Where would I look to find an experienced family law attorney in Texas?

Where would I look to find an experienced family law attorney?

I would look on www.avvo.com, www.lawguru.com and the State Bar of Texas website. 

There are many attorneys sites so you can “google” family law or divorce attorney & your county. 

Many attorneys offer a free consultation either over the phone or in person.  

Many offer payment plans.  

Most accept credit cards. 

How much should I pay for my family law attorney?  

An attorney charges based on many factors including their location, their current work load, their overhead (such as rent and staff), their years of practice and if they are board certified.  

Board certified attorneys usually have a higher hourly rate.  If you are on a limited budget, then you need to look for a newly licensed attorney that is not board certified.  

Like anything, you get what you pay for.  If you want someone with years of experience, you will pay more.  Many high-qualified attorneys have chosen not be board certified.  

What does board certified mean? 

It means that they passed a special test administered by the State Bar of Texas.  

For example, after I passed the State Bar I swore that I would never take another test again! 

It was my choice to not be board certified. 

Technology -- a blessing & a curse.

Technology has been both a blessing & a curse!

Once something is put on the internet it's impossible to fully remove it.  A computer expert can find it! Delete does not truly delete everything on your computer or phone -- it leaves a trail. 

Imagine that everything you post on the internet will be known by your employer, your best friend, your parents, your children & your enemies!  

Be careful what you post -- count to 10 before you post anything!  If in doubt, then don't post! 

Don't post sarcastic remarks on the internet -- your remarks can be misinterpreted.  And beware of spell check! 

With today's technology, what we do today may echo into the future -- and leave enough evidence to be used during court proceedings. The technology used by couples heading towards divorce may lead to remarkable discoveries that can dramatically tip the balance in favor of one spouse or the other.

With so much evidence available in the form of e-mails, instant messages, social media profiles, electronic financial records, and more, it is not surprising that embittered partners are using all available means to gather the  "dirt" on their spouses.

In the past, there may have been a paper trail that uncovered hidden assets (for example, a second set of books) or secret extramarital affairs (for example, love letters and photos). But today, similar evidence may be found online or on a computer hard drive.

Is it legal to snoop on your spouse? 

Laws involving the Internet and electronic discovery are evolving - both state laws and federal laws. Whether data gathered by a spouse is admissible in court may be a matter of state law. In some cases, federal law may be violated, if for example, a spouse hacks into an e-mail account. Evidence obtained illegally can generally not be admitted in court.  

There have been recent lawsuits regarding the divorce attorneys liability for even looking at illegally obtained information.  Therefore, many attorneys won't let anything possible illegal enter their law office and they don't want to even talk about any information that might have been illegally obtained.  Attorneys are finding that it's not worth the risk & that they can be held liable for actions their client undertook without informing the attorney first. 

Both parties to a divorce should be aware of the following sources of data:

E-mail communication - While e-mail has changed the world in many ways, it has also triggered the downfall of many when evidence of civil or criminal violations was resurrected from e-mail messages that were deleted long ago. As much as we would like to think so, once a message is deleted in an e-mail account, it is not always deleted from the computer's hard drive. 

A suitably experienced forensic technology expert can uncover remnants of data to reconstitute critical e-mail messages along with an Internet user's browsing history. The forensic expert can also provide clues as to what types of data were deleted by a user. By itself, knowing that certain e-mails and associated files were deleted may not be critical, but it may indicate a pattern of activity that supports the allegations claimed by the other spouse. It may also result in new investigative leads to be pursued.  

Facebook and other social media websites - A LinkedIn profile can expose hidden assets from a business interest one spouse didn't know about. A spouse can find an old high school flame on Facebook or begin a relationship with a stranger. In many cases, sharing too much information, or sharing it with the wrong "friend" can lead to the end of a marriage. To complicate matters further, Facebook's privacy settings are notoriously cumbersome and often applied incorrectly. The picture of a cheating spouse at an intimate candlelit dinner for two captures a moment that when "tagged" can expose an affair to the other spouse.
Be careful what you share with "friends" because you never know who is watching and how brief exchanges can be misconstrued. 

Electronic spyware - Almost since the beginnings of the Internet, criminals have used electronic spyware to capture personal information and login credentials for financial accounts in order to commit fraud. Many commercially available "keyloggers" can do much more than capture the keys entered. They can capture instant chats, user names and passwords, programs accessed, and websites visited. An enterprising spouse might install a sophisticated keylogger and then sit back and wait for the incriminating data to roll in. Do not put any electronic spyware on a person's corporate computer or any computer that you do not have authority to use or that you personally own -- if in doubt, don't do it.

