parties to meet their children. However, children generally do not process divorce as quickly as parents do. In fact, some children may hope that their divorced parents will reunite at some point. For this reason, children might not be emotionally ready to meet either of their parents' new partners.