poser meow
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Texas
So, my parents are getting divorced. My mother is 45, my stepfather is 54. The have been together for 15 years. Two and a half years ago, my mother had an affair. The marriage was on the rocks, several years of stuff had built up.. and yes, she cheated. Horrible. My stepfather hired a private investigator and supposedly has photos of her and the "other guy" both at his home, in hotels, and in the employee parking lot of the airport where both of them worked. He went to a rather rough divorce lawyer back then and left the folder of photos with the lawyer. There the folder has sat, for 2 and a half years. He accepted her back into the home and they tried to reconcile things.
It was rough, but things lately have been great. We all had a wonderful Christmas. Three days after the holiday, however, my stepdad told my mother that he wanted a divorce. She has since been shell-shocked, so to speak. He told her that he wanted things to be friendly between them during the divorce and afterwards. So they went to a new lawyer, one that's supposed to remain impartial.
My stepfather told my mother, however, that if she didn't go along with the "friendly" way of divorcing, he would go back to the first lawyer.
So basically he's holding over her head a fault or no fault divorce.
Here are my questions... If he files the fault (adultery) divorce, do the rules of "community property" still apply? Will my mother still get half of everything if she is found at fault? What about allimony? Can the photos really be used in court?
My stepfather has the career, the money, the everything... my mother owns a failing company, but basically she hasn't worked steadily in a very long time. She faces losing her home and everything she knows. I know she needs to go see an attorney of her own in order to know her rights... but I can't seem to convince her! I've been doing quite a bit of research on divorces in Texas, but I can't seem to find the answers to my questions. Can someone out there help me? Thanks!!!
So, my parents are getting divorced. My mother is 45, my stepfather is 54. The have been together for 15 years. Two and a half years ago, my mother had an affair. The marriage was on the rocks, several years of stuff had built up.. and yes, she cheated. Horrible. My stepfather hired a private investigator and supposedly has photos of her and the "other guy" both at his home, in hotels, and in the employee parking lot of the airport where both of them worked. He went to a rather rough divorce lawyer back then and left the folder of photos with the lawyer. There the folder has sat, for 2 and a half years. He accepted her back into the home and they tried to reconcile things.
It was rough, but things lately have been great. We all had a wonderful Christmas. Three days after the holiday, however, my stepdad told my mother that he wanted a divorce. She has since been shell-shocked, so to speak. He told her that he wanted things to be friendly between them during the divorce and afterwards. So they went to a new lawyer, one that's supposed to remain impartial.
My stepfather told my mother, however, that if she didn't go along with the "friendly" way of divorcing, he would go back to the first lawyer.
So basically he's holding over her head a fault or no fault divorce.
Here are my questions... If he files the fault (adultery) divorce, do the rules of "community property" still apply? Will my mother still get half of everything if she is found at fault? What about allimony? Can the photos really be used in court?
My stepfather has the career, the money, the everything... my mother owns a failing company, but basically she hasn't worked steadily in a very long time. She faces losing her home and everything she knows. I know she needs to go see an attorney of her own in order to know her rights... but I can't seem to convince her! I've been doing quite a bit of research on divorces in Texas, but I can't seem to find the answers to my questions. Can someone out there help me? Thanks!!!
