Austin Texas Family Law Blog

The New Year may elicit feelings of both excitement and apprehension for individuals in Texas. This may be especially true for someone who is navigating the divorce process during this holiday. Fortunately, these types of individuals can take some steps to keep the start of 2019 as enjoyable as possible in spite of their divorce situations.

First, those going through the dissolution of a marriage may benefit from being intentional about how they plan to spend the New Year. For instance, the parents of minor children can plan activities to do with the children, which can help them to create meaningful experiences together. Those who do not have children can get caught up on special projects they have not had time to do for a while, or they may take some time to rest.

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.