Cameras - You've no doubt heard about "nanny cams," which have helped uncover criminal acts by caregivers entrusted with young children. However, these cameras are used for many other purposes. A number of retail stores offer "peephole" cameras that can be easily concealed in regular household items such as clocks, books and picture frames. The quality of the recording is remarkable, and if monitored by a live operator, the cameras can zoom and pan around the room as well as redirect their microphone to increase the sound quality. Depending on where a camera is placed, it can also be used to record a computer screen as well as the keys entered to access bank accounts, social media profiles and email. 

In addition to cameras that are purchased and covertly placed, many laptops as well as desktop computers have built-in cameras. With minimal effort, it is possible to remotely activate a computer's camera and record activity taking place in front of the computer as well as provide a wide view of activity taking place behind the user. This tactic could prove useful if one spouse is traveling out of town for personal or professional reasons. 

GPS devices - Whether or not it is legal to place a GPS tracker on your spouse's car is subject to legal analysis. However, what if a GPS device is placed on a spouse's car and his or her partner drives that vehicle occasionally? Regardless of how this issue would be decided in a court of law, most navigation systems in today's cars track previous destinations. In addition, most new cars log each trip in terms of miles, average speed and fuel consumption. Such information can help a spouse trying to prove that the other spouse is running an undeclared business, or visiting a paramour.  Basically, if your name is not on the title then it might be illegal to put a GPS device on the vehicle.  

Smartphones - Most people are rarely without their phones and they use them for texting, banking, etc. Like other electronic devices, evidence of secrets one spouse is keeping from another can be found in a phone. 

As the Internet has seeped further in to the fabric of our lives, routine tasks that once were entirely paper based have migrated online. Hidden assets or a romantic affair can be uncovered with the help of online access to phone bills, bank statements, and frequent flyer records. In fact, many consumers have elected to cancel paper statements in favor of electronic statements that are either emailed to them directly, or housed on a company's website.

In addition, many records that previously could only be accessed at a local or state government office are now online including business registration and property tax records. Some states even allow for searches of state registered companies using the name of a company, officers or registered agents. Numerous third party databases that can be used to conduct asset searches that aggregate data from a number of sources. Such searches can uncover assets that were previously undeclared or disguised in order to reduce their importance during divorce proceedings.

Digging in a digital world is often worth the effort. Whether the results of the digging effort can be used in a court of law is up for debate. Gathering the types of data noted above regarding a spouse's personal and professional activities may make a difference in reaching an equitable settlement.

Be aware that it is very difficult to get digital information admitted into evidence.  For example, in a recent mediation a man showed me a series of vile, threatening texts from his wife.  When I asked wife about these emails, she said she never sent any & the phone number that these emails supposedly came from was not even her phone number.  Therefore, he would have the burden of proof to somehow show she actually did these texts -- a very difficult thing to accomplish.

Information for teen-agers to read about turning 18

Excellent free booklet available on-line for teenagers to read...

"NOW YOU ARE 18"

In the State of Texas, at 18 you are an adult in the eyes of the state.  Unless you have been declared by a court to be incompetent, you are an adult.

If there is a court that has declared in writing that you are unable to handle your affairs and/or your own body, then the usual laws of the State of Texas do not apply to you.

This free booklet was published by the TEXAS LAWYERS AUXILLARY (TLA) several years ago.  Some information might be out-of-date.  I have not reviewed it to see if it is still current BUT it would be educational and informative.

texaslre.org/studentoutreach.html

Enjoy!

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Private Investigators and snooping

All private investigators in Texas must be licensed.

Attorneys won't use unlicensed pi's since the attorney can be charged with a Class A Misdemeanor.

Attorneys are also scared to encourage a client to engage in conduct that the lawyer knows to criminal or fraudulent or from using any method of obtaining evidence that violates the legal rights of a 3rd party.

Attorneys also warn their own clients against being a "detective" since the client might violate federal and/or state laws.

An example would be putting a tracking device or spyware on property that you do not clearly own.  So if your name is on a vehicle it's probably ok to put a tracking device on it.  But if the vehicle is not in your name it's clearly illegal to do so -- even if it's your spouse's vehicle.

Do not set up fake social media profiles in an attempt to gather information on your spouse or anyone.
Do not harass anyone -- even using social media.
Do not intercept text messages/emails from another person's phone or computer.

Be aware that if you hire a pi that all information gathered is discovered in a family law case.  You might not want the other side to be aware of everything the pi gathers.

PIs cannot go onto private property.  They must remain on public property.  They can however go through a person's trash once it is put at the street for trash pick-up.