Austin Family Law Blog

Parents will do most anything for their children. This is why forming child custody arrangements may become the most difficult aspect of settling a divorce. Both parents want to what's best for their children, but longstanding disagreements can prevent them from reaching common ground. Right now, actress Kelly Rutherford is going through a lengthy custody dispute, which is an experience she shares with many Texas parents.

According to reports, the "Gossip Girl" actress has been spending the last several months trying to obtain custody of her children. Last year, both of her young kids were put in the custody of Rutherford's ex-husband. Additionally, the father's visa was revoked, and he was sent back to France with the kids.

Over the last couple generations, family dynamics have changed dramatically. Thirty years ago, it may have been uncommon to have women equally represented in professional spaces, but that's certainly not the case today. Because more women are joining the workforce and Texas households are more likely to have multiple incomes, many aspects of family law have also been affected.

The reality is that men are not the only wage earners in marriages anymore. In fact, some men stay home to raise children while their wives pursue a career. These changes, of course, have uprooted many traditional assumptions in divorce; namely, women are the only ones who receive custody, child support or alimony.

Under Texas state law, a person can legally be married to one person. If someone is found to be married to multiple people, they could face charges for bigamy. This also applies to people who have separated from -- but not divorced -- a previous spouse. A Texas man recently found himself in a legal predicament after it was determined that he had two wives.

The 38-year-old man in this case maintained separate households with two spouses, neither of whom knew about this arrangement. Eventually, one wife found out about the situation. Although the man could have faced penalties for bigamy, the statute of limitations prevented charges from moving forward.

Recent news has been dominated by two headline-grabbing cases heard by the U.S. Supreme Court that center around same-sex marriage. Although same-sex couples cannot legally marry in Texas, the rulings still have potential to impact the nature of family law in our state.

The first case heard by the high court is a challenge to California's Proposition 8, a voter-approved measure that banned same-sex marriage. One route the justices could take is to assert that all same-sex marriage bans are a violation of the federal Constitution. This, in effect, would cause nationwide bans, including Texas' current law, to become invalid. Not only would this allow same-sex couples to get married throughout the country, but it would create a legal framework for divorce based on state laws.