Lone Star Divorce
By Ike Vanden Eykel and Sharla Fuller
ISBN-13: 978-0-9749461-2-2
PSG Books
Softcover; 288 pages
Rates of divorce may be down in Texas, but that doesn't matter if you are in the midst of one. With Lone Star Divorce, acclaimed family lawyers Ike Vanden Eykel and Sharla Fuller provide information that can save you heartache and thousands of dollars.
For the price of this one volume, you will receive the following wisdom:
How to plan a more productive divorce
10 ways to control legal costs
How to get your way at trial or settlement
What to tell your children and when
How much child support is reasonable
How to retain more of your assets
The benefits of mediation and collaborative law
How to enforce or modify your divorce decree
How to move from divorce with dignity
And much, much more …
About the Authors
Ike Vanden Eykel is one of America’s top divorce lawyers, author of the regional bestseller, Successful Lone Star Divorce (1998), and co-author of Protecting Your Assets From A Texas Divorce (2006).
Managing partner of Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel & Robertson, the Southwest’s largest family law firm, he is board certified in both family law and civil trial law. He came to prominence during the 1980s as a champion of fathers’ rights, but Vogue magazine named him one of the Top Lawyers for Women in Texas.
Ike was selected by Town & Country magazine as one of America’s Top 10 Divorce Lawyers and has been featured in Texas Monthly as one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Texas.
In 2007, The Dallas Morning News dubbed him the “reigning king” of Texas divorce as well as the state’s “most powerful divorce attorney” for his creative approaches to complex problems affecting divorcing people with large marital estates. Ike has very discreetly represented many rich and famous Texans. After handling an especially contentious divorce for a Park Cities housewife, he was depicted in the book My Husband Is Trying To Kill Me and a made-for-TV movie, Dead Before Dawn.
Besides writing books for the divorcing public, he co-authors an on-going series known as the Texas Family Law Practice Guide that is used by family law attorneys. Active in the Dallas Bar Association, Ike is scheduled to become DBA president in 2010.
Sharla Fuller has been selected as one of the Top 50 Women Attorneys in Texas by her peers and has been listed as a Texas Super Lawyer featured in Texas Monthly magazine. She began her legal career in East Texas before joining Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel & Robertson in 2000.
Sharla is board certified in family law. She is also a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists, the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, the Family Law Section of the Dallas Bar Association, and the Texas Young Lawyers Association, and is admitted to practice before the U. S. District Courts for the Eastern and Northern Districts of Texas.
Sharla has authored and co-authored articles for family law seminars and has given speeches on family law topics. Lone Star Divorce: The NEW Edition is her first book for the general public.
The following are excerpts from Chapter One of Lone Star Divorce: The NEW Edition:
Ask yourself what kind of divorce you want. Many divorces separate the parties into victims and bullies. These divorces often escalate into screaming matches or quiet seething anger, and sometimes result in acts of revenge. Yet you have the power to choose a different kind of divorce — one where your kids are not burdened with unnecessary baggage — where you and your soon-to-be ex act like adults, instead of adolescents. It is possible for everyone to emerge emotionally and financially intact if you choose to make it happen.
Successful Divorce Principles
If a successful divorce is your goal, keep the following principles in mind:
- Look for resolution, not revenge.
- Don’t confuse what’s best for the children with what will gain you vengeance.
- Hire the most experienced family law attorney you can afford who matches your personality.
- Try to keep your divorce uncontested.
- Mediate or collaborate in good faith.
- Stockpile useful family information.
- Be truthful with your attorney.
- Work with your spouse to decide on a division of assets. If at all possible, don’t let a judge or jury decide for you.
- Decide what’s in the best interest of your children and follow that path.
- Be compassionate and generous when you can.
- If your spouse concedes something he or she doesn’t have to, be grateful.
- If mediation fails, get ready for trial.
- Present yourself well before the judge or jury.
- Remember that if you don’t get everything you want, your life is not over.
- Ask yourself: Will this divorce settlement leave me and my family in a good situation, whether I remarry or not?
Basic Truths of a Texas Divorce
Each state sets its own divorce laws. While there are similarities from one state to another, there are also differences. Here are a few simple truths you should know about the divorce laws in Texas.
Truth #1: Either person can ask for and receive a jury trial (although jury decisions that are binding on the court are limited).
Truth #2: There is a 60-day waiting period from the date you file the divorce until it can be final, even if it is uncontested.
Truth #3: If you and your spouse cannot agree on a division of property, a judge will divide it for you in a manner deemed to be “just and right.” The judge may look at future earning capacity, who is at fault in the divorce and other criteria when deciding who gets what.
Truth #4: Alimony is rare in Texas, unless you have no significant assets or means to support yourself, or unless you and your spouse agree to it.
Truth #5: The spouse who does not have primary custody of the children will, in almost every case, pay child support to the one who does. The amount of support is based on guidelines in the Texas Family Code.
Truth #6: Joint custody is preferred in Texas, which means you will likely share parental rights and duties with your ex. The amount of time you spend with the children, though, will not necessarily be equal.
Truth #7: Both you and your spouse will have significant access to your children after the divorce unless you agree otherwise or can show that such access would be harmful to the children.
Truth #8: Once a divorce is filed in Texas, you cannot stop it from happening if one of you wants to go through with it